21st Century Worship Resources for Christmas 1C

A Call to Worship from Colossians 3:12??17

Leader: We are God's beloved people!

People: Called to lives of kindness, humility and compassion!

Leader: God seeks to clothe us with love and to bind us together in harmony.

People: God desires that we bear with one another and forgive as Christ forgives.

Leader: We are God's beloved people!

People: Called to lives of peace and patience; called to live with grateful hearts.

All: We worship the God who calls us beloved!

A Prayer for Young People
(1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 & Luke 2:41-52)

Leader: Samuel was just a boy before the Lord!

People: Jesus, just a preteen, in the temple with the elders!

Leader: God, speak to the young people of our community

While they are just girls, just boys, standing here in your presence.

People: God, speak to our hearts,
so that we might not be tempted to hush our young people,
or banish them from your presence
as though you had nothing to say to them.

Leader: Samuel began his great ministry as a young child in priestly clothing.

People: People began to take notice of Jesus as a preteen sharing great wisdom with the elders.

All: God, here are our young people. Help them listen; help us listen with them. Amen.

Dr. Safiyah Fosua is an elder of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference, currently serving as Assistant Professor of Christian Ministry and Congregational Worship at the Wesley Seminary of Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. Safiyah is a former Discipleship Ministries staff member.