October 27, 2019
Proper 25
Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving
Call to Worship (from Psalm 65)
One: With joyful voices, we come to praise God!
Many: For the strength which built mountains and
forgiveness for our transgressions,
One: we give thanks to the God of our salvation!
Many: The year is crowned with bounty, creation is clothed
with abundance.
One: Let’s sing together for joy.
Many: Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!
(or sing the Doxology, CH #46, 47 or 48, or try singing to
Soon and Very Soon (use this version of the text):
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Alleluia.
Praise God all creatures here below. Alleluia.
Praise God above, ye heavenly host.
Praise God, the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Opening Prayer (from Psalm 65)
We do praise you, God of awesome deeds.
We’re awed by your signs, and rejoice at the dawning of this new day. Thank you for raising us up to worship you in this place, gathered with others eager to honor you in word and deed.
With gratitude we celebrate, for you are our God, and we are your people.
Help us join with creation in offering you our praise! AMEN
Moment for Stewardship (from 2 Timothy 4:6-8)
In anticipation of All Saint’s Day (All Hallow’s Day), November 1, the scripture from 2 Timothy lifts up Paul’s thought at the end of his life.
What would it take for you, in this particular moment, to anticipate your end-of-life reflection with Paul: “I have fought the good fight.
I have finished the race.
I have kept the faith”?
What time, talent and treasure have you offered back to God in the midst of your life? How do those gifts demonstrate the ways you are keeping the faith into which you’re baptized?
If today were the day for you to finish the race of this life, would you rejoice in the ways you’ve “fought the good fight”?
Let us share our morning gifts, tithes, and offerings.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Life-giving God, we thank you for the life you have given each one of us. Help us reflect, this day and every day, with gratitude, for the amazing gift of life! Receive these symbols of our lives, transformed into checks, cash and coin, again be changed so that the Good News of your Love – made known most clearly in Jesus the Christ – may be shared in this community and around the globe. AMEN
Invitation to Communion
In 2 Timothy, we hear the words of an elder sharing with a younger colleague. In looking back, the writer takes time to lift up how alone he felt when “no one came to my support” (4:16). Yet even in the midst of feeling abandoned, he asserts “but the Lord stood by me and gave me strength.” (4:17).
Sometimes when we come to worship, we, too, feel deserted or abandoned, as though the world has turned its back. What a gift it is, especially in those moments, to recognize at this table that the Lord is standing by each one of us!
These simple gifts of a thimble-full of juice and a small bit of cracker or bread serve as multiple vitamins for each one of us. They give us strength! They remind us we do not face the world on our own. We are forever bound to God, who claims each of us as a beloved child.
So come to a Table where all are welcome. You are wanted here, and the table is spread with strength-giving elements. Come! Be encouraged! Drink in the presence of the Holy.