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Call to Worship

L: For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
P: He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
L: Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
P: On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
ALL: All power belongs to you, o God, and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord! Praise the Lord!

 

Call to Worship:

L: Come, People of God! Come from the easy security of your now, to the uncertain course of tomorrow.
P: We come and we go, not knowing what tomorrow will bring.
L: Come, in the face of circumstance that frightens and intimidates; Come and sing praise to God; Declare God's saving grace to the world.
P: We come and we go, in praise and proclamation. Praise the Lord!

 

Prayer of Confession:
by GG in NC

God: You call us to repent and live in Your realm, trusting and obeying You. We say to You, “Yes!” but when we count the cost of change we say, “maybe later.” You call us to follow You as messengers of Your Good News. We say to You, “Yes!” but looking at our other commitments we say, “when I can work it in.” So we squander Your precious invitations, and the clock keeps ticking. We really do want to trust You, Savior God, and obey You, Lord. Help us! Free us from our sinful and self-destructive dawdling; free us to repent immediately and to follow You right now, and always, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer for the World and it Peoples (Church of Scotland 20th century)

O God, you are the hope of all the ends of the earth, the God of the spirits of all flesh.  Hear our humble intercession for all races and families on earth, that you will turn all hearts to yourself.
Remove from our minds hatred, prejudice, and contempt for those who are not of our own race or color, class or creed, that, departing from everything that estranges and divides, we may by you be brought into unity of spirit, in the bond of peace. Amen.

Prayer for the Mind of Christ

God of compassion, grant us humility to seek what we need to bring us to fullness of life; to recognize in the stranger your spirit at work. Call us again to compassionate helping in the world you have created. We pray especially for small denominations inside and outside of ecumenical structures; for racial and cultural minorities; for individuals who feel they are not heard and tended to.  Enable us to follow the example of Jesus, to reach out without bias to those who are needy and searching.  Give us the mind of Christ, we pray. Amen.

 

Prayer of Discipleship

God of Love and Grace, you have called us into radical discipleship in the name of your son Jesus.  To you alone belong all of our heart and our devotion. You freed us from the burden of sin and by your Spirit enabled us to serve you and our neighbor. Help us, we pray, to continue in our commitment to you.  Empower us to always seek your Kingdom first.

Teach us to pray for our brothers and sisters aright; that we be so consumed in love for them that we may feel their needs as much as our own. Enable us to give as freely as we have received from you so that the name of our Lord Jesus be glorified.   Amen.

Closing Prayer (use with 1 Corinthians 7)
by Rev. F. Schaefer

May we go forth into the world with the glorious expectation of Christ's return.  May we live our lives in the knowledge that this current life will perish; and in the steadfast hope for the coming of the Kingdom of God which is indeed already being established within the fellowship and the hearts of all Christians, world without end. Amen.