Crossing Over

Call to Worship

The mighty one, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth (Psalm 50:1-2).

God’s glory fills the earth, but sometimes we, like Elisha, do not think we are ready to encounter glory.
And yet, God’s glory showed up anyway.

Sometimes we are like the disciples who witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration and wanted to cling to that one glorious moment.
And yet, God called them down from the mountain.

So, we gather today, some of us feeling ready and some of us feeling wholly unprepared, yet all are called together to worship and to be led by glory out into the world.
God, may we perceive your glory all around us, pointing us in the way you would have us go. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, August 2023.

Prayer for the Day

Mighty God, stay with us always, not only in our worship,
but as we share the risk and challenge of living our faith.
By your powerful Spirit, turn our fear to courage.
Your glory shines in the face of Christ;shine in our hearts and lives.
May your name be praise, glorious God! Amen.

Written by Ruth C. Duck, in Touch Holiness: Resources for Worship, Updated (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2012), 40.

For use in worship services, include the following notice:

Reprinted by permission of the publisher from Touch Holiness, ed. Ruth C. Duck and Maren C. Tirabassi. Copyright © 1990 by The Pilgrim Press.

Prayer of Confession

Take My Life: A Confession

(Soloist sings one line of “Take my Life” Frances R. Havergal, 1873)

Soloist: Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee.

ALL: We are yours, Lord, though we fight for control. Take our lives; make us yours.

Soloist: Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.

ALL: We are yours, Lord, though our busyness gets in the way. Take our days; make them yours.

Soloist: Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love.

ALL: We are yours, Lord, though we are not always in service. Take our hands; make them yours.

Soloist: Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for thee.

ALL: We are yours, Lord, even though our feet don’t always move with your Spirit. Take our feet; make them yours. Amen.

Written by Ciona D. Rouse, The Africana Worship Book, Year B (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2007), 151.

Benediction

Beloved, go now in the strength and power of what you have witnessed in this place knowing that the glory that leads us into transition also comforts us in our growing pains and sustains us as we take up our mantle and cross over to the other side. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, August 2023.