Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Hosea 11:1-11; Psalm 107:1-9, 43; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21

CALLS TO WORSHIP

Call to Worship #1
L: Give thanks and praise to the Lord!
P: For God has dealt mercifully with us!
L: Even when we turned our backs on God,
P: God forgave us and restored us to life.
L: Rejoice in God's abundant love.
P: We will continually praise God who heals and loves us. AMEN.

Call to Worship #2:
L: So many things draw us away from God.
P: We are tempted by trinkets and gadgets.
L: We place our interest in temporal things.
P: But Christ calls us to a higher level.
L: We are called to focus our lives on living as God would have us live.
P: We are called to be open to ways of service and compassion. AMEN.

Call to Worship #3:
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2031, "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise", offer the following call to worship as directed]
Choir: singing "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise" (before key change) through one time.
L: God, we bring to you our gift of praise, in gratitude for all your many blessings for us.
P: We offer our lives in service to you.
L: Help us to continually serve and praise you.
P: Guide our steps, place joy and song in our hearts as we celebrate your love.
ALL: singing "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise" through entirely.

Call to Worship #4:
L: Our lives are in the care of God.
P: God has given us abundance and hope.
L: This day we have come to praise and thank God for all that God has done for us.
P: We gather to celebrate God's love and to offer our lives in service.
L: Come, let us open our hearts to the Lord!
P: Let us rejoice in God's goodness and love. AMEN.

PRAYERS AND BENEDICTION

Opening Prayer:
Bountiful God, who gives to us all that we need to sustain our lives: Open our hearts today to hear your words of compassionate justice, that we may focus on the ways in which you intend us to live and be of service to you by serving the world. In Jesus' Name, we pray.AMEN.

Prayer of Confession:
Merciful God, we live in a society that focuses on gathering things. We collect, store, gather items, gadgets, even people. We focus our energies on our collections providing adequate room for them and yet we bar the door to the needs of others, of those who have little or nothing, of those for whom life has been a constant struggle. We are sorry for the ways in which we have failed you. Forgive us. Turn us around to look at the ways in which our wealth, both of substance and spirit, can be used for healing and hope. Enable us to be in ministry to those in need and to care for this world. For we ask this in Jesus' Name.AMEN.

Words of Assurance:
Children of God, blessings have been poured upon you so that you may use them to help others. God walks with you and guides your steps as you reach out in compassion, mercy and justice to all in need.AMEN.

Pastoral Prayer
Lord, we stand in line for tickets, books, and gadgets. We place our energy in gathering things that might be of monetary value at some later point and justify this action by stating that it is for our children's good. When we have gathered enough, we tend to relax and say to ourselves that it is all right for us to "eat, drink, and be merry". We have done our best. But have we? Have we given thought to how we have given our best in service to others? Have we spent so much time gathering and building bigger containers for our trinkets, that we have overlooked the good we could have done? We are indeed foolish people, Lord. We want everything, yet the most important things are not the trinkets but the good that is offered to others. We have gathered here this day, asking for your healing mercies for people and situations that impact our lives. We place our trust in your compassionate love. Help us to gather peace, joy, justice, and hope as gifts to be given abundantly to all. Bring us again to your mercy and care, for we ask this in Jesus' Name.AMEN.

Benediction:
Place your life in the hands of God. Go in peace and may the peace of God always be with you.AMEN.

ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

The traditional Color for this Sunday is Green.

[The artistic elements for this service are meant to be interactive. Stack the boxes with the words imprinted on them on the worship center, on the riser in front of the worship center and on the floor - make sure the first set of words (Gadgets, toys, etc.) are facing outward, have the boxes changed to the side containing the second set of words (Peace, Joy, etc.) These are the things which we gather to offer to God.]

Surface:
Place a riser about 6" shorter than the main level of the worship center, in front of the worship center on the right. Place a riser about 6" tall on the worship center on the upper left side.

Fabric:
Cover the worship center in green fabric. You may place about 4-6 yards of other fabric as a drape, running from the left upper side, diagonally across the worship center, to the floor on the right side of the worship center, making sure that the riser on the right side is covered with the fabric.

Candles:
Candles are not necessary for this setting

Flowers/Foliage:
Flowers and foliage are not necessary for this setting

Rocks/Wood:
Rocks and wood are not necessary for this setting.

Other:
Get 11 boxes, about 1-2 feet long, and 1 foot in height. On one side of each box write one of the following words: GADGETS, TOYS,GOLD, SILVER, STOCKS, TRINKETS, COLLECTIONS, HOUSES,CARS, ELECTRONICS, MEMORABILIA

On the opposite side write the following words: PEACE, JUSTICE, HOPE, HONOR, LOVE, FAITH, COMPASSION, SERVICE, WITNESS, FORGIVENESS, PRAISE.