Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving
Pentecost +3
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Luke 9:51-60
Call to Worship (in response to Psalm 77)
L: Come! Let’s call to mind the deeds of the Lord.
P: We’ll remember God’s wonders of the past,
and look to God’s wonders all around us today.
L: God redeemed the descendants of Jacob,
P: and led the people by the hand of Moses.
L: So let us call on the name of the Lord,
and eagerly proclaim God’s actions in today’s world.
P: With joy, we celebrate God’s Way and seek God’s wonders in our world.
Opening Prayer
Gracious God, you have made a Way through generations of those who worship you. Thank you for your beloved Son, whom we know as the Christ.
Hear our prayer today, that our eyes might be opened to see your Spirit at work in each of us and in this congregation, even in the face of challenges all around us. AMEN
Moment for Stewardship (in response to Galatians 5)
This Sunday marks the half-way point through the calendar year. For many congregations, this also marks the end of a program and budget year.
Paul’s letter which we know as Galatians reminds us to live by the Spirit.
Consider the fruit of the Spirit which Paul identifies in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are gifts from God, given to each of us as signs of the Spirit which comes to those who follow Jesus.
How do you live out these gifts?
Today’s a perfect time to focus on any of these nine (Spirit fruit).
As we receive our morning offering, consider how your financial gift demonstrates your own love, joy…generosity and self-control.
How can we show our Spirit fruit in the ways we live, and give, today and throughout the coming week?
Consider your response as we receive our morning offering.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Holy Giver of all good gifts,
Thank you for the fruit of the Spirit you provide for each of us.
May we find that fruit exhibited in our individual lives and in the life of this congregation as we use the gifts which have been offered today.
Accept these gifts.
Help us use them and share them as this congregation grows in your Spirit.
AMEN
Invitation to Communion
Galatians 5 clearly declares: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” and goes on to remind us: “If…you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”
Even the earliest Christians faced challenges of people treating others badly!
Perhaps that’s one reason our worship moves from spoken word to this Table, where we find ourselves sharing one bread and one cup – symbols of the one Lord we claim as our Messiah and Christ.
Today, as we prepare to share in this meal of remembrance, let’s take a moment to consider how we show our love for one another. How might we refuse to “bite and devour”?
Perhaps we can set our minds and hearts on giving thanks for this meal with the words of Mary Oliver in her poem “The Summer Day”:
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?