CALL TO WORSHIP
Seek the Lord and his strength.
We seek his presence continually.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His steadfast love endures forever.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.
He satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things.
You have called us this morning out of a troubled world to hear the good news of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. May this sabbath be to us as a rainbow, heralding the calm after a storm. By the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, make us to drink in the amazing complexity and diversity of your creation. Thus may we ourselves be a rainbow, reflecting the beauty of your love to those who are still waiting for the clouds to clear. May we be heralds of a new day in the Name of Jesus Christ your Son who taught us to pray.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Almighty God, loving Creator: we enter into your presence by the power of the Holy Spirit. We thank you for our blessings and we praise you for our joy. We cry out to you when we are discouraged or in pain, and we intercede for those who are in need:
We pray for help for the hungry and persecuted.
We pray for freedom for the oppressed, the imprisoned, and the addicted.
We ask for healing for the sick and peace for the dying.
We pray for hope for the hopeless and forgiveness for the guilty.
And finally we pray for those who come after us:
for clean air and water, for fertile soil, for just sharing and peace on earth.
Above all, we pray for the strength to trust you at all times—even when your ways seem hidden from us.
Hold us close and bless us; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, God forevermore. Amen.
INVITATION
No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, Christ calls you by name, and invites you to his table. So come: lay down your burdens, feel his love, and join the feast.
COMMUNION PRAYER
We thank you, gracious God, that you satisfy our hungry hearts and slake our thirst for righteousness. And here we offer to your our riches, our bread, and our wine. May you multiply our gifts that we may serve you in the church and in the world, may we discern the body of Christ within and around us, and may we be motivated by your love in all that we do. Unite us and nourish us through the power of your Spirit, we pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.
—inspired by German Reformed Liturgy
No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, Christ calls you by name, and invites you to his table. So come: lay down your burdens, feel his love, and join the feast.
COMMUNION PRAYER
We thank you, gracious God, that you satisfy our hungry hearts and slake our thirst for righteousness. And here we offer to your our riches, our bread, and our wine. May you multiply our gifts that we may serve you in the church and in the world, may we discern the body of Christ within and around us, and may we be motivated by your love in all that we do. Unite us and nourish us through the power of your Spirit, we pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.
