21st Century Africana Worship Resources for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday After Pentecost, Year A

Call to Worship (all):
Leader: We come this morning seeking healing, so we bring you our pain.
People: We come this morning seeking answers, so we bring you our questions.
Leader: We come this morning seeking comfort, so we bring you our dis-ease.
People: We come this morning seeking freedom, so we bring you our inhibitions.
Leader: We come this morning seeking peace, so we bring you our conflicts.
People: We come this morning seeking love, so we bring you our pride.
Leader: We come this morning seeking forgiveness, so we bring you our sins.
People: We come this morning seeking success, so we bring you our fear.
All: We come to you, O God, who makes a way out of no way. We come seeking to be in your presence one more time. Take away our sadness and give us your joy. Hymn: "I Come With Joy," 617, United Methodist Hymnal

Opening Prayer (congregation)
Lord, we thank you for believing in us. Every time we take one step, you take two. We ask for cloudless days; you beam down sunshine. We ask for mercy; you shower us with love. We ask for success; you crown us with victory. Your love is too great for us to understand. Double our faith; double our courage; double our praise! Amen.

OR

Morning Prayer
Creator God, we come into the world with nothing; but all we have comes from you. Over and over again, when we've taken one step toward you, you've taken two toward us. When we've given up the little we have, you've supplied us more than we can use. When we've doubted but forged on anyway, you turned our fledgling steps into flight. When we've been ready to shed our doubts, you've dressed us in the courage of Deborah. When we've been ready to shed our ignorance, you've planted in us the wisdom of Deborah.

You believe in us more than we believe in ourselves. You believe in us even when our belief in you is shallow. Thank you for investing in this risky venture called humanity. Thank you for investing in us. You are a God who specializes in "insider trading," and we thank you for that. Amen.

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