Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 Kings 5:1-14; Psalm 30; Galatians 6:(1-6) 7-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

CALLS TO WORSHIP

Call to Worship #1:
L: Praise be to God who has freed us from oppression!
P: Praise be to God who has healed our wounded souls!
L: Let our hearts rejoice at God’s redeeming love.
P: Let our voices raise in songs of thanksgiving for all that God is doing for us.
L: Come, let us worship the Lord with our whole hearts!
P: May our praise and voices resound with joy! AMEN.

Call to Worship #2:
L: In the midst of our troubles, we cry aloud to God.
P: God always hears our cries and responds to our needs.
L: God brings us up out of our trouble and sets us in a safe place.
P: God comforts and restores our souls.
L: The Lord has turned our mourning into dancing!
P: We have been clothed with joy and hope! AMEN.

Call to Worship #3:
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2210 “Joy Comes with the Dawn”, offer the following call to worship as directed.]

Soloist: singing refrain of “Joy Comes with the Dawn”
Congregation: singing verse 1 and following with refrain of “Joy Comes with the Dawn”

L: Even in the times of darkness, our God surrounds us with help and hope.
P: Our spirits and voices shall continually praise God!
L: Though our hearts ache and war is abounding in the world, God is with us.
P: Help us, O Lord, to see and feel your presence with us.

Soloist: singing refrain of “Joy Comes with the Dawn”
Congregation: singing verse 3 and following with refrain of “Joy Comes with the Dawn”

L: Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices, for God has called us here.
P: Let us offer our praise to God who heals and redeems our lives. AMEN.

Call to Worship #4:
L: We are called together this day to praise God.
P: We ask that God will put us in pathways to service to others.
L: The Lord will walk with us as we faithfully witness to Christ’s love.
P: Open our hearts, Lord, to receive your words and will.
L: Come, let us worship God!
P: Let us sing our praises to God our Redeemer and Healer. AMEN.

PRAYERS, LITANY/READING, BENEDICTION

Opening Prayer:
Gracious God, mend our brokenness and our sadness. Give us spirits of joy and enthusiasm for service to you by serving others. Lift us and place us on your pathways of peace and hope, that with our lives we will witness to your redeeming love. AMEN.

Prayer of Confession:
Merciful God, in all our celebration, fireworks, parades, and gatherings we have proclaimed liberty and freedom. Yet our hearts are chained by anger, doubt, terror, and fear. We live in those chains, often not knowing that there is really any other way. We have become accustomed to our imprisonment. Forgive us when we turn away from your freeing love. Help us to place our trust in you and serve you by working with others for peace and hope for all. These things we ask in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

Words of Assurance:
Reach out! Stretch your Spirits! God’s love has freed you from oppression and fear! You have been made whole in God’s eternal love. AMEN.

Pastoral Prayer:
Patient and Loving God, we have just come through a national holiday in which we have celebrated freedom and independence. We have heard the mighty strains of marching bands and seen the banners unfurled. Our hearts have been moved by the events. Yet you have called us to remember that it is you who gives true independence and hope in your healing and restoring love. The oppression of disease, poverty, terrorism pours into our lives and lays claim to our spirits. We feel as though we are again in bondage. Free us, O Lord. Open our hearts to receive your healing words of comfort and hope. Enable us to be people who offer compassion in the presence of sorrow; hope in the presence of desolation; light in the presence of darkness. Walk with us and strengthen us. Give us spirits of eagerness to serve and witness to your love. As we have brought names of those near and dear to us to this time of worship, asking your healing mercies and blessings, help us to remember that we stand in need of those blessings as well. Help us to receive the blessings and to use the gifts which we have been given to serve you in all that we say, think, and do. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.

Litany/Reading:
Reader 1: I am so lost. Even in crowds, I feel as though I am invisible, as though I am nothing. I don’t belong anywhere. No one knows my name. My name is Sorrow.
Voice: Come, child. Enter into God’s presence where your name is changed to Joy.

Reader 2: It doesn’t seem to matter how hard I try, life just keeps kicking me down. I lose more than I win. I feel as though I am in an uphill struggle and the slope is slippery. I don’t have a chance. My name is Despair.
Voice: Come, child. Enter into God’s presence where your name is changed to Hope.

Reader 3: I can sing the fervent songs with the best of them. I can shout praises to the skies, but truly I feel abandoned. I pray and the answer does not come. I participate in ministries to help others, but feel cut adrift in my own anguish. My name is Doubt.
Voice: Come, child. Enter into God’s presence where your name is changed to Faith.

Reader 4: Inner turmoil seems to be part of my life. On the outside, it looks as though everything is fine and dandy, but I know my inner self - and I am hurting and wounded. I am afraid that others will see that part of me and walk away, so I pretend to be OK. My name is Fear.
Voice: Come, child. Enter into God’s presence where your name is changed to Love.

Leader: For all who sorrow, for all who are in despair, for all who doubt, for all who fear, God is here with us today, offering healing love and transformation. Come, child, enter into God’s presence where your name for eternity is Beloved.

Benediction:
Lord, as we go from this place, surround us with your peace and love, that we make take healing and hope to others in your holy name. AMEN.

ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

The traditional color for this Sunday is Green.

Author's Note: I see hope and God’s transforming presence in the themes for this day. We are called to take courage in our proclamation and to not be brought down by our fears. The potted floral plants with many buds are symbolic of hope and new life. You may want to make a statement regarding this in your bulletin. When we spread God’s word through love and compassion, new life occurs.

Surface:
Place five risers on the worship center. The tallest of the risers, about 6” high, should be at the center back (a cross will be placed upon this riser). Others may be placed to the right and to the left, but do not place them in a row, “stagger” their placement to create a more informal look.

Fabric:
Cover the worship center with green fabric, so that it drapes to the floor.

Candles:
Place a 6-8” white pillar candle in front of the cross on the worship center.

Flowers/Foliage:
On each of the four remaining risers, place a potted plant that is beginning to bloom - it may have several blossoms open, but the effect of buds creates a sense that something more is coming - growth and hope continue.

Rocks/Wood:
I would not use rocks or wood in this setting.

Other:
Nothing other than what is listed above is necessary.