Call to Worship

Easter people, we gather to worship and to listen, to learn the sound, the feel, the cadence of the Shepherd’s voice.
We come seeking our Shepherd’s voice.

We gather to worship and to discern, to learn how to recognize our Shepherd’s voice amidst the chaos and noise of our lives.
We come seeking our Shepherd’s voice.

We gather to worship and to find shelter, to learn to trust our Shepherd’s voice to guide us to safety and provide for us in all things.
We come seeking our Shepherd’s voice.

Come, let us worship as we listen for the voice of Jesus who guides us, protects us, provides for us, and draws us together in community.
We come to worship as the family of Christ, a flock seeking and following our Shepherd’s voice. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, September 2025.

Prayer for the Day

Loving Shepherd,
you know our names;
you care for us.
When we face darkness and death,
journey beside us.
When we hunger for your love,
fill us with your presence.
When we are fearful,
feed us at your table.
May we dwell in the house of goodness and mercy
all the days of our lives. Amen.

Adapted from Mary Petrina Boyd and posted on Ministry Matters, http://www.ministrymatters.com/. Re-posted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2015/04/opening-prayer-psalm-23.html.

Prayer of Confession

God of wisdom,
we confess the foolishness of our ways,
and our failure to follow you in your paths of right relationships –
with you and with others.
We have gone astray; we feel lost.
We have upheld our own interests first, to the detriment of others.
We have failed to be generous with the poor
and abandoned our efforts to bring about justice.
We feel the stains of our sins, God;
have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.
Wash the sinfulness out of us
and help us to live more faithfully as your servants.
We seek your unfailing Lordship
and ask for your guiding hand on our lives.
You are the immortal, invisible One;
to you be honour and glory forever; amen.

Assurance of Pardon
Merciful and loving God,
we thank you for never losing hope for us.
When we are lost, you are there on the lookout for us,
bringing us back to you like the good shepherd that you are.
Your Word tells us of the joy in heaven that awaits us.
May this joy flow into our lives each day,
and be faithfully reflected into the world around us.
Thanks be to God, our Great Shepherd.

Posted on the Presbyterian Church in Canada website, http://presbyterian.ca/worship/. Re-posted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/08/confession-lost-and-found.html.

Benediction

Beloved, may God bless you with open hearts and minds so that together we may pay attention, discern, and follow your Shepherd’s voice, for that is the way that leads to abundant life on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, September 2025.