For April 8, 2018 -- Easter 2 -- Jesus Appears to the Disciples

OPENING PRAYER

Source of Life, we gather together for worship,

hoping that here we will meet the Risen Christ.

Source of hope, we open ourselves in worship,

trusting that the Holy Spirit will blow through the room, filling us with peace.

God of New Life, in this time of worship,

empower us to go back into the wider world to share the Good News of Resurrection,

to proclaim the promise of forgiveness,

to encourage others with the peace of Christ.

We pray in the name of the Risen Christ, who encourages us to pray saying...

PRAYER OF DOUBT AND BELIEF

God of life that conquers death, in this Easter season,

we are challenged to see life where we expect to see death. It seems to good to be true.

God we believe, help our unbelief.

God of surprises, we hear wondrous stories and have trouble believing they could be true.

Like Thomas we want to see the evidence for ourselves, so we can judge for ourselves.

God we believe, help our unbelief.

God of wisdom, you give us an intellect and ask us to use it,

asking questions, challenging what we are told, seeking for answers

God we believe, help our unbelief.

Holy God who is Wholly Mystery, you ask us to be open to the mysterious and mystical,

help us embrace the mystery that is part of our lives, help us see that we do not have to understand everything, help us remember that there are ways of knowing that go beyond the scientific and logical.

God we believe, help our unbelief. Amen.

COMMISSIONING:

Appearing to his closest friends in an upper room,

the Risen Christ sent them out in the power of the Holy Spirit.

2000 years later we seek to encounter the Risen Christ,

who still sends us out to share the promise of New Life guided by the Holy Spirit.

Go with God who created us, who raised Jesus, who fills us with love and hope.

Hallelujah! Christ is Risen! Life Wins!

Good Friday 2018

CALL TO WORSHIP & OPENING PRAYER

The Word who was there in the beginning has called us together.

To sing, to pray, to tell the old story.

God of life and hope, move among us today,

as we tell the old story, as we remember the uncomfortable parts.

God of promise, God of the Kingdom, on this day we call Good,

remind us that even as the world falls apart you are still there

show us that you are present in trial and condemnation and execution

hold in our hearts the possibility of hope that lies beyond despair.

God of light shining through the shadows,

hold us in your love as we tell again of a cross on a hill.

This we pray in the name of the man from Nazareth, the one who lived with a great Passion for your Way, the one whose death is nigh, the one who taught his friends to pray saying...

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE

Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,

we admit that sometimes we join in the crowds that seek our best interests over the communal good. Have mercy on us as we work toward the goals of the kingdom.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,

we admit that we are tempted to choose the path of personal safety over being faithful to The Way.

Have mercy on us as we sort out what it is that we need.

Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,

we admit that we wander away from you and then wonder why we feel abandoned.

Grant us the peace that comes with knowing that we are not alone.

Light of the world, shining through the shadows, for those time we have helped to create the shadows,

forgive us. Through Grace break into the darkness with the light of hope and promise; the beacon that leads us back into relationship

..time of silence...

Even in the face of betrayal and rebellion, even in the face of death and denial, even in the face of fear and despair, God's Grace knows no bounds. We ARE forgiven, we ARE called back into relationship, we ARE set back on the path that leads to the Realm of God.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

SENDING OUT:

We have gathered, we have told he story again.

We have watched the Lamb of God hanging on a tree, we have seen him laid into the tomb.

Now we wait. Now we put our worship into vigil and wait to see it the light will overcome the darkness,

As we wait we trust in the God who loves the world so much to send a Son to save it.

As we wait we trust in the promise of life everlasting.

As we wait we promise to return to this place to see what might happen next.

While we wait, while our worship continues, while we sit in the darkness of vigil,

we remember that we are not alone,

God waits and watches with us. God will not leave us abandoned.

Thanks be to God. Amen

Christ Candle Responses for Good Friday (Narrative Lectionary Year of John)

LIGHTING THE CHRIST CANDLE

We light this candle in the name of the one who said “I am the light of the world”

Jesus, the Word-made-flesh, who calls us to live in the light of hope and life.

THE CANDLE IS EXTINGUISHED

The powers of the world have had their say. The Light of the World lies in a tomb. And so we blow out the candle

But we remember the promise “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it”. And so we wait with hope.

Call to Worship for the Easter Season

On a first day Creation began.
God spoke and there was light.
On this first day Creation begins again.
God speaks, the stone rolls, and the tomb is empty.
Christ is risen!
Alleluia! Christ is Risen indeed!
In this Easter season, we join the early church in celebrating Christ's resurrection
LINE TO GO WITH THE PASSAGE THAT WEEK
The light shines from the empty tomb.
Darkness tried but could extinguish the light.
As worship begins we greet our neighbours with words and signs of Christ's peace.

Annual Meeting Prayers for 2018

OPENING

God who calls us to be the church,

over the past year we have tried to live out that calling.

We have gathered to celebrate your presence

we have sung songs of faith: the old classics and the new tunes.

We have shared the old stories of faith,

hopefully both in ways that remind us of their familiarity and in ways that make us see them as if for the first time.

We have opened our hearts in prayer:

praying for ourselves, for those near to us and for brothers and sisters around the world,

sharing the hopes and joys, the anxieties and struggles of life

We have sought justice, we have tried to grow as people of The Way,

we have explored how you are active in our world and in our lives.

You have called us to be the church and we have tried to be the church.

God in whom we live and move and have our being,

over the past year you have shared our lives, as we have shared life with each other.

As part of that sharing we have welcomed these new members into the family of faith through baptism (read names)

we have also marked the death of members of this community, supporting their families in grief and change (read names).

In the new beginnings, and in the endings you are there, and we offer thanks.

God who calls us into the future,

as we meet and look back at the year that was may you celebrate with us,

as we meet and look forward into the years that will yet be

may you light the fires of hope and promise in our souls.

In the time to come push us to listen for your voice, whether it comes as a roar of thunder or in the stillness of silence.

God who calls us to be the church, as we meet, as we reflect, as we look forward,

remind us that we are your people, help us to live as people of the Kingdom.

We pray in the name of Jesus, the true head of the church, who teaches and lead us in the Way of Love.

Amen.

CLOSING

God in whom we love and move and have our being,

in this place today we have sung, we have prayed, we have eaten, we have met.

Now we go out to continue to live and serve.

As we go out we trust that you walk with us;

we pledge to live as those who serve,

we open ourselves to your transforming love.

May we always remember that we are not alone,

as we strive to be the church you have called us to be.

We pray in the name of Jesus, our teacher and guide, our rock and redeemer,

who we call Christ and Messiah.

Amen.