Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving
Lent IIIA
Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 95
Romans 5:1-11
John 4:5-42
Call to Worship (adapted from Psalm 95)
L: The Psalmist invites us: “Come, let us sing to the Lord!”
P: And we respond: “Let us make a joyful noise to the rock
of our salvation!”
L: We come into God’s presence with thanksgiving, and
share our joyful songs of praise.
P: We come to worship God, our Maker, with joy!
(If you have a soloist, choir, or music leader who can lead, respond with a congregational chorus of Chalice Hymnal #29, Alabaré.)
Opening Prayer (unison)
We lift our voices in praise, Holy God,
for you are the Rock of our lives, the Shepherd who cares for each one.
Thank you for the ways you lift us up, even in the face of challenges.
Thank you for the gift of your Son,
and for this time to grow in our faith as the woman of Samaria did.
Help us come to new a awareness of you, even as we commit once more to following you all the days of our lives. AMEN
Moment for Stewardship (in response to John 4:7-42)
In John’s Gospel we hear the story of Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman at the well known as “Jacob’s well.”
Jesus speaks to the woman, surprising her. He asks her to give him a drink.
I wonder how you would respond–or what I would do–if Jesus spoke directly to us, asking us to give him something?
We don’t have the opportunity to meet the living Jesus at our local well, bar, or restaurant. But we do have a regular opportunity to give basic care to people right here in our own town. Each Sunday, remembering how Jesus broke down barriers and built up community, we invite every person to offer what they have brought to build up this congregation and support the ministries which claim our heart and hands.
This is your chance to step further into the Jesus story!
The One who met the woman at the well is known to us by the Spirit,
and continues to invite us to give what we have.
So let us share our morning offering.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Generous God, you continue to bless us with daily gifts of air, food, and water. You receive our prayers and bless us with the opportunity to share with others in response to the teachings of Jesus. Help us utilize this offering to its fullest extent, providing care for those who struggle, and meaning for those who seek to act in Jesus’ name. AMEN
Invitation to Communion
Have you ever been deeply thirsty?
So thirsty your throat seems to close up?
So thirsty you can practically feel your veins collapsing, your eyes crossing,
your heart pleading for fluid?
Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well and asked for a drink.
She was startled and surprised, not quite understanding why a traveling
Jewish rabbi would speak to her, let alone ask her for help.
Yet we listen carefully to this story, and realize each one of us has been deeply thirsty for Jesus to be present with us. Each one of us knows how yearning for God’s love is like being parched on a hot summer day.
Once more, we’re invited to come to the Table where this small sip of juice can assuage our thirst, like cold water after a long run, for we remember the story of Jesus offering a cup to his closest followers in an Upper Room long ago.
Come! Bring your deep thirst. Find here the satisfaction of eating and drinking in remembrance of the One who meets each of us here at this Table of Love.