Call to Worship

Come! Now is the time to worship!
We come to worship God who invites us.

When the Israelites worshiped the golden calf, God listened to Moses and chose to correct instead of destroy.
God persistently invites us to return to God.

Jesus tells a story of a wedding banquet where the guests dismissed the invitation and harmed the messengers, so the king invited people off the streets and welcomed all who received the invitation in earnest.
God persistently invites us to return to God.

Too often we turn from God’s ways, choosing our stiff-necked insistence that we know what is best instead of trusting God’s provision, love, and guidance.
When we turn away and our love fails, God continues to offer us opportunities to return to God and join in the celebration of God’s abundant love and life.

Come! Now is the time to worship!
We come to worship God who keeps inviting us for the long haul.

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

Prayer for the Day

Leader: Creator God, the world continues to chide, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” (Psalm 137:3)

People: But like our ancestors in the faith, we continue to ask, “How can we sing the LORD’S song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4)

Leader: Remind us, O God, that wherever we live, it is no longer foreign, but it is your land. Help us to honor this land as sacred.

People: Remind us that Zion’s songs are to be sung everywhere and all the time in our global community.

Leader: Gracious God, we do not truly honor and respect your creation as good stewards. Our failure to see that every human being is created in your own image…

People: Our refusal to celebrate the earth you have given us with sanctity and decorum…

Leader: Our inability to sing the songs of Zion, through our lips, hearts, minds, and actions,

People: Have caused pain, anger, suffering, racial injustice, poverty, war, and conflict in our communities, nation, and world.

Leader: Merciful God, hear our humble confession that we have sinned against you by refusing to sing these songs of Zion.

People: We confess that our silence-when colleagues and friends with different skin colors, accents, or cultures have been unfairly treated — has made the oppressor stronger and has harmed the oppressed. We take that responsibility for our weakness and failure.

Leader: Powerful God, grant us the grace, courage, and wisdom to be dynamic disciples of Jesus Christ, filled with the mighty power of the Holy Spirit…

People: So that we may sing with gusto the songs of Zion wherever we are. So that we live the words of our song through our acts of holy boldness. So that we might keep marching to Zion. So that we, as baptized Christians, fight against all kinds of racism, inequality, and injustice.

Leader: Make us new. And help us to remember and renew our baptismal covenant,

People: So we might become your beloved community, and the world may know. That we are committed to dismantling all kinds of -isms and oppressions that tear the fabric of humanity. We commit ourselves to singing a new song, to sing the songs of Zion always and everywhere in our land. Amen.

Written by Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, Bishop of The United Methodist Church, New England Annual Conference, posted on the General Commission on Race and Religion website, https://www.r2hub.org/library/racial-justice-prayers-of-liberation.

Prayer of Confession

Confession & Assurance
(based on Exodus 32: 1-14; Philippians 4: 1-9, Matthew 22: 1-14)

God pours blessings upon us, even as we choose to go our own way.
God is present and seeks to bring healing and wholeness to all.
Therefore,
I invite you to confess all that would separate you from God or one another.
Let us pray.

When we have fashioned idols of our own desire
or worshiped the temples of our own tradition,
Lord, have mercy.

Time for personal reflection and confession.

When have denied your invitation to the banquet of love and justice,
or failed to extend the invitation to others,
Christ, have mercy.

Time for personal reflection and confession.

When we have adorned ourselves with worry rather than joy
or failed to be gentle, knowing you are near,
Lord, have mercy.

Time for personal reflection and confession.

Assurance of Pardon

Praise be to God, our sins are forgiven.
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Praise God!

Written by Rev. Dr. Bob Gross, OCC, posted on the United Church of Christ website, https://www.ucc.org/worship-way/pentecost_19_october_11/. Reposted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2011/09/confession-of-sin-proper-23a.html.

Benediction

May you go knowing that God invites you today and every day to partake in the abundant life and love God has for you. So may we receive, honor, and celebrate the grace that softens our stubbornness and opens our hearts to share God’s love with one another. Amen.

Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, April 2023