Liturgy

We come, our souls thirsting for God,
our spirits longing for acceptance.

We come to the One who supplies every need;
we come to the One who gives us living water.

We come, with prayers in our hearts,
and with words too painful to speak.

We come to the One who listens to our hearts,
who carries our suffering through eternity.

We come, with our brokenness and loss,
with our hope to be made whole.
We come to the One who knows all our secrets,
who brings peace to all of us – and to each of us.

We come in this season of Lent to remember and worship
in the name of the Father, of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Congregational Prayer

In this season of Lent, let us pray together as a community.

O God,
We believe this: there is something within us right now—
so small that we might not know it is there;
but it has the power to grow into something our world needs.

We trust that God is never done with us.
With God, there is always a new beginning,
a new possibility to make something different of ourselves,
and to make a difference in the lives of others.

O God, surprise us with a strength we did not know we had,
with creative possibilities we never dreamed of.

We will open ourselves to God’s quiet prompting.
We will trust that God nurtures within us
the gifts, talents, and character we need
to be God’s instrument of transformation and loving service.

We pray to our God in community, holy in One.
Amen.

Reflection

Who are the “others” in your life?
What does it look like to see the full image of God in them?

Benediction

From the outset of our Christian walk,
we should remember who we are
and that we are unworthy of the name of Christian,
except for what Christ has done for us.

In cleansing us from all our impurities,
God desires to humble us and often allows us
to go through a number of trials or difficulties to that end.

All things are possible to him who believes;
still more to him who hopes;
still more to him who loves;
and most of all to him who practices all three.
— Brother Lawrence

May God bless our pursuit of Him.

Go in peace and live the church.
See you throughout the week.

[Photo by Carl Oliver Ander @ Flickr]