Third Sunday after Pentecost

COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 Samuel 8:4-20 (11:14-15); Psalm 138; 2 Corinthians 4:13–5:1; Mark 3:20-35

CALLS TO WORSHIP

Call to Worship #1:

L: This is the day that the Lord has made!
P: Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
L: This is a day of new beginnings!
P: This is a time for growing into new disciples for Jesus.
L: Come, let us prepare ourselves for worship
P: Let us be prepared for service to God. AMEN.

Call to Worship #2:

L: Welcome to worship today!
P: Thank you. We are glad to be here!
L: Open your eyes and your hearts to God’s spirit.
P: We open our lives to God’s word for us.
L: Rejoice! For God is with us this day!
P: Thanks be to God for God’s loving presence. AMEN.

Call to Worship #3:

[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2074, “Shout to the Lord”, offer the following call to worship as directed]

L: Rejoice! Proclaim God’s Presence!
P: Let our voices raise in joy! God is with us!
Choir: singing “Shout to the Lord” through one time.
L: Our savior Jesus is with us, offering us lessons in living and serving
P: Open our ears and our hearts to hear his words of encouragement.
L: Lift your voices in joyful praise.
P: All of our days we will praise and thank God for God’s love and mercy.
Choir: singing “Shout to the Lord” through two times.

Call to Worship #4:

L: In all times and in all places, God is with us.
P: God’s love flows over and around us, lifting us in hope.
L: Shout for joy!
P: Sing praises to God!
L: Get ready to become disciples for Jesus.
P: Lord, make us ready to serve you. AMEN.

Call to Worship #5:

L: In the times of trouble, when all seemed hopeless, I cried out to God.
P: And the Lord heard my pleas and answered me.
L: When I felt lost and alone, I looked for God.
P: And God found me and brought me home.
L: When my life was filled with joy and blessing, I danced and praised God.
P: And God danced and rejoiced with me. Thanks be to God. AMEN.

PRAYERS, READING, BENEDICTION

Opening Prayer:

Lord, we come this day, having seen the miracles of everyday creation in our world. We have enjoyed both the bright sunshine and the gentle rains. We have marveled over the beauty of flowers and the complexity of your creation. Make our hearts ready to receive your word for us, that we may go forth from this place ready to joyfully serve you all of our days. AMEN..

Prayer of Confession 1:

Patient Lord, you know how we are. We let the frustrations and worries of our lives overcome us. Our hearts seem to buckle under the weight of anger and confusion. And we turn away from you, sure that you can do nothing to alleviate our strife. How foolish we are! How faithless we are! Please forgive us. Help us to learn that you are actively involved in our lives, not as a “puppet master” but as a creative co-worker, seeking healing and hope not only for each of us, but for the whole world. Make us into disciples of peace and compassion; for we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN. 

Prayer of Confession 2: 

Lord, forgive us when we see your miracles all around us and still doubt your power, presence and love. Forgive us when we treat this world and each other with careless indifference or with malice. You, who have created the most wondrous things from the smallest of particles, can create in our hearts confidence and hope. From our lives you can fashion the most delightful miracles that can serve you through acts of mercy and kindness. Free us, Lord, to receive your blessings and , having received them, to find the numerous ways in which we can serve you. Heal our wounded hearts. Hear our cries. Come to us and bring us home. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.

Words of Assurance 1:

Let go of your fears and doubts. God pours God’s love on you, in you and through you to others. Be at peace. AMEN. 

Words of Assurance 2: 

Do not doubt God’s power and might! It is God who has created all that is! It is God who has called to your hearts and spirits. God is with you. Praise be to God. AMEN.

Pastoral Prayer:

Lord, in this season of growth, open our hearts to grow in your love. Help us to truly trust in your creative process in our lives. We look around and we see the beauty of your world, the blossoming flowers and plants, the growth of children, the joy of celebrations of graduation and marriage, of receiving new life. And we also see the sadness and sorrow that has invaded the world when systems of injustice and hatred lay claim to people’s lives. Prepare us, O Lord, to become ambassadors of peace and hope. Help us to place our trust in you, so that when we are serving others, they may come to know your abiding love and power. Give us courage and great joy as we serve you. AMEN.

Litany 

L: When our hearts are grieving, crying out in distress 

P: The Lord hears our cries. 

L: When our spirits are wandering, lost and afraid 

P: The Lord seeks and finds us. 

L: When our days seem filled with anger and hopelessness 

P: The Lord brings comfort and peace to us. 

L: When we don’t think we have anything to offer to God. 

P: God produces miracles in our lives that can serve others. 

L: When we need to know that God is with us. 

P: God is present in all the earth. 

L: For all the ways in which God blesses our lives, 

P: We give thanks and praise! 

L: For the people who have taught and guided us, who have shown us the right paths of God, 

P: We give thanks and praise! 

L: For the wonderful things which we have seen and the things yet to come, 

P: We give thanks and praise to God! AMEN. 

Benediction:

Go now in peace, knowing the miracles that God has produced in your life. Be assured that there are still more miracles to come. Bear witness to God’s love to all you meet. In the name of the Creator, the Holy One who resides with you always, go in peace. AMEN.