Monday, March 16, 2015

For March 22 -- Looking at the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats

CALL TO WORSHIP
May the Peace of Christ be with you
And also with you.
We have been called together in this place
To celebrate God's presence, to listen for God's wisdom, to be renewed as God's servants
As we gather to worship, let us greet each other with God's peace...

OPENING PRAYER
God of life, who calls us to be the church,
we gather together as a community to listen for how you are speaking to us today.
God of justice, who calls us to live lives of love,
we gather as a community of people who try to understand what that means day to day.
God of promise, who calls us to be people of hope,
we gather as people who are looking for signs that the Kingdom is being made real in our midst.
In this time of worship,
refresh us, challenge us, renew us.
We pray in in the name of the one who taught about the way of love, who challenges us to serve each other, and who taught us to pray by saying...

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God, when we look around we see so much need.
And we wonder how best to respond.
God we hear your voice in the old stories.
Challenging us to feed the hungry, to visit the lonely, to comfort the suffering.
Not in search of reward or payback,
but simply because it is the loving thing to do.
God of grace, we hear the voice, we understand the challenge,
but we find it hard to live out. God of grace, give us the grace to live the way of love.
...time of silent prayer...
God challenges us to be people of love. In grace God helps us along the way. In mercy, God works with us through our mis-steps and our mis-understandings. We are forgiven, set back on the path, and urged to try again. This is Good News.
Thanks be to God! Amen.

Monday, March 9, 2015

FOr March 15, 2015 -- Looking at the Day Labourers and the Generous Landowner

OPENING PRAYER
God you meet us where we are, when we are ready.
Maybe in the light of dawn, or the heat of mid-day, or in the last hours of sunlight.
Whenever we meet you, whenever we pick up your invitation, you say:
Come, join in the labour, I have work for you.
And when the day's labour ends you say:
here is your payment, here is what you need for today.
In our worship, in our songs and prayers, in our lives,
open our hearts and souls to the wonder of you mercy, your grace, your justice.
This we pray in the name of Jesus, our rock and Redeemer, who taught his friends to pray saying...


COMMISSIONING:
Our time of worship, a break from the busy-ness of life, draws to a close.
And we return to the world where we live and serve, where we share God's love in word and deed.
Go from this place as agents of justice, as carriers of grace, as workers in the vineyard.
We go to share in the preparation of the Kingdom.
And as you go, remember that you do not walk alone.
The one who has called us saying “Come, I have work for you” is with us always.
Guiding and supporting. Parent, Child and Spirit.
Amen.