Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving
Pentecost +12
Genesis 45:1-15
Psalm 133
Romans 10:5-15
Matthew 15:21-28
Call to Worship (in response to Matthew 15)
L: As followers of Jesus, we remember challenging moments when
we had no other place to turn, like the Canaanite woman, and cry out
P: “Lord, have mercy on me