Come, Let Us Worship the One Who Gives Us Strength

Call to Worship
Leader: It has been a long week. We are tired and wearied by the journey.

People: Come, let us sit with one another in prayer, praise, and song.

Leader: Jesus said to come to him when we were weary and heavy laden.

People: Come, let the saints of God lift their weary, drooping hands in praise and thanksgiving.

Leader: Jesus said he was the way, the truth, and the life.

People: Come, let us worship the one who gives us strength.

Litany
(Based on Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16)
Leader: Listen up people, open your ears to what I have to say.

People: Open your mouth and tell us a story just like the parables of old.

Leader: Well, you want me to tell you what you have heard and known, what the old folks have already told you?

People: Yes, tell us again.

Leader: Do not hide the love and the law of the Lord from your children.

People: We must tell them the praises, power, and might of the Lord.

Leader: We must tell them of the wonderful strength of the Lord and the great things he has done for us.

People: Yes, we must tell the children of the marvelous works God did in the sight of the old folks in the old days.

Leader: He rescued us from slavery; he was a bridge over troubled waters; he led us by day and night.

People: He gave us water when we were thirsty, food when we were hungry, our shepherd by day and night.

Leader: Listen up people, open your ears to what I have to say.

People: We must be storytellers and story listeners too! For our children must know the great deeds of the Lord.

Benediction
Go forth with the authority Christ gives to his church.
Cry out against wrong.
Heal where there is hurt.
Feed, clothe, and defend those who live on the margins.
Train up children in the ways of God.
Show no contempt for youth; comfort the elderly.
In all things, give God the glory and praise, now and forever. Amen.

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The Rev. Dr. Eugene Blair is a clergy member of the Detroit Annual Conference, where he serves as the Director of the Office of African American Spiritual Formation. Dr. Blair is a former Dean of The Upper Room Chapel.

21st Century Africana Liturgy Resources: "Worship Resources for the Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost, Year A" Copyright © 2005 Eugene Blair. This 21st Century Liturgy Resource may be printed, copied, distributed, reprinted in church bulletins or newsletters, or otherwise used for nonprofit local church worship or education with the inclusion of the copyright citation: 21st Century Africana Liturgy Resources: "Worship Resources for the Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost, Year A" Copyright © 2005 Eugene Blair. Used with permission.