SermonStudio

Call To Worship

Come and worship God, who is all-powerful and so gentle as to wipe away the tears from our faces. Come and worship God, who takes fear out of death. Come and worship God, who absorbs all death into the whole company of God's being.

Collect

You, O God, were the rock, the refuge, and the strength for the saints who endured and went before us. You, O God, bring stability, security, and courage to our enduring and to our going out. To these truths, we sing alleluia. Amen.

Prayer Of Confession

All of our lives, we have been longing for you, O God. Though we still are filled with pondering and wondering, we anticipate a grand reunion with all who have gone before us. We cannot know the details now, but we live our lives within the trust of your redemptive gathering in. Through Christ. Amen.

66B Hymns
"For All The Saints" Tune: SINE NOMINE
"Give Thanks For Life" Tune: ROBINSON
"The Church's One Foundation" Tune: AURELIA




All Saints' Sunday

Second Lesson: Revelation 21:1-6a
Theme: God, Alpha And Omega

Call To Worship

On this All Saints' Sunday, we remember the faithful people in the history of the church. We wonder in what manner they are living beyond the earthly form. We cannot know this now any more than we can know what this new "place" will be like. What we can do is trust that God, who is the beginning and the end, will be present. Come, let us worship God, the Alpha and the Omega.

Collect

O God, who is present at our physical birth and death and who is at all other transitions in our life, we praise you for offering us new beginnings. You make all things as new as the start of a day. We trust you now and at our ending. In the name of Christ. Amen.

Prayer Of Confession

We wonder, O God, about what we cannot yet perceive. We know that our imaginings of life after death reflect our individual yearnings. If the physical body suffers now, later all suffering will cease. If our relating to others has been troublesome, later all such distress will be in the past. Bear with us, O God, until the time comes and we will know and finally will relax into your care. Amen.

66B Hymns
"Come, Let Us Join With Faithful Souls" or "The Savior Calls; Let Every Ear" Tune: AZMON
"O What Their Joy And Their Glory Must Be" Tune: O QUANTA QUALIA
"O Savior, For The Saints" Tune: FESTAL SONG




All Saints' Sunday

Gospel: John 11:32-44
Theme: Beginning To Weep

Call To Worship

When Jesus saw the grief of Mary after the death of her brother Lazarus, he began to weep. The shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept," brings us close to Jesus. We sense that God understands and accepts our tears when we begin to weep.

Collect

Help us, O God, to endure the regrets, the blame and self-blame, the anger, and all the other emotions of loss when we have sorrow. Guide us through the craziness that overtakes our lives. Through the presence of Christ. Amen.

Prayer Of Confession

Amid our tears of grief, we fear losing control, O God. Can we survive another hour or the rest of our lives? Faith travels far from our house door. We even wonder where you are, God, as the "why's" rush in. Yet, because you, too, have wept, you know about the hole within our heart. Amen.

66B Hymns
"Sorrow And Grief Had Come" Tune: OLIVET
"Since You Have, Too, Encountered Grief" Tune: DUNDEE
"Lord Of Sorrows, Lord Of Grief" Tune: HEINLEIN