Liturgy

Come with your questions, come with your awe,
for the God who broods over the chaos
meets us in this place.

Come with your energy, come with your weariness,
for the God who breathes new life into the dust
meets us in this place.

Come with your sadness, come with your joy,
for the God who dared to become human
meets us in this place.

Living and faithful Spirit, the God in whom
we live and move and have our being,
the God who is made known in Christ Jesus,
bless us one and all as we wait on you this day.

Please remove from our minds and hearts whatever
impediments hinder worship or dampen our joy.
Increase within us that holy longing for closeness
which can open our lives to fuller delight
and to a deeper commitment.

May our hymns and prayers,
our searching thoughts,
and our hearing of the Scriptures,
be an exercise in humble and honest living.

By you, with you and for you,
may our lives publish your praise.
We ask and pray in the name
of the Father,
of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Community Confession

Great and Mighty God, it is good for us
to be humbled by your greatness.
We are nothing when compared to who you are.

Though we are weak and overwhelmed by our sins,
your grace enables us to become more like you.
In our sin and failure, have mercy on us, O God.

May we remember the Mighty One, Jesus Christ,
who stands between us and makes a way
for us to be redeemed.
His blood is our peace,
His righteousness our strength,
His condemnation our freedom,
His Spirit our power,
His Kingdom our heritage.

Lord, let us know your grace, feeling its strength.
By your grace,
overcome our evil natures,
set us apart from sin’s entrapments,
support us in life’s trials,

May our days be framed by character that you have molded,
and not by anxiety, hurry, and the pressure of life’s circumstances.

May we live with a clean conscience
and continual hunger for your righteousness.

Father, we ask that these things would happen
by the power of your Spirit and the blood of your Son,
and we pray in confidence to you,
our God in community, Holy in One.
Amen.

Reflection

What is the state of your heart? What is forming your heart already?
Where do you hesitate to engage your heart?
How can you attend to the formation of your heart?

Benediction

Christ asks if we love him.
If we say yes, he says; “Then care for one another.”

This is our opportunity to make a difference,
to live lovingly on the frontiers of his bright new world.

We can not promise to do it perfectly, but we can strive,
relying on his abundant wisdom to take our small love,
and fit it into the larger pattern of good for all creation.

May God bless the world in which you move,
and bless your home and your friends.

May God bless the eyes with which you see,
and bless the ears with which you listen.

May God bless the way you use your hands,
and bless the way you employ your tongues,
for our God has invited us into his story.

So go this week, proclaiming
the love of the Father,
of the Risen Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

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

[Photo by Jocelyn Catterson @ Flickr]