Holy is our God.
Great is God’s name.
You have come to something that cannot be touched:
a blazing fire,
darkness and gloom,
a tempest,
the sound of a trumpet,
a voice that shakes the foundations of the world.
But you have come to the Mountain to worship the Living God,
to receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
Let us give this God a worthy sacrifice.
Let us worship God with reverence and awe, for indeed our God is a consuming fire.
From a single seed, nurtured in love, our lives begin.
Lord, abide in me as I abide in you.
Our lives grow, this way and that, branching out in many directions.
Lord, dwell in me as I dwell in you.
It is easy to become overwhelmed in the complexity of choices, projects, commitments, committees, organizations...
Lord, remain in me as I remain in you.
Lord, prune and shape us that our priorities may reflect your will.
Lord, live in me as I live in you.
Continue reading "Call to Worship | Easter 5, Year B | John 15:4" »
*Greeting
Sometimes in the darkest hour we find
we have been wrestling with angels.
Sometimes when we meet the Holy
we walk away with a limp.
Sometimes when we ask for a blessing
we get a new identity.
Come to worship
so we may be changed.
Unison Prayer of Confession
O Wrestling God, we are sometimes afraid to confront you. We think we cannot ask you for what we want, we are afraid you will be offended if we grab onto you and don’t let go. We are afraid of what you will do, and what you will not do. Forgive us for our reticence, our fears. Give us the courage to seek your face, to hold on, to ask for what we need. Then give us the courage to go on with the blessing we receive, even if it is not what we expected. With thanks for the ways we encounter you we pray, Amen.
Silent Prayer
Words of Assurance
God’s love is steadfast. God will not let us go. Find peace in this persistence. Amen.
by Rev. Michelle M. Hargrave, 7.08
What have we to do with a king?
We follow Jesus, king of the Jews.
We know where we have to go.
He will guide our feet in the path of peace.
We can find our own way.
He has gone before us.
We can face whatever comes.
He has conquered death.
Then let us worship God, our Creator,
and Jesus, the one who has gone before
the one who leads the way.
I lift up my eyes looking for hope. Who will send help?
My help comes from the Lord, who made the stars above and the ground below.
The Lord does not sleep, but provides shade from the burning sun, and shelter from the stormy blast.
The Lord will guard us as we go out and as we come in.
Thanks be to God.
Thanks be to God.
A star shines in the heavens!
On earth God breaks forth in unexpected ways.
Those who look up will see the star of hope and promise.
But there are those who cannot be bothered to dream and star gaze.
They will occupy themselves with things that are "practical" and "important" with their eyes fixed on closer horizons.
They keep their world small and manageable.
But the wise stare heavenward to read signs in the stars in a world of ever expanding horizons.
Practical folk call them foolish dreamers, but the scoffers will never find treasure hidden in a stable.
Tell the timid to take heart.
The Lord our God will come!
Tell the poor to take heart.
The Lord our God will come!
Tell the orphan to take heart.
The Lord our God will come!
Tell the grieving widow to take heart.
The Lord our God will come!
Warn the tyrant to keep watch.
The Lord our God will come!
Warn the unjust to keep watch.
The Lord our God will come!
Warn the haughty to keep watch.
The Lord our God will come!
Warn the oppressor to keep watch.
The Lord our God will come!
In Advent we are in the Waiting Room of the Christian Year.
We wait in anticipation. We wait with expectation. We wait with anxiety.
In our waiting, we desire something to do, something to take our mind off the waiting.
We pace. We doodle. We read old magazines. We want the waiting to be over.
But the message of Advent is that waiting is a holy thing.
Lord, teach us to wait well, in anticipation of your kingdom.
Lawrence Lee
Continue reading ""The Waiting Room" | Call to Worship | Advent" »
We are called to praise God on the mountain top!
We want to see you more clearly, Lord.
We are called to serve others in the valley.
We want to see you more clearly, Lord.
Whether on the mountain top or in the valley,
God, lead us.
Lawrence Lee
We dream an ancient dream...
The world at peace. The world made whole.
We pray an old, old prayer...
The world at peace. The world made whole.
We join together to proclaim the vision...
The world at peace. The world made whole.
We act in our community to make it so...
The world at peace. The world made whole.
Lawrence Lee
Continue reading "Call to Worship | Revelation 21-22 | Peace" »
Christ was dead, buried, entombed, sealed, and consigned to the rubbish heap of history.
But death could not hold him.
We worship a Christ who is risen and alive, victorious over the powers who would try to bury him deep.
Now death cannot hold us.
Come, then! Let us sing praises to our God!
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Lawrence Lee
Why do we gather?
We gather to praise God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We worship God the Father
creator of heaven and earth.
We worship God the Son
who was made flesh and walked among us.
We worship God the Holy Spirit
who moves in and among us and makes us one.
Holy and blessed Trinity -
God above us, God beside us, God within us, hear our praise.
Lawrence Lee
Lord, we have stuff.
Mountains of stuff.
Stuff with knobs and lights, stuff with wheels and engines, stuff with creases and cracks, stuff with doors and hallways, stuff with cushions and armrests, stuff of wood, stuff of plastic, stuff of paper, space-age stuff, state-of-the-art stuff, old-fashioned stuff, fashionable stuff, stuff that leaks and stuff that holds water, wearable stuff and worn-out stuff, stuff that we possess and stuff that possesses us.
God, we know this stuff does not save.
Give us the stuff of life. That which does not perish or grow rusty or moth-eaten.
For it is in the stuff that we treasure that we find our hearts.
Let us invest in that which is eternal...
That our hearts may be one with God.
Lawrence Lee
Continue reading ""Lord, we have stuff." | Call to Worship | Luke 12:13-21" »
The Lord is our Shepherd.
Which would make us the sheep.
And if that is so, the Lord has his hands full. Sheep, contrary to popular notions, are not stupid. They are quite bright, and social, and gregarious. Sheep actually need to be a part of a herd. They are prone to go with the crowd. When one senses danger and bolts, they all bolt together, whether it is wise or not. And sheep are fearful by nature. Anything out of their daily routine brings stress to sheep.
Lord help us.
Lawrence Lee
Continue reading "Call to Worship | Matthew 25:31-46, Psalm 23 | Shepherd" »
The path we tread is not our own.
There were saints who trod on before us.
We remember today the saints - the trail-blazers and risk-takers.
We give thanks for their witness, their strength, their courage.
The path we tread is not our own.
We hold this journey in trust for future generations.
What will they say of us?
Lord, give us strength, give us courage, may our witness be to your love.
Lawrence Lee
We come seeking a lost homeland.
We search for an uncharted shore.
We journey toward a common destination.
We dream of courtyards and landscapes we have never waking seen.
But we know where we are going, though the way is difficult.
We are looking for a land called "Peace."
Lawrence Lee
Continue reading "Call to Worship | Isaiah 2:1-5 | Advent | Peace" »
We know of the power of water...
The power of life and the power of death.
Scientists send probes into the heavens searching moons and planets for water, for water means life.
Yet here on earth tens of thousands have died and millions are displaced by the waters. To them water has become death.
In the waters of baptism we see these symbols joined, of life and death and new birth.
The voice of the Lord is upon the water. The God of glory thunders, the Lord upon many waters.
Lawrence Lee
We enter into the darkest month of the year.
We are reminded of times when it was hard to find the light.
In those darkest times a single light can seem like a blazing fire.
We come to bear witness to the light.
Lawrence Lee
We came here today because our mothers made us.
We came here today because we were lonely.
We came here today because we love the people here.
We came here today because we have a spiritual itch that needs scratching.
We came here today out of habit.
We came here today because it is our duty.
We came here today to sing.
We came here today to see what that zany pastor will do next.
We came here today because we are in need of healing.
We came here today to learn something new.
We came here today because this is the latest worship service we could find and we like to sleep in.
We came here today to pray.
Whatever the path that brought you here, we are here now together, so let us praise the God of circumstances beyond our control and revel in the moment of being here.
Lawrence Lee
We don't like to look foolish.
We want to project the image that we are in control, we know what's going on, we are informed, confident, unfazed by the twists and turns of life.
But deep inside we fear that our masks of confidence may slip and people will see what we truly are.
We are not always certain. We are not as together as we like to appear. We are not in control.
In this space, in this hour, let us turn our hearts toward the God of all time and space, confessing who we are, and who we aren't.
Lawrence Lee
Continue reading "Call to Worship | 1 Corinthians 1:18-31" »
What does the Lord require of you?
It is Lent again, and we feel we ought to do something.
What does the Lord require of you?
Perhaps I should give up eating meat, or watching television.
What does the Lord require of you?
Maybe I should exercise more, or spend more time with my family.
What does the Lord require of you?
I know, I'll start reading the Bible every day.
Listen! Rend your hearts and not your clothing.
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart God will not despise.
Lawrence Lee
Continue reading "Call to Worship | Joel 2:13, Psalm 51:17 | Lent" »
God calls us beyond the life of simple comfort.
God calls us to sacrifice and uncertainty.
What is the cost of discipleship? What is the cost of following God?
Everything we have.
Then what do we stand to gain?
Everything of worth.
Lawrence Lee
We come here to celebrate potential!
Our potential is like seeds that are planted in the ground.
The sower knows that not all seeds grow.
Some seeds do not find good soil.
Some seeds are trampled on the road.
Some seeds are eaten by birds.
But the success of the harvest does not depend on all the seeds, but that some of the seeds find good soil and are allowed to grow.
May we be that soil in which the God's will is allowed to flourish.
Lawrence Lee
Continue reading "Call to Worship | Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23" »
We come today to give thanks to God for the Saints.
For the Saints who tied our shoes and wiped our noses.
For the Saints who taught us to share even when we didn't feel like it.
For the Saints who taught us to wonder at the beauty of a starry night.
For the Saints who expected more of us than we did of ourselves.
For the Saints who sacrificed for our benefit.
For the Saints who pushed us to live out our ideals.
For the Saints who listened when no one else would.
For the Saints who praise God still on another shore.
Praise God for all the Saints!
Lawrence Lee
We come to give you our thanks, God of all creation.
Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?
Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
Lawrence Lee
Continue reading "Call to Worship | Thanksgiving | 1 Chronicles 29:12-14" »