Thursday, January 2, 2014

For January 12, 2014 -- Baptism of Christ Sunday

CALL TO WORSHIP
We have been called together...
Called by the One who Created us, called by the One who names us as Beloved Children.
As we gather to worship together, we greet our Beloved sisters and brothers with signs and words of love and peace...

OPENING PRAYER
God of Life, you call us to live and love, to be light to the world.
As we gather to worship and remember this morning, re-awaken in us the knowledge that we are Your Beloved children.
God of Life, you call us to live and love, to be light to the world.
May this time of worship energize us as Beloved Children, ready to share the love which animates us with the world around us.
God of Life, you call us to live and love, to be light to the world.
We gather in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whose baptism we remember, and who taught us to pray together saying...

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God, you tell us that we are your Beloved children.
But there is a part of us that wonders if we are worthy of such a designation.
You call us by our names, you claim us as your own.
And we wonder if there is another shoe about to drop, some payback that will be required.
You challenge us to not be afraid, for you are with us in triumph and tragedy.
And yet there are times when we are sure we have been forgotten when we are afraid, when we are unsure how to live as your Beloved...
...time of silent reflection...
God speaks through the prophet Isaiah saying to the nation and to individuals:you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you”. God's grace leads us through life, sustaining and emboldening us.
We are God's Beloved Children! Thanks be to God! Amen.

COMMISSIONING:
We gathered, we prayed, we sang, we listened.
Now we prepare to go out into the world.
We have been reminded of the promise of our baptism, that we are Beloved, that we belong to God.
May that knowledge sustain us as we share the love of God with the world.
Go with God, to be the people of God, to be a blessing.
As we have ourselves been blessed. Amen