For November 16, 2014 -- Words from Isaiah

CALL TO WORSHIP

In a world of many voices...

we hear God calling us.

Seeking a place of calm, a time to hear a different voice,

we gather to worship together

And as we gather, we turn to our neighbours and greet each other with words and signs of peace...

OPENING PRAYER

God of life, we come to celebrate your presence.

here we still our lives, we pause to listen.

God of life, as we gather in this place,

move in and among us, speak to our hearts and minds.

God of hope, in this time this morning,

help us to sort out the conflicting voices in our world, help us to hear the hope and promise and peace in a world where so many talk about violence and despair and fear.

And then send us out,

to share the hope, to proclaim the promise, to work for peace and justice.

We pray in the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus the Christ, who taught his friends to pray saying...

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE

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

open us to your grace, fill us with your grace.

In the world there are many voices telling us of disaster or war present and to come.

It is easy to be filled with despair, to think there is no hope.

And yet there is another voice, your voice.

Reminding us of hope, calling us to trust, sharing a promise of peace.

God of Grace, through your grace,

tune our ears to your voice, help us remember that you continue to speak.

...time of silence...

God IS still speaking. God still sings the song of peace and justice, challenging us to hear through the background noise, inviting us to join in the melody and the harmony.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

COMMISSIONING:

Our time of worship ends,

our time of ministry and service continues.

Go now into the world,

to listen and to talk, to hear and to share.

Listening for God's voice among the many other voices,

sharing the love and hope of God with our neighbours

Go with God, who is still speaking to our hearts, minds and souls, words of love and power.

Keeping us strong and bold. Amen.

For November 9, 2014 -- What Does The Lord Require of Us?

CALL TO WORSHIP

Children of God gather in the presence of God!

Here we sit with friend and stranger, here we meet God anew.

As we gather we greet each other with the Peace of God, which passes all understanding.

OPENING PRAYER

God of life, God of Peace, God of Hope; we gather on this Remembrance Sunday,

praying for peace in a world riven by violence, praying for justice in a world torn apart by inequality.

We remember the millions who have killed and been killed for causes and nations,

and we echo the prayer “Never Again”.

In this time of worship,

reveal to us again a vision of a different way to live together, move us to a new attitude and a new set of priorities, create in us a burning passion for justice and righteousness.

And then send us back into the world,

to live the life of love in action, to feed and clothe and welcome, to be people of kindness, justice, and humility.

These things we pray in the name of Jesus, who showed us the path to the Kingdom, and who taught us to pray saying...

PRAYER FOR GOD'S GUIDANCE

God we join the voices of ages crying out:

What does the Lord require of us?

Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly with God

But what should we DO?

Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned

Oh. Well we can do that. At least we think so.

God calls us to live love, God calls us to share love, God calls us to build a world where justice rolls down like waters and peace like an ever-flowing stream.

We want to do that. But sometimes it is hard to know what to do.

And so God we ask:

Grant us the wisdom and humility to open our ears to hear your voice. Lead us in the ways of love. Guide us to make decisions that build justice and kindness in the world.

...time of silent prayer...

The God who spoke through Micah, the God we meet in Jesus of Nazareth, is guiding us always, prodding us to follow the path of wisdom, coaxing us to live and act in love for the greatest and the least of our neighbours.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

COMMISSIONING:

As our time of worship comes to a close,

we continue our living as people of faith.

Just outside our doors lies the mission field

the place where we share our hopes, our vision, where we pass on the love of God.

Go therefore, looking for the face of Christ in all you meet.

And may everyone we meet see the face and love of Christ in us.

For November 2, 2014 -- THe Healing of Naaman

CALL TO WORSHIP

Children of God! Gather in this place!

We come to worship with our brothers and sisters in faith.

Children of God! Come to break bread together!

We come to worship with friends new and old.

As we gather together to share the Word and the Meal we turn and greet friend and stranger with words and signs of peace

OPENING PRAYER

God of community, as we gather together,

open our hearts, our souls, our very beings to feel your presence.

God of community, as we break bread together,

remind us that those things which bring us together are more important than those which divide us.

God of community, we come as people who know brokenness in our lives,

remind us of the love which surrounds us, restoring wholeness, naming us as clean, bringing us back together in community.

God of community, when this time of worship is ended,

send us back out to share the Good News of the Christ who names us clean, the love which will never let us go.

This we pray in the name of Jesus, the one we call Christ. Amen.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND CLEANSING

God, you created the world and said “it is very good”.

So why are we so quick to find fault with each other and ourselves?

God you offer us cleansing in a way that is so simple we can hardly believe it.

So why do we have trouble hearing that we are clean and acceptable?

God for those times when we lose our way,

those times when our motives or our actions are less than pure, possibly even unclean.

we seek cleansing, we seek to reminded that we are accepted in the community,

even when we aren't sure it is possible.

