Liturgy

Creator God as we enter this space remind us of our breath
Remind us of the beginning when you gave the breath of life to your beloved creation
Help us for a moment to stand here remember your breath that makes us alive today

Savior may we begin to release the problems and worries that follow us in the door
Can we unpack our burdens and leave them at your feet?
May we trust the weight we bear over to you, the one who bore it all

Holy Spirit Breath of Life fill the empty places with your presence
Help us to recognize the places we have shut off from you
Give us sweet release from our burdens and enable us to live unencumbered

We ask all this in the name of our triune God
Creator
Savior
And Breath of Life
Amen.

Community Confession

Merciful and loving Father,
We are surrounded by the
blessings you have given us.

Forgive us for thinking we have earned
them and for failing to give you thanks.

We are surrounded by opportunities
to share your grace.

Yet we are more concerned with sharing our
lives in ways that keep others at a distance.

Father, we have not lived
as you have asked us to live.

We confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed, by what we have
done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

We pray this, and ask your forgiveness,
In the name of the Father,
of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.

Sermon and Reflection

Sermon Podcast 7.29.18 – To the Ecotone of Authenticity

What if the gritty spaces we are socially and racially in are an invitation to grow a new culture?

Is diversity an end or a means to the end of a new cultural authenticity?

Benediction

God has been and is at work creating a Holy people
He has been at work in us
in this place
and for all time
The Kingdom of God is here, and we are invited to be a part of it

May we go from this place as vessels for good news
Walking humbly with one another
loving the hurt and broken hearted
and living at peace with God and one another
May we remind each other of the good news we carry

May God open our eyes to see his work in the places
and in the people that we least expect it
Give us eyes to see the light of Christ shining in the dark
Give us ears to hear His Word proclaimed
And give us hearts to love one another

Go forth and live in the good news of God’s Kingdom
Bearing His Image to a broken world

We give this blessing in the name of our God, three in one
Father
Son
And Holy Spirit
Amen.

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

[Photo by S Edwards @ Flickr]