Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving
Call to Worship inspired by Ps. 66
One: The Psalmist commands: “Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!”
Many: We’re gathered to sing God’s praise.
One: Come and see what God is doing;
Many: God brought us out from fire and water.
One: God brings people out to a spacious place,
Many: and we give God our gratitude!
(use CH#528, “Give Thanks” as a solo, choral response, or a congregational hymn)
Opening Prayer
O Lord, our Creator and Sustainer, you give us seasons to plant, to grow, to harvest, and to rest, and we are grateful. As the leaves turn and fall from the trees, help us embrace the changes we see as a natural part of life.
We come today with our ups and down, doubts and fears, trials and triumphs. We’re grateful you have created each one of us and molded us into your own image.
As we worship you, help us stand strong and sure when the winds blow. Remind us: through it all you are with us, every moment, every step, every time, every situation.
And hear our praise for you in every moment of our day. Amen.
adapted from Cynthia Bond Hopson, The Africana Worship Book for Year C, Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua, eds., (Discipleship Resources, 2008), 137.
Moment for Stewardship
Meister Eckhart said,
“If the only prayer you said was ‘thank you’, that would be enough.”
If we begin there, with a simple “thank you” to God, the rest will follow.
Thanks first.
Thanks always.
Thanks in everything.
One of the greatest gifts we can give to each other in Christian community is that of helping one another cultivate a spirit of gratitude. If we do this,
glad hearts and generous spirits will follow. Our spirits will be filled, along with our coffers, providing financial support for our congregation’s ministry.
After all, gratitude begets more gratitude, and the more gratitude you have the more abundance you see.
With thank-filled hearts, let us share our morning offerings, tithes and gifts.
Adapted from https://www.stewardshipoflife.org/2013/10/first-and-always-give-thanks/
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Holy Creator,
Like the healed leper, we come to give you our thanks!
You provide for us, abundant stores of more-than-we-need.
Now, receive the gifts we’ve brought today.
Help us transform them, modeling on the ways Jesus reached out. Encourage us to freely share what’s been given, so we might bless those we seek to serve: the hungry, the lost, the fear-filled neighbors who yearn for signs of help and hope. AMEN
Invitation to Communion
In 2nd Timothy, we hear “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved…a worker who has no need to be ashamed…”
With football season in full gear, I invite you to see this Table as a training table. This weekly meal is one way to gain capacity to present ourselves to God, without shame.
Come, all who are eager to present yourselves, as “starters”!
This is a meal of preparation: bread and cup to strengthen you for the challenges which lie ahead.
All are invited to share in these gifts, remembering Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2).