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Submit Your Own! January 17, 2010 By January 17, 2010 Second Sunday after Epiphany, Year C Call to Worship Leader: In John, Jesus Christ begins his ministry by helping people celebrate. People: We behold God’s glory through Christ’s signs. Leader: We worship in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, People: thankful for the wine-abundance of the Bridegroom. Invocation Holy Spirit, you enable us to pray to you. You empower us to declare, “Jesus is Lord.” Lead us to behold the signs of God’s glory all around us. Make us into the wine of celebration for a world thirsty for the Good News. In the name of the Lord Jesus we pray. Yes. Prayer of Confession Our cup overflows because of you, O God, yet we insist on hurting you and others with sin. We abuse alcohol instead of using it for your glory. You are at the wedding and the reception, but we ignore you, not having sent you and invitation. We doubt the Holy Spirit, not believing that the Spirit has blessed us with gifts that benefit others. We compete with each other and end up divided. You propose to us, but we cheat on you. We betray you by being cruel to people different from ourselves, ignoring the dream, perpetuating the nightmare. For the sake of your Son, our Spouse, forgive us. Purify us. Transform us, the baptized, into celebration. Amen. Words of Assurance Leader: No more are we named “Forsaken” or “Desolate.” Because of Christ’s transforming power, our bridegroom says of us, “My Delight Is in Her.” Because of Christ, we are married to God. The Lord forgives us all our sins, changes them into sweet, bright festival. Alleluia! People: Thank God Almighty we are free at last. Alleluia! Prayer of Inspiration Word-Made-Flesh, in your light we see light. Let your light shine through this sermon. Yes. Prayers of the People Loving Spouse, you have taken tender care of the Church, and you continue to do so even when we cheat on you. Teach us to live according to our baptism, to be manifestations of God’s glory for a world in the dark. Wedding-Lord, (congregational response: we celebrate you.). Lord of the Mountaintop, we thank you for your servant the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who gave his life in the name of using nonviolence to advance freedom and equality for all people. Racism is still a demon possessing us. Grant us the courage to exorcise the demon and embrace the Spirit of loving equality. Wedding-Lord, . . . Steadfast Love-Word, you have led our nation to many improvements. Continue to lead us, and give us the humility to follow. Bless the state of our union. May we be a people who judge our own citizens and other nations, not according to skin-color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or culture, but according to character-content. Wedding-Lord, . . . God of purifying metamorphosis, countless times have you healed us. Heal those in need at this time, including all we mention in our hearts or aloud [Add names]. Compel us to use our Spirit-given gifts as tools of healing. Wedding-Lord, . . . You may add other praises and petitions here. Lord of the Bread-and-Wine-Party, we rejoice because we know you hear us, and we are ready to do whatever you tell us. So be it. Alleluia. Offertory Prayer Leader: We present to you these jars of water. People: Transform them into wine. Benediction Leader: God, who has the strong name in which we baptize, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, People: recreates us, saves us, transforms us, feeds us, and blesses us with gifts for the good of others. Alleluia!
David von Schlichten, poedifier
January 10, 2010 By David von Schlichten January 10, 2010 Baptism of our Lord, Year C
Call to Worship Leader: Christ is God’s Son, the Beloved, with whom God is well-pleased. People: Therefore we, too, are the beloved, with whom God is well-pleased. Leader: Christ the baptized commands us to baptize one another. People: We are saints because of our baptism into the death of the Baptized One. Leader: We worship in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, People: and we seek to hear and speak the voice of God. Invocation Holy Spirit, we marvel at your dove-incarnation. We thank you for the epiphanies you enable us to see. Grant us wisdom, lead us with the star, return us to baptism and the crucifixion-scars of the one in whose name we pray. Amen. Prayer of Confession Lord who guides us through the waters, we praise you for revealing your glory to us despite our unworthiness. We have been fools. We have followed other lights, ignoring the star. We have brought our second-rate gifts to you instead of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We forget about the Holy Spirit, thinking our faith, hope, and love are all our doing. You declare us beloved, but we insist on hating ourselves and each other. For the sake of the Lord of the River, forgive us. Wash us off. Scrub us. Please. So be it. Words of Assurance Leader: Alleluia, the baptized, blazing Lord has washed you clean. Through our baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection we receive forgiveness forever. You are holy and new, thanks be to baptism. Alleluia! People: Alleluia! (Louder each time.) Leader: Alleluia! People: Alleluia! Leader: Alleluia! ALL: Alleluia! Prayer of Inspiration Spirit who brooded over the waters, reveal God’s voice through the sermon, a Word-speech. Prayers of the People Son of God, we thank you for scrubbing clean the Church. Lead us with your star so that we may come to you with our finest gifts, which will enrich a poverty-stricken world. Epiphany-Elohim, (fill us with the voice of the Lord.). Word-made-flesh, you have entered the world and blessed it amid our sin. Bless the United States and people everywhere, including all leaders, that we may not make idols of patriotism but remember that our primary citizenship is as servants in your kingdom. Epiphany-Elohim, . . . Incarnate Logos, the weather is harsh. Keep people safe. Help us to work urgently to care for those lacking adequate heat, shelter, clothing, food, and medical care during this treacherous season. Epiphany-Elohim, . . . Beloved, you have healed us far more times than there are stars in the universe. Open our eyes to your healing power. Bring healing to those in need, including [Add names]. Make us into your nurse and doctor-servants. Epiphany-Elohim, . . . We praise you, Loving Son, for the gift of baptism. Help us to remember our baptismal identity. Because we are the baptized, we are the eternally living, the forgiven and forgiving, the beloved and loving, the Spirit-doved and dove-ing. Epiphany-Elohim, . . . You may add other praises and petitions here. Jesus, we offer you these prayers to your glory and the healing of the nations, praying and praising in your drenched name. So be it. Offertory Prayer We baptized of your Church are bearing gifts. We have traversed near and far, your wise men and women. Accept our myrrh, gold, and frankincense. Benediction Leader: The name in which we baptize, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the name of the God who has created, saved, and sanctified you. People: Dripping with God’s grace, we leave to bear gifts to the poor, for they, too, are beloved.
