For Sunday, October 30, 2016
Year C, Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost :: Green ::
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 :: Psalm 119:137-144 :: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12 :: Luke 19:1-10
October 30 is a General Assembly Promotion Sunday for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). To access the General Assembly promotion resources, please go to
http://ga.disciples.org/promotion/
Call to Worship (Responsive)
Adapted from Psalm 119
L: You are righteous, O LORD, and your judgments are right.
P: You have appointed your decrees in righteousness and faithfulness.
L: My zeal consumes me because my foes forget your words.
P: Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it.
L: I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts.
P: Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and your law is the truth.
L: Trouble and anguish have come upon me,
but your commandments are my delight.
P: Your decrees are righteous forever;
give me understanding that I may live.
Invocation:
We have come into your presence O God, seeking your care. We come seeking your loving correction. We come seeking your presence as we strive to do your will. Wash us clean, O God, and remove the evil of our doings. Teach us to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Though our sins are like scarlet, wash us like snow. For we offer our prayers in love and devotion to Jesus Christ, Our Lord.
Stewardship Moment:
When Zacchaeus encountered Jesus, and the sin of his ways, he repented. He also committed to give to the poor. Faith transformations like his have a way of making us mortals reorder our priorities, especially when it comes to our financial lives. Is Jesus Christ making a difference in your life? Have you experienced amazing grace and acceptance from God? Does your commitment to supporting the work of Christ and Christ’s church show it?
Offertory Prayer:
We bring our gifts, O God, thankful for your intervention in our lives. While we know our lives and all that is in them is a gift from you, we confess we sometimes take it for granted. Accept our gifts as signs of our love for you, and the difference you have made in our lives. For we offer them in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Communion Meditation:
Have you read Paul’s greeting to the Thessalonians in his second letter? Second Thessalonians, One, Three says “We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing.”
When we come to this table, no matter what else is going on, when we come to this table, we are a Thessalonica kind of church. Here we break the bread and share with one another with love. Here we grow in our faith. Here, at this table, we are worthy of praise and thanksgiving for our love for Christ and one another.
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Scripture Quotations from the New Revised Standard Version. Online Scripture links a service of the Jean and Alexander Heard Divinity Library, of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN