21st Century Africana Liturgy Resources for the Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost, Year B

Call to Worship

Come together and get wisdom today.
Come as we listen and hear God's voice and Word.
Come, listen, and learn.
Come, it pays to worship the Lord!

Prayer
God, we come today with willing hearts, aching for a believable word. We will not leave here the way we came. We come today -- some weary, wounded, and worn-- knowing that if we invite and witness to heard-and-hungered-for wisdom teachings, our lives will be changed.

This morning, Lord, we trust you. We trust you to touch us and bring us from the streets of despair. We trust you to prepare us for hope, for definite truth, for something that will grab us. God, take hold of us with something that will revive us as well as transform us and help us to expect life. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Hymn Selection: "I Will Trust in the Lord," 464, United Methodist Hymnal

Litany of Affirmation
(Based on Proverbs 1:20-33)
One: I will trust in the Lord ??

Many: Let all the people say, "I will trust in the Lord."

One: I will trust in the Lord ... Let the wounded say...

Many: I will trust in the Lord. I will hear God's voice in dangerous streets that cause mothers to cry over their children.

One: I will trust in the Lord ... Let the wounded say ...

Many: I will trust in God, even as people sell their bodies to survive, even while the voice of insanity shouts louder than the voice of Truth in the ears of the homeless.

One: I will trust in the Lord ...

Many: May the Savior's voice speak loud and linger long so we may hear it and live.

One: Oh, I will trust in the Lord ...

Many: May we hear that holy voice in houses of prayer and in city streets.

One: I will trust in the Lord ...

Many: I will trust in Mary's baby, my Lord, and the world's Savior.

One: I will trust in the Lord.

Many: I will trust in Jesus, the way!

One: I will trust in the Lord ...

Many: Let all the people say, "I will trust in the Lord."

One: I will trust in the Lord ... Let the wounded say ...

Many: I will trust in the Lord. I will hear God's voice in dangerous streets that cause mothers to cry over their children.

One: I will trust in the Lord ... Let the wounded say ...

Many: I will trust in God, even as people sell their bodies to survive, even while the voice of insanity shouts louder than the voice of Truth in the ears of the homeless.

One: I will trust in the Lord ...

Many: May the Savior's voice speak loud and linger long so we may hear it and live.

One: Oh, I will trust in the Lord ...

Many: May we hear that holy voice in houses of prayer and in city streets.

One: I will trust in the Lord ...

Many: I will trust in Mary's baby, my Lord, and the world's Savior.

One: I will trust in the Lord.

Many: I will trust in Jesus, the way!

About the Author: Darlene A. Moore is the pastor of Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Darlene serves as the co-chair of the Youth Component of the W. T. Handy Convocation. She is the mother of one teenage son, Joshua. The Rev. Moore plans retreats, paints, and writes poetry.