David von Schlichten, poedifier
January 3, 2010 By David von Schlichten January 3, 2010 Second Sunday of Christmas, Year C
Call to Worship Leader: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, People: and the Word was God. Leader: And the Word became flesh and set up camp among us; People: Christ’s birth was the Word-made-flesh entering the world. Leader: In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we continue to celebrate Christmas. People: We begin 2010 with the celebration of Christ’s birth. Alleluia! Invocation Logos-Ruach, we praise you for giving us the faith to believe in the revolutionary power of Christ’s birth. Compel us to go and tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. Amen. Prayer of Confession God of New Birth, we praise you for giving us life through Christ’s birth. We have failed to honor the Incarnation-Infant. We do not trust that you have predestined us for salvation. We do not respond to the new covenant with fidelity to you. We are too much in the world, not enough in the Word. We pack away our devotion with the decorations. For the sake of the one who went from cradle to cross, forgive us. Give us shepherd-zeal. So be it. Words of Assurance Gloria in excelsis Deo! Christ was born to save! The Baby forgives you all your sins, every single one. Gloria in excelsis Deo! Prayer of Inspiration Holy Spirit, through the sermon make us mangers for the Word, incarnations of your love. Prayers of the People Everlasting Logos, we thank you for a new year, new opportunities. We praise you for the Church. Bless our Orthodox siblings as they begin their Christmas celebration. Help us all, like the wisemen, to follow the star. Bethlehem-Born, (congregational response: we adore you.). Incarnate-God, you have blessed our nation. Guide us in the new year to grow in our stewardship and compassion. Teach us to measure greatness, not by the size of our military, but by the generosity of our hearts. Bethlehem-Born, . . . Enfleshed Word, we praise you for the holyday season. Give us the courage to embrace the holyday spirit all year long. Bethlehem-Born, . . . God-Become-Human, you care for people in need beyond what we can imagine. Empower us to be incarnations of compassion to the needy. Grant care to those in need now [Add names]. Bethlehem-Born, . . . You may add other praises and petitions here. Jesus Christ, we lay these prayers at the manger, knowing that you alone can heal us and give us the strength to be messengers of the Good News, just like the angels. Amen. Offertory Prayer Gold, frankincense, and myrrh we offer you. Benediction Leader: The Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, make you an incarnation of divine mercy. People: May the Word fill you with wisdom throughout the year. Yes!
