Monday, January 30, 2012

For February 5, 2012 -- Epiphany 5B

OPENING PRAYER
God, another Sunday has come, and once again we gather together.
To sing and to pray, to read and to listen.
In this time of worship,
re-fill and refresh us, open our hearts and minds to your possibilities.
And as it comes to a close,
prepare us to go out to live and serve in the world around us.
We pray in Jesus' name, and we join the chorus of ages, praying together the words he taught his friends...

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God, you have called us to be who we are, to grow into who we are meant to be.
And we try. But sometimes we forget who and whose we are. And sometimes we lose our way.
You have called us to be humble, to be accepting of others, to find common ground.
And we try. But sometimes we boast about who we are. Sometimes we act like others need to think and act just like us. We think the only common ground is ours.
You call us to be willing to change so that we can meet others where they are at.
But change is hard. Change is scary. And we honestly find it easier of others change to meet us.
For all those times we have lost our way, for all the ways we miss the mark, for the times when we forget what grace means;
Forgive us and reveal to us the glories of your grace.
...time of silent prayer...
God is gracious and merciful. God is slow to anger and swift to forgive. When we stray from The Way God is there to draw us back. We are beloved and forgiven.
Thanks be to God! Amen.

COMMISSIONING:
We have been the recipients of a great gift.
We have been given Good News, which shall be for all people.
We are the recipients of a great challenge.
We have been challenged to share the Good News we have been given with the world in which we live.
As our worship ends we go out to take on the challenge.
Translating the old story into images and language of the present so that we too can be “all things for all people”.
And as we go to share the Good News we take strength in knowing that we are not alone.
For God is with us always and all ways. Amen.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

For January 29, 2012 -- Epiphany 4B

COMMISSIONING:
We have gathered as God's people,
we have sung, prayed, read, and listened.
And now we go back out,
out into the world which cries out for the love of God.
As you go, carry with you the teachings of the faith,
so that we may pass them on to those around us. Teaching in word and in deed of the Way that God would have us live.
May God be with you and bless you in your living and in your teaching.
Always and everywhere. Amen.

Monday, January 16, 2012

For January 22, 2012 -- 3rd Sunday After Epiphany

COMMISSIONING:
We live and serve in the midst of the real world,
A world where conflicting and confusing messages and practices surround us.
We are members of a community,
And so we pledge to support each other in faith and love
As we struggle to sort out which way is most beneficial,
We go with God, who is there to guide and strengthen us as individuals and as a community.
Thanks be to God!
Thanks and Praise! Amen.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

For January 15, 2012 -- 2nd Sunday After Epiphany, Year B

CALL TO WORSHIP/OPENING PRAYER
When we awoke this morning,
God was there, watching us wipe the sleep from our eyes.
When we entered the sanctuary,
God was there, greeting us with the voice of a friend.
As we centre ourselves for worship,
God is here, filling our hearts and souls, challenging us to grow in faith
...time of silence...
Gracious God, in this time of worship,
search us, know our hearts.
God who has been with us from the beginning,
God who is with us til the end,
open our eyes, minds, and hearts this morning.
And lead us in the way everlasting. Amen.

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God, you have searched me. you have known me,
you know my thoughts, you know all my ways.
You see if there is any wicked way in me
You know the good and the bad that lives in my heart and shows in my actions.
In the good we know, strengthen us, in the ways we fall short of the goal renew us.
And lead us in the way, lead us in the way everlasting.
...time of silence...
God, who does know all our ways, who knows us so well, does lead us in the way. When we stray from the way God calls us back with words of love and forgiveness.
Lead me in the way everlasting. Thanks be to God. Amen.

COMMISSIONING:
As we rise to leave this time of worship,
God goes with us.
From the furthest East to the furthest West,
God goes with us, holding our hand, guiding us onward.
And so, go with God, as the people of God, to share in the work of God.
We go to share the Good News that we are not alone, that God close at hand, always. Thanks be to God!
And for all your days, may God lead you in the way everlasting.
So Be It! Amen!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

For January 8, 2012 --Baptism of Jesus Sunday

OPENING PRAYER
Spirit God, in the beginning you moved over the waters primeval,
bringing forth life.
You call us to come to the water,
to be refreshed, to be renewed, to bring forth new life.
As a baptizing community,
we encourage each other to grow and to learn together what it means to be washed with water and the Spirit.
In this time of singing and praying and listening,
open our ears, our eyes, and our hearts to hear, see, and feel what it means to be a baptized and baptizing community. And then send us out to live what we have discovered.
This we pray in the name of Jesus, who taught his friends to pray by saying...

COMMISSIONING:
Our time of worship closes,
our time of service in the world continues.
In our time together we have re-committed ourselves to live out our Baptismal faith,
which means we go as people who have been washed by water and the Spirit.
We go out as Spirit-filled people,
ready to fulfil the vocation God has given, to share the love and justice of God with all we meet.
And as we go out to live and serve, we can trust that God lives and serves with us.
Thanks be to God! Amen.