Worship Resources for the Center for Faith and Giving
Pentecost +20
World Communion Sunday
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Mark 10:2-16
Call to Worship (inspired by Psalm 26)
One: Today we gather to praise God for the steadfast love which
helps us walk faithfully.
Many: We eagerly rejoice and come to bless the Lord.
One: This is the day to sing a song of thanksgiving;
to tell of God’s wondrous deeds!
Many: We trust God to redeem us.
One: Our faith leads us to bless God today and every day,
Many: even as we celebrate our covenant commitment
to be followers of Jesus, the Christ.
Opening Prayer
Holy God,
We do celebrate today, grateful for the opportunity we have to worship you in word, in song, and through connection at the Table. What a gift it is to gather with others, to offer our praise, and to receive the gifts of bread and cup which bind us together to you and to your beloved Son, whom we claim as Jesus, the Christ!
In this time of worship, fill us with joy as we offer you the best we have: our love, our time, our talents and our finances.
May we tap into our “little child” identity, so our enthusiasm bubbles over as we worship. AMEN
Moment for Stewardship (inspired by Mark 10:13-16)
Mark’s Gospel records the time children came, yearning for Jesus to touch them. Do you remember what happened? The disciples (imagine them as the security crew) spoke sternly to the children. I can imagine them saying, “Go away; Jesus has more important things to do than for you to interrupt!”
But Jesus stopped that! He taught the disciples again about God’s Realm: “receive the Kin-dom of God as a little child”, assuring them “you won’t be coming in if you try to be so pompous and pious.”
Instead, Jesus picked up the children,
reached out to the children,
blessed the children.
Jesus gave what was the best of what Jesus could do.
That’s what I invite YOU to do, as we receive our morning offering.
Come as a little child. Bring your energy and enthusiasm.
Bring your desire to be with Jesus
along with your checks, coins, folding cash or computer contributions.
Let us receive our morning offering.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Ever-giving God,
You gave Jesus to the world, holding nothing back.
As he lived, Jesus gave to the world, holding nothing back.
Thank you for this opportunity for us to give.
Thank you for all who have given what they can.
Now as we present this offering, challenge us to stretch out of our comfort zone as we plan ahead to ever-more follow Jesus in the ways we give what we can. AMEN
Invitation to Communion
Each time we come to this table, we recognize Jesus’ teaching about the Realm of God not only in words, but with signs and symbols.
Especially on this World Communion Sunday, we recognize the table does extend globally, from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth. From Austin to Yuma, from Austria to Zambia, from Zanzibar right back to Alberta!
All are welcome! Whether we share our traditional elements or breads we brought to celebrate with our siblings around the world, whether the cup is filled with Welch’s Grape or milk and honey, these gifts are for the people of God, gathered in this sanctuary and online. Symbols like these are for the people of God gathered in house churches, in magnificent cathedrals, in simple sanctuaries and in thousands of homes connected by the internet.
These tiny gifts whet our appetite for the great gathering of God’s beloveds from across time and space.
(if you have images from around the world, those graphics would fit here!)
The images which flash (on our screens/in our mind’s eye) are images of God’s Realm!
May this feast help energize all followers of Jesus the Christ to live our faith. May God’s Spirit inspire us, each, and all, to search for ways we can manifest God’s love made visible here and to the ends of the earth.