David von Schlichten, poedifier December 27, 2009 By David von Schlichten December 27, 2009 First Sunday of Christmas, Year C
Call to Worship Leader: God of lessons, carols, and pageants, People: the Lord of auld lang syne, Leader: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, People: we continue to praise you for the birth of Christ. Invocation Manger-Spirit, we thank you for the Christmas season. Teach us to honor it from year to year, even when the rest of the world has forgotten it. In the name of the infant King we pray. Amen. Prayer of Confession Leader: Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save! People: Emmanuel, forgive us for our sins. During the holydays, we obsess over the wrong things and take our blessings for granted. We fixate on the mall and neglect the manger. We whine about what we don’t have and overlook the poor who truly have nothing. We throw stones at Stephen and bow to Herod. Leader: Savior of Bethlehem, we kneel before you. Forgive us our trespasses, and grant us the wisdom and humility to forgive those who trespass against us. Amen. Words of Assurance Leader: No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground; People: he comes to make his blessings flow Leader: far as the curse is found, People: far as the curse is found, All: far as, far as the curse is found! Prayer of Inspiration Holy Spirit, make this sermon a cradle for the Word. Yes. Prayers of the People We, good Christian friends, rejoice over your birth long after we take down the decorations. You have given new life to the Church. We honor you for martyrs such as Stephen. As we leave 2009 and enter 2010, guide us to the manger over and over. Gloria . . . (congregational response: in excelsis Deo!) Lord of the pageant, we remember with solemn reverence the brutal slaughter of the Holy Innocents that Herod unleashed long ago. Teach us to take proper care of teenagers, children, and infants. They are beautiful! Priceless gifts! Miracles! Gloria . . . God of lessons and carols, we honor you this sacred season with stories and songs. Thank you for writing them. Gloria . . . Kairos-King, we exalt you for 2009. We give special thanks for [Add here.] Take us by the hand as the balls drops and we enter 2010. Guide us to live in reply to your perpetual resolution to love us. Gloria . . . So many have so little. Sharpen our concern for all in need throughout the year. Gloria . . . Father of the Son and Mother of Mary, we praise you for loved ones. Keep us all safe in our travels and celebrations. Help us to be responsible as we spend time together. Heal us of dysfunction. Bring comfort to the lonely, imprisoned, neglected. Console the hearts of soldiers who cannot be home for the holydays. Teach us to sleep in heavenly peace. Gloria . . . Bring healing to the sick, including those we mention now [Add names.] We know you hear us. Gloria . . . You may add other praises and petitions here. We have placed these prayers in the hay, beside the manger, knowing that you, O Lord, are more powerful than we could ever be. Amen. Offertory Prayer We bring you incense, gold, and myrrh. All of us, from peasant to king, come to own you, to enthrone you. Benediction Leader: He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove People: the glories of his righteousness, and wonders of his love, Leader: and wonders of his love, All: and wonders, and wonders of his love!
David von Schlichten, poedifier December 20, 2009 By David von Schlichten December 20, 2009 Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C Call to Worship Leader: We open our arms to the Christ of cradle and cross. People: In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, our souls proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Leader: Christ was born of Mary to die and rise for our salvation. People: From Bethlehem has come the one who has empowered us to lift up the lowly. Invocation Spirit of Shalom, during both bright and dark times of this season, make our spirits rejoice in God our Savior, who sent Christ, in whose name we pray. Yes. Prayer of Confession Adonai of Elizabeth and Mary, you blessed those women with astonishing life that gives new life to us, the fallen. But we persist in fallen-lifestyles. We shun the poor and outcast, such as Mary. We ignore the Bethlehems and obsess over the Romes. We lift up the powerful and cast down the lowly. We fill the rich and send the hungry away empty. At Christmas we fixate on the wrong things and abandon the baby. In the name of the Baby Jesus, forgive us. Help us to be bearers of Christ and proclaimers of the subversive, liberating Good News. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen. Words of Assurance Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save! Through Emmanuel, God has saved us. Your sins are forgiven. Because of our savior, all generations will call us blessed. Yes! Prayer of Inspiration Spirit of the Incarnation, through the sermon, impregnate us with the Word. Come. Prayers of the People Emmanuel, we in the Church are in awe of your birth. Teach us to be still and meditate upon the Incarnation-miracle. Self-Sacrificing Messiah, (congregational response: we thank you for coming to us.). You have given the Church many presents, including leaders such as Katherine von Bora and Stephen. You have given the special gifts of Bible, sermon, baptism, and holy communion. You have put much under our tree. Inspire us to give back to you more and more. Self-Sacrificing Messiah, . . . Emmanuel, you have cared for our nation. Frequently, though, we fail to see that we are the rich and powerful. We are eager to whine about having margarine instead of butter while billions of people cry for bread. Teach us to seek our magnificence, not in stuff and weapons, but by living according to the Magnificat. Self-Sacrificing Messiah, . . . As winter begins, we worry about the legions of people who lack adequate food, shelter, heat, medical care, or clothing for this harsh season. Shelter the needy, and compel us to do more to help provide that shelter. Self-Sacrificing Messiah, . . . Emmanuel, repeatedly have you come to the ill with healing. Bring healing now to all we mention silently or aloud: [Add names]. Self-Sacrificing Messiah, . . . The holydays are full of pain for countless people: the poor, the imprisoned, those serving in the military who cannot be home, the lonely, the divorced, the grieving. Guide all of us to comfort one another, especially every person in need. Self-Sacrificing Messiah, . . . Emmanuel, watch over people as they travel. May celebrations be joyful. Help us to lay aside family dysfunction and substance abuse and focus on being incarnations of love to each other. Self-Sacrificing Messiah, . . . You may add other praises and petitions here. We embrace you with these prayers, confident that you are the Advent Adonai. Amen. Offertory Prayer As wise men and women we bring to you these gifts for your glory and care of the lowly. Benediction Leader: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Three-in-One, has blessed us. People: We go into this holy week to sing Christ’s praise, to love one another, to care for those in need, to remember the forgotten. Yes.
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