January 20, 2019
Center for Faith and Giving worship resources
Psalm 36:5-10
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11
Call to Worship (from Psalm 36)
One:Gathered to worship, we celebrate God’s love
which extends to the heavens!
Many: How precious is that love! How deep, how broad, how high!
One: God provides, for each and for all, the fountain of life.
Many: In God’s light, we see the light of salvation.
All: So let us worship the Lord our God!
Opening Prayer
God of all good gifts, we rejoice in the love you pour out over your creation.
We delight in this time of being bound together in your love.
As we sing and pray, hear Good News, share in bread and cup and offer our gifts, may your presence be made known to us in life-giving and life-sustaining ways. AMEN
Stewardship Moment
What joy! A wedding, with a feast. Just sharing the words evokes happy memories for many.
The story of this wedding, found only in John’s Gospel, notes this is the first of Jesus’ signs, which reveals his glory. Jesus freely offers what he can. In this case, he makes it possible for the wedding feast to continue, lubricated with plenty of good wine (smile).
For Disciples of Christ, one way of freely offering what we can is a reversal with our Week of Compassion “Wine to share, water for all” outreach.
For all, this is a moment when we are freely able to share our gifts. What are you able to offer?
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Good and gracious God, in moments of celebration and in times of crisis, you continue to freely offer your love, and your Spirit. Thank you for this opportunity for us to return a portion of what we have received. We ask you to use this offering to build up and strengthen this congregation and all who are struggling.
Like water turned to wine, may these gifts be transformed into acts of justice and mercy,
AMEN
Invitation to Communion
We often are solemn when we come to this table, recognizing here the reality of Jesus’ death on a cross and his desire to draw us closer to him and to his life of love.
But today, let’s share the joy of the wedding feast! Call to mind the happiest of weddings you can remember. (take a moment to invite folks to share a quick story with one other person, highlighting the wedding joy!)
Imagine this is the table for the feast, and we are all invited guests, eager to share in the festivities!
Find here the best of food and the finest of drink. Rejoice! It’s a rehearsal here for the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9)