For Sunday June 19, 2016
Year C, Fifth Sunday AfterPentecost
Fifth Sunday After Pentecost ::Green ::
I Kings 19:1-15a :: Psalm 42 and 43 :: Galatians 3:23-29 :: Luke 8:26-39
Call to Worship(Responsive)
Adapted from Psalm 43
L: Why are we cast down?
P: Why are our soulsdisquieted within us?
L: Hope in God;
P: Our souls shall againpraise our help and our God.
L: O God, send out your light andyour truth;
P: Let them lead us, O God.
L: Then we shall go to the altar ofGod with exceeding joy;
P: And we will praise you, OGod!
Invocation:
We come O God in wonder, seeking tohear your voice. We wonder from where it will come. Shall we hearyour voice in the roar of a mighty wind? Will you come with the fury of anearthquake? Will you come by fire which consumes not? Or like youdid with Elijah at Mt. Horeb, will you come in the moments of silence? However your voice may be heard, O God, we pray that we will be blessed inhearing your voice today. Speak to us in the songs of praise, guide usthrough your word, and help us with the words of our leaders. Speak, OGod, for we your faithful are listening.
Stewardship Invitation:
In the latter part of Luke chaptereight, Jesus is one busy Savior! He calms a storm; heals a bleedingwoman; restores a girl to life; and casts out a legion of demons from one verytroubled man in the Gerasenes. As a church, we would consider it a banner dayif we achieved just one of those things. Yet every day, EVERY day,through the empowerment of your tithes and offerings, we do offer healingprayers, we help people recover from storms and find calm in their lives, wehelp people recover from addictions and disease. In short, we are sourcesof God’s miracles. Let us now receive the tithes and offerings which helpmake miracles happen.
Offertory Prayer:
Almighty, wonderful, compassionate,and gracious God; we come bringing our tithes and offerings, and we do so witha prayer. Use these gifts, O God, to make miracles happen: to providehealing prayers, calming relief, and recovery. Bless these gifts and allwho have brought them to do your work. Amen.
Communion Meditation:
Welcome to your communiontable. Did that surprise you? I know that you know that wegenerally refer to the table as Christ’s table; and we should. But Paulreminds us that “all who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves withChrist . . . and if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,heirs according to the promise.” So as heirs of the promise, and ones whoare clothed in Christ, it is no longer simply Christ’s table, but will one daybe yours. So welcome to your table, where the living God awaits.
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Scripture Quotations from the NewRevised Standard Version. Online Scripture links a service of the Jean andAlexander Heard Divinity Library, of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN