Liturgy

Divine Maker, meet us where we are today.
Meet us in our doubts and our questions.
Meet us in our worries and our fears.
Meet us in our messes and our friction.

Meet us in the darkest parts of ourselves –
the parts we rarely show, the parts we don’t
want to see. Be there, in those places.

Remind us of our inherent beauty and worth.
Remind us of the good work you are completing in us –
the good work that is our legacy and inheritance,
and may we have the faith to see its completion.

We begin our worship today
in the name of our Lord God,
in the heart of our teacher Jesus,
and in the calm of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.

Community Confession

Dear God, we want life to be a series of
simple choices between two clear options:
Black and white, light and dark, right and wrong.

Show us how to see your creation in a brilliant
spectrum of color. Be a prism through which
we can see the world beyond our binary thinking.

We often choose the easiest solutions and the
obvious answers. We get frustrated with your
divine timing and we want change to happen
instantly or not at all.

Teach us to slow down and embrace your
movement and timing. Guide us through the
in-between spaces of life, the spaces that don’t
always make sense to us while we’re in them.

Give us your holy perspective.
We pray in your name,
God, the Creator,
Christ, the Risen One,
and the Holy Spirit, the Breath of Life.
Amen.

Sermon and Reflection

Sermon Podcast 3.11.18 – Being Made Alive

What liminal space do we need to enter in order to experience growth and transformation?

How can we grow in our own richness of mercy?

Benediction

As we leave here, let us savor the simplicity
of our being, for it is all God asks of us.
Let us pause in our work this coming week and
notice how it reflects God’s action and presence.

Let us check in with each other, so that we
can better understand what God is doing
our community and in ourselves.

Let us be sharpened, not so sharp that we
cause friction or pain, but so that we are
useful for God’s work in this world.

And let us be surrounded by God’s perfect,
undying love and kindness, so that when trouble
hits, we know who we are and what we can endure.

Go forth then, praising the name of
God, the Author of our lives,
Jesus, the One who makes things right,
And the Holy Spirit, who breathes with us.
Amen.

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

[Photo by Veronika Gilková @ Flickr]