Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving
Pentecost +17
Psalm 19
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
Call to Worship (inspired by Psalm 19)
(consider using Chalice Hymnal, page 731 as the call to worship,
with its responsorial line for the congregation or choir)
OR
One: The heavens tell the glory of God!
Many: The sun runs its course with joy and strength.
One: We rejoice as the sun makes its circuit!
Many: God’s handiwork is all around us.
One: So we lift our hearts, our voices and our hands:
Many: Praise God for creation!
Praise God for the sweetness of God’s decrees!
Opening Prayer
Holy Creator, we’ve come to praise your name,
and to give thanks for the wonders of all you’ve made.
We celebrate the guides and guards you’ve laid before us,
helping us live full and abundant lives in your love.
As we worship you today, renew in us
the delight of discovering your decrees we find in scripture –
your law of love for all you’ve created. AMEN
Moment for Stewardship (reflecting on Mark 8:27-30)
The synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) all tell the story of Jesus asking his disciples, “Who do YOU say that I am?” Their answer set them on the road to learning, acting and proclaiming their understanding of Jesus as the Messiah/Christ.
So, too, our answer to that question becomes the foundation stone for our lives as disciples (followers) of Jesus.
It’s because we confess Jesus as the Christ that we push to build up “the body” – the church. Over 2000 years millions around the world have decided to build their lives on the teachings of this Jewish rabbi, claimed by God as “my Son, my Beloved.”
So we gather, offering our voices, our hearts and our resources, witnessing to neighbors the reality of love made visible.
In the act of giving our time, talents and treasure, we proclaim our intention to walk in the Way of Jesus.
Join me, then, in offering our finances as symbols of our lives.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
With gratitude, God, we return a portion of what you provide to us.
Accept these gifts. Help us use them wisely and fully to extend your Realm on earth as it is in heaven. Help us find ways each day to proclaim with our words, our actions and our resources: “Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah”.
Invitation to Communion
The children’s book The Velveteen Rabbit tells of a rabbit who yearned to be real.
“Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’
‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit.
‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’
‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’
‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
At this Table, we’re invited because the REAL Jesus REALLY loves us!
Even if our hair has been loved off, and we’re loose in the joints…
We’re in the midst of becoming as real as Jesus.
This meal is one way of remembering, celebrating, giving thanks, and preparing us to be REAL to all those we encounter.
So come to share in these gifts, and in becoming REAL.