Tested

Liturgical Resources

Call to Worship

We are chosen children of God, bound together by the Holy Spirit.
We belong to God, and through God, we belong to one another.

When we feel tested by hard decisions, calls to advocate against injustice, competing narratives, and worrying misinformation, we remember:
We belong to God, and through God, we belong to one another.

When we struggle with damaged trust and the need to repair our relationships with God and one another, when we are called to go against the social current to build communities of mercy and justice, we remember:
We belong to God, and through God, we belong to one another.

Come, let us worship God whose grace surrounds us when we feel tested and tried, empowering us to remain faithful disciples of Jesus Christ when we face chaos, division, injustice, and hardship.
We come to worship God who chooses us, empowers us, and inspires us to live as the Body of Christ in a broken and hurting world. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, July 2026.

Opening Prayer

Happy are we, O God, when our hearts are full, 
our ways are yours, our spirits enlivened by your call.  
Happy are we, O God, when our lives are guided by delight. 
We gather here today for just that, holy God.  
We gather to draw on all you would give us 
to be more fully yours.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Written by Rev. Kaji S. Douša and posted on the Worship Ways website of the United Church of Christ at https://www.ucc.org/worship-way/pentecost_21_october_25/.

Prayer of Confession

Almighty God,
you love us, but we have not loved you;
you call, but we have not listened.
We walk away from neighbors in need,
wrapped up in our own concerns.
We have gone along with evil,
with pride, quarreling, and divisiveness.

Holy God, help us to face up to ourselves,
so that, as you move toward us in mercy,
we may repent, turn to you, and receive mercy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Words of Assurance

Receive this good news:
God, who tests our hearts,
gives us abundant grace to
turn from sin and back to God
again and again and again.

In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.
Glory to God! Amen.

Adapted from a prayer of confession posted on the PCUSA website, http://www.pcusa.org/.

Re-posted on the re: Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2014/09/prayer-of-confession-as-you-have-loved.html.

Benediction

May God bless you with the courage and the wisdom to respond to division, confusion, injustice, and hardship as imitators of Christ and agents of divine love as we work for the well-being and flourishing of all God’s creation today and every day. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, July 2026.