July 12, 2020

Center for Faith and Giving

Lectionary Worship Resources

July 12, 2020

 

Lectionary Readings

Genesis 25:19-34

Psalm 119-105-112

Romans 8:1-11

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

 

Call to Worship (based on Psalm 119)

Leader: God, your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

People: Show us the way, O God.

Leader: Holy One, you accept our offerings of praise.

People: Show us the way, O God.

Leader:  You hold our lives in your hands day after day.

People: Show us the way, O God.

Leader: May our lives reflect your light that shines within us.

People: Let us give God all our praise and worship!

 

Opening Prayer

Loving God, we seek to do your will each and every day. Thank you for our words of life, which we come to hear again this morning. May those words take root in our hearts and bear fruit in our lives as we serve you, O God. Amen.

 

Moment for Stewardship

I once heard a farmer say, “I don’t grow crops. I grow soil.” What he meant was that the key to a bountiful harvest is not necessarily the seeds, but the soil in which they grow. I rich, cultivate soil will produce more abundantly than soil that is weak, neglected, thinned out and misused.

 

Our hearts are the soil in which God is sowing seeds – seeds of love, seeds of grace, seeds of generosity. But, like the different soils in the parable, our hearts may not be ready to receive what God has to offer. How can we be fertile soil for God’s bounty? By making sure we are sharing the fruits of our labor with those around us.

 

We are so blessed – even to a hundredfold! – by our generous God. Let us now share what we have been given for God’s work so that the soil in our hearts remains ready for all the blessings God has to offer us, and offer others through us. Let us collect our tithes and offerings.

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Growing God, you have planted your seeds of life within us. We offer to you this cornucopia of fruits which you have produced through us. Multiply them one hundredfold and use them to show grace and mercy to others. Amen.

 

Invitation to Communion

This table represents death. I know that’s a morbid thought, but it’s true. The body here has been broken. The blood here has been shed. Someone who didn’t know better might think this is a memorial service for someone dead rather than a mean shared with someone still alive.

 

That’s why Paul’s words are so important: “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead to sin, the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.” Christ died so that his spirit could radiate out from one place to all places, from a cross to a table, from the sorrow of death to the joy of resurrection. Yes, this table may represent death, but it signifies the new life Christ offers each and every one of us.

 

“If Christ is in you.” You are invited to take the bread and eat. You are invited to take the cup and drink. You are invited to take the Spirit of Christ into you as a reminder that you are reckoned as righteous in God’s eyes, not because of anything you’ve done, but because of what’s been done for you. The table is set and all are welcome. Let us share in communion together.