God of life, God of Grace, God of Renewal,

for those times when we are less than we could be, for those times when we stray from the path of wisdom, for the times when we fail to live out the goodness inherent in our creation, forgive us

...time of silent prayer...

Jesus looked at the unclean in his world with pity and said “I do choose, be made clean”. Christ looks at us in our brokenness and offers us cleansing, renewal, and health. We are a forgiven, cleansed, and purified people.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

COMMISSIONING:

We have immersed ourselves in the river of God's Love.

We stand soaked in love, with the excess dripping off us.

We have eaten at God's table.

Fed in body and in soul, we go to share the Bread of Life with the world.

As those who have been reminded that in God's love we are made clean

We return to a world where too many are made to feel unclean, unaccepted, unlovable; called to remind them that they too are clean, accepted and loved.

We go in God's name, confident of God's love, living in God's grace.

Thanks be to God!

For October 26, 2015 -- Solomon Asks for Wisdom

CALL TO WORSHIP

As children of God, who strive to live in God's Way,

we gather together in this place.

As people seeking to follow the path of wisdom,

we gather together in this place.

As people trusting that God flows around and through us, giving us wisdom,

we gather together in this place.

As we gather, seeing God in friend and stranger, we start by exchanging words and signs of God's peace...

OPENING PRAYER

God of life, we open our hearts, our souls, our very selves, to you.

In this time of worship move within and around us we pray.

God of life, we seek to know, to understand the world around us.

In this time of worship open us to the wisdom that lies beyond knowledge and intellect.

God of life, in you we live, we move, we exist.

In this time of worship fill us with hope and love, refresh us to return to the world where we live and serve and have our ministries.

This we pray in the name of Jesus, who taught us about the Way of Wisdom, and who taught his friends to pray saying...

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10)

We stand in awe, asking, like Solomon, to be filled with wisdom.

...fools despise wisdom and instruction... (Proverbs 1:7)

We stand foolishly independent, unwilling to listen.

God we seek wisdom,

the knowledge of right from wrong, an understanding of how the world works.

God we seek wisdom,

but sometimes we equate facts and figures with wisdom, we think being smart and being wise are the same thing.

God we seek wisdom,

eyes to look deeper, ears to listen carefully, hearts open to the Spirit.

God of grace, God of glory, God of wisdom,

lead us on the path of wisdom, in grace help us grow wiser in your love and in your kingdom. Amen.

COMMISSIONING:

We have gathered, we have worshiped, we have opened ourselves to God's wisdom.

Now we go out into the world where there is a different wisdom.

Jesus called us to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves as we journey in the world (Matthew 10:16)

As we try to avoid being eaten as sheep living among wolves.

As you go to live and serve in the world, carry with you the wisdom of love, the wisdom of hope, the wisdom of God

We go to share the alternative wisdom, the love of God, the hope of the Kingdom.

And may God: Parent, Child and Spirit, Wisdom and Hope embodied, go with you.

All ways and always. Amen.

Christ Candle Responses for a series of Sunday with readings from the Prophets

Over the centuries, God has spoken through many prophets.

May the light of this candle remind us that God is still speaking to us and to the world.

For October 12, 2014 -- Thanksgiving Sunday

CALL TO WORSHIP

On this Thanksgiving weekend, we gather for worship.

To give thanks for the gifts of the land, the gifts of God.

On this Thanksgiving weekend, we gather for worship.

To celebrate God's presence, to open ourselves to God's wisdom.

On this Thanksgiving weekend, we gather for worship.

And as we gather we make our offering of fruits of the earth, to share with the community around us...

OPENING PRAYER

God, as we gather to worship,

remind us of the blessings in our lives, that we would be thankful.

God, as we gather for worship,

remind us of the ways you have acted in the past, that we would remember.

God, as we gather for worship,

open in us an attitude of thanksgiving, an awareness of blessed abundance.

God, when we leave this time of worship,

may our eyes see first the abundance in our lives, may our voices first share the words of thanksgiving.

These thing we pray in the name of Jesus, the Risen Christ, who taught his friends to pray saying...

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Children of God, what has God given you?

...time of silent thanksgiving...

Children of God, what good things have happened in your lives this year?

...time of silent thanksgiving...

Children of God, how has God been with you in the hard times of life?

...time of silent thanksgiving...

Children of God, for the Grace that flows freely from God,

we sing songs of praise and thanksgiving.

Children of God, as a thankful people,

we thank the God who has given us life, and that in abundance. Amen.

Christ Candle REsponses for Thanksgiving

LIGHTING OF THE CHRIST CANDLE

The candle flame reminds us of the fire of the Holy Spirit burning in our midst

As we gather in its light may we always remember to give thanks for the gifts God has given us.