Home Equipping Leaders African American 21st Century Africana Worship Resources for the Second Sunday of Lent, Year B

21st Century Africana Worship Resources for the Second Sunday of Lent, Year B

Gathering Call
Leader: Tell me, where will you turn when you're caught by temptation?

People: We will call upon the Lord!

Leader: Tell me, what will you do when people deceive you and put you down?

People: We will call upon the Lord!

Leader: Tell me, how will you make it when pain and heartache bends you and bows you?

People: We will call upon the Lord!

Leader: Tell me, how will you feel when you come out of the wilderness, leaning on the Lord?

People: Our souls will be happy! We will shout all day. The Lord God, mighty in power, will bring us out!

All: Whether we have come out of the wilderness or still find ourselves in the midst of the wilderness, we will lean on the Lord. For, all of our help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! We praise God, whose steadfast love endures forever.

Name Change Prayer
Reader One:
My name is Successful, and I like it.
I don't especially like how I became a success,
But nonetheless, my name is Successful
Doesn't God like success? Doesn't God want us to be successful?
I missed my child's soccer game because a project at work was due;
My name is Successful.
The family waited dinner for me, but I never showed. Somebody needed my advice;
My name is Successful.
No time to visit the doctor or drive the speed limit.
Lunchtime is fast food, if at all;
My name is Successful.

People: But what does it profit a person to gain the world and lose his or her own soul? What will we give in exchange for our souls?

Reader Two:
Successful until I got the pink slip.
Successful until my license was suspended.
Successful until a mighty fist gripped my heart as if to rip it from my body.
Successful until divorce papers came.
Successful until my child was arrested.

People: And then…and then…and then one day, God changed my name: changed my name to Faithful.

Reader Three:
Now my name is Faithful, and I like me this way… so does my family.
I'm successful now because God changed my name.
I realize if my actions are not for God, they are not for me.
God likes me to be faithful. God expects me to be faithful.

People: God teach us how to be faithful this Lenten Season. Teach us how to allow you to change our names.

About the Author: Sherrie Dobbs Johnson is the pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Brooklyn, NY.

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