Opening Prayer/Call to Worship
We gather to meet with God
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
To be aware of your presence in our day For you, Lord, are here now; your Spirit dwells within us
To bring you our worship
And offer you our praise
To be conscious that you walk beside us And we do not make the journey alone Father, Son and Holy Spirit, draw near to us As we draw near to you
Lord let our souls rise to meet you
As the day rises to meet the sun. Glory to The Father and to The Son and to The Holy Spirit As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Song: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, you created this world
and invited us to join you in caring for it. All too often, though, we confuse this invitation with ownership. We then treat your creation as a resource to be used for our needs and our profit.
We find ourselves reluctant to count the cost
of our failure to be your faithful stewards
until disaster strikes.
And so we pray, show us another way, O God. Show us another way.
Merciful God, the apostle Paul proclaims
peace, hope, and grace are your gifts to us. And yet there are times when grief overwhelms us, anxiety holds us captive, and suffering leaves us numb with despair.
We wonder how, even if you are at work in our lives,
and we long for you to show us another way, O God. Show us another way.
Pastor John leads a prayer for the nation
Words of Assurance
Friends, hear this great good news:
God continually shows us another way.
God’s mercy is as wide as the ocean.
God’s desire to forgive is as strong as the mighty wind.
So let your hearts receive the outpouring of God’s love
through the Holy Spirit.
Friends, may God’s peace be with you all. And also with you.
Living the Way of Jesus from 1 Corinthians 13
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not
dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always
trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Sermon Title: “The Next Step” Scripture Passage: Psalm 13
Psalm 13 [a] For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Song: It is Well (When Peace Like a River)
The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Invitation to Communion
Blessing
So now we leave this space of worship
And while so much of the road ahead is uncertain,
the path constantly changing,
we know some things that are as solid and sure
as the ground beneath our feet,
and the sky above our heads.
We know God is love.
We know Christ’s light endures.
We know the Holy Spirit this there,
found in the space between all things,
closer to us than our next breath,
binding us to each other,
until we meet we again,
Go in peace.
Liturgy Resources
Call to worship is written by Dot Woods
Confession and assurance written by Rev. Heather A. Moody
Blessing written by Rev. Nora Vedress,