May 8, 2022

Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving

Easter 4C

Acts 9:36-43

 Psalm 23

 Revelation 7:9-17

John 10:22-30

Call to Worship  (from Revelation 7)
One:  ALL, and that means ALL (here, on-line and in spirit),
                        come to worship God!
Many:  With the multitude from all ages, we cry out with a LOUD voice,
                      “Holy victory belongs to God and to the Lamb!” 
One:  Together, we are ready to worship the God who shelters us.
Many:  Together, we claim the Lamb as our shepherd.
One:  Together, we sing praise to God, who guides all to the water of life.
Many:  With grateful hearts, let us worship God.

Opening Prayer 

God of the ages, we offer you our praise this day, for the ways you continue to make your presence known to believers in every age. 
Thank you for the Lamb, who is our shepherd. 
Thank you for your tender care for each and for all. 
Thank you for welcoming those who come with joy, and those yearning for you to wipe away every tear from our eyes. 

We offer you our hearts, our hands and our voices.  AMEN 

Moment for Stewardship  (from Psalm 23)

Perhaps the most well-known of all 150 Psalms is one you may have memorized as a child.  The 23rd Psalm sometimes is a night-time prayer, sometimes recited at funerals, and often is sung in our own time of worship (CH 78 and 79; either of which could be sung during this service, by the congregation, as an offertory, or by the choir).

Have you ever thought about this familiar Psalm as a report of what God gives us?
Like a shepherd caring for sheep, God gives us
abundant nourishment, safe water, and leads us toward peace in life.
With God’s leading , we need not fear, knowing God is with us.
Our cup overflows!

We may not have everything we desire.  We may live with challenges and difficulties.  But this Psalm speaks to each of us, reminding us we’re followed by goodness and kindness, everywhere we go.

What better response could we make to God-the-Giver than to offer back our lives!  Offering our time, our abilities, and our finances (which can all work together), becomes a regular and life-long “thank you”.

Today, I invite you to be a grateful lamb, filled with all the gifts offered by the Shepherd…and eager to offer more than our words. 

Let us share our gifts, our tithes and our offerings!


Prayer of Thanksgiving

Shepherd God,
We offer these gifts to you, filled with gratitude for all you offer us.
Receive what we’ve presented, and inspire us to use these resources to help create a world in which each person knows abundance, safety, and security.
AMEN        

Invitation to Communion 
(adapted from http://lectionaryliturgies.blogspot.com/2019/05/liturgy-with-communion-for-may-12-2019.html)

We are, each and all, invited to come to this Table,
      which is prepared for all God’s children.
Bring your hearts, to be anointed with grace and hope.
Hold hands here with goodness and mercy as we prepare to share this meal.

For when we fear everything imaginable (and un-imaginable!),
   we know our Shepherd comes to meet us here.

When we turn back, anxious,
   the Shepherd reminds us goodness and mercy will ever follow us.

Anointed by God’s Spirit, may this meal feed us fully.
As we receive the broken bread
  may we go from this place to restore fractured relationships.
As we drink this cup, may we be filled with the ability to go out,
                  seeking the lost and lonely,
                 offering them through our presence
                   the Shepherd’s green pastures and still waters.
And when that Shepherd leads us into the land over Jordan,
may we join all our sisters and brothers
around the Table prepared for us,
where we will worship and praise God day and night!

Come, friends, to this feast, where we will share the Lord

(consider using CH 408, Come, Share the Lord, as your communion hymn)