Liturgy
Blessed community, receive the goodness of today.
Receive it exactly for what it is just as our
Creator receives us for all we are.
This day, like you, is a shining testament
of His doing and unmistakable proof of His being.
Receive this truth in faith and come
into the innate goodness of life.
We pray in the name
of the Almighty,
of the Son, the light of all life,
and the Holy Spirit, our true essence.
Amen.
(Gabriella Charissa Cruz)
Scripture Reading
We invite you to hear from a reading in John 3:5-8.
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter
the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’
8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you
do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone
who is born of the Spirit.”
The Good News of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.
Sermon and Reflection
Sermon Podcast 9.13.20 – Breeze of the Spirit
Where have you seen the delightful breeze of God’s Spirit in your life?
What might it look light to pause and listen for the breeze of the Spirit this week?
Benediction
God of Yesterday,
We knew you then:
Your promises; your words;
Your walking among us.
But yesterday is gone.
And so, today, we are in need of change.
Change and change us.
Help us see life now
Not through yesterday’s stories
But through today’s.
God of Endings and Changes,
What we thought would not end has ended.
And we find ourselves here
Wondering where we are
And how we got here
And where to go from here.
Be with us, here, in this time of change.
Help us place our feet on this ground,
Help us lick our wounds,
Help us look up and around.
Help us believe the story of today.
Because you know all about endings and changes.
And you are not afraid.
We want to change toward the better.
Change with us because you know you want to.
In the name of our Loving Creator,
Our Savior, Jesus the Christ,
And the Holy Spirit, our Breath of Free Life.
Amen.
(Pádraig Ó Tuama)
[Photo by Olga Wysopal @ Flickr]