Year A, Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany
Transfiguration Sunday, Last Sunday before Lent
Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany :: Green :: Exodus 24:12-18 :: Psalm 99 :: 2 Peter 1:16-21 :: Matthew 17:1-9
Call to Worship (Responsive)
Adapted from Psalm 99
L: The LORD is great in Zion, let the people praise God’s great and awesome name;
P: Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD.
L: Mighty God, lover of justice;
P: You have executed justice and righteousness.
L: Extol the LORD our God, worship at God’s footstool;
P: Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD.
L: Extol and worship the LORD our God;
P: For the LORD our God is holy.
Invocation:
Everlasting, Eternal, God of all creation. We have turned another page in our calendar, and found a calling from you to come and worship. We acknowledge, O God, that you have called us here. No one is here by accident. We thank you for bringing us together and we praise your holy name. Help us draw nearer to you in worship and instruction. Expand the depth of meaning in your word. Guide us in your precepts. Glory, Honor, and Praise be yours, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Stewardship Moment:
When Moses ascended the mountain with Joshua, to seek the word of God, no one knew how long he would be there. The account in Exodus puts Moses’ time away from the Israelites at 47 days. Moses waited six days, on the seventh he was called onto the mountain, and then he was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. On Wednesday we begin Lent, a season of forty days and forty nights, plus six Sundays, which will culminate in Easter. The same amount of time Moses was on the mountain receiving the commandments. During Moses’ season of preparation, we know the Israelites strayed from God, gave away their treasures, and built an idol.
What if we used Lent to intentionally give of our treasures to glorify God? What if Lent became the season we all strove to become tithers? What if this coming season of Lent afforded us the chance, as we gave up something, to take the cost of whatever we gave up, and added to our offerings? What then would this outpost of the Church of Jesus Christ be able to do for others? What then could our outreach efforts be?
Today as you bring your tithes and offerings, contemplate the season of Lent which is coming. Contemplate how the Israelites gave during the same amount of time. Contemplate how we as church might do it better.
Offertory Prayer:
Blessed are you, O God of Israel, who gave us the commandments, and led us out of the wilderness. We come before you bringing our gifts, filled with imagination of the good which might come of these gifts. Bless these offerings, O God, to the work of your hand. Use them in glory and majesty we pray.
Communion Meditation:
On the mountain, God said “This is my Son, the Beloved; with Him I am well pleased; listen to Him.” Advice worth taking. Jesus said many things after this moment, including his admonition to keep this secret until after He was raised. Jesus has been raised and it is okay to tell the story. It is also okay to really listen to and obey the words Jesus said regarding this table: “Do this in remembrance of me.”
All material copyright 2014, The Jubilee Fund, Inc., and appears on this site via a partnership agreement with the Center for Faith and Giving. Permission granted to reproduce and use any of the above for Churches and Congregations to the glory of God without requirement of compensation or notification.