For April 6, 2014 -- Looking at "Lead us, Not into Temptation..."

 OPENING PRAYER

God of life, we gather in this Lenten season, this time of preparation.

We walk together the road that leads to the cross. And as we walk we reflect on the world.

A world where we are beset by choices, by people laying temptations in our path.

So we open ourselves to you God, that we would be gifted with wisdom and strength.

In this time of worship,

open our eyes, our hearts, our souls.

So that we would see our options clearly, so that we can go back out to live faithfully in the world.

For we are people of faith, seeking to follow The Way of Jesus. Amen.

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE

Lead us, not into temptation...

Because, if we are honest, we know that we find temptation without any help.

But deliver us from evil...

When our feet have taken us down the wrong path, help us find the way back to wisdom.

Lead us, not into temptation....

God of Grace, help us see temptations for what they are, and give us the strength to resist, the wisdom to make healthy choices.

But deliver us from evil...

God of redemption, when we have fallen to temptation, help us to learn from the experience so that NEXT time will be different.

...time of silent prayer...

Here is Good News shared by St. Paul:

I am convinced that neither death, nor life, ... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We are flawed, we make bad choices, but we are also forgiven, we are accepted, we are not separated from God.

Thanks be to God who is Gracious. Amen.

COMMISSIONING:

We have gathered, we have listened, we have prayed, we have eaten together

And now it is time to continue living and serving.

We live in a world where temptation lurks around every corner.

But we live in a world where God also lurks around every corner.

Go now, trusting that God is there to lead and to deliver,

God will strengthen us in the face of temptation,

For we are never separated from God.

And that is a good thing. Amen.

For March 30, 2014 -- Looking at "Forgive us our Trespasses as we Forgive..."

OPENING PRAYER

God of forgiveness, we gather together to worship,

seeking to be reminded of the gift and challenge of forgiveness

seeking to be made ready to hear words of truth,

seeking to be reconciled with friend, with enemy, with neighbour, with You.

God of forgiveness, we gather to worship,

trusting that as we celebrate Your presence in our lives we will be transformed by Your life in our hearts

God of forgiveness, we gather to worship,

praying that at the end of this time together we can go back into the world to share Your love, Your hope, Your promise. Amen.

COMMISSIONING

As our time of worship draws to a close,

we prepare to continue our ministry in the world.

As people who believe in truth,

we go out to tell and hear the hard truths of life.

As people who have been forgiven,

we go out to work at forgiving those with whom we live and work.

As people who believe in healing,

We go out to seek reconciliation that heals broken relationships.

As people who trust that we are not alone,

We go out trusting that God: Parent, Child and Spirit, is with us each step of life's road.

Amen

For March 23, 2014 -- A service looking at "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done..."

OPENING PRAYER

God of life, God of hope, God of change,

we gather here to worship, to celebrate being in your presence, to be filled with hope, to be inspired as to what could be.

God of guidance, God of challenge,

in our time of worship push us to think beyond our boxes, to be open to be conduits for Your love and hope.

God of challenge, God of hope, God of life,

when this time of worship is over lead us back into the world,

where we live, where we serve, where we pray,

waiting for Your Reign to break in to full reality. Amen.

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done,

Words we pray every week, saying them regularly.

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done,

Words that hold up hope, words that hold up a vision, words that inspire us.

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done,

Words we sometimes say without thinking, without contemplating what they might mean.

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done,

Words that challenge us to view the world with different eyes, that challenge us to put our own will and desires aside in place of God's.

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done,

God, when our own understanding of the world and our own wills get in the way, grant us the grace and the courage to mean those words.

Gracious God, work through our mis-understandings and our mis-steps. Push us all to that day when the Reign of God is experienced in full flower in our midst. So that we may honestly pray:

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

So be it.

Amen.

COMMISSIONING:

As worship ends, we continue with our ministry,

we go from this gathering into the world where we live and love and serve.

We go into the world looking for hints of the Kingdom's in-breaking,

pledging to shine light on them, to bring them further into sight, to celebrate them.

Go with God: the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Go with God who is with you always.

Thanks be to God, who leads us to the Kingdom. Amen

Christ Candle Responses for Lent

Our faith story opens with the words “Let there be light”. Our weekly worship begins with the lighting of a candle.

May this candle remind us of the light that cannot be overcome, no matter how dark the road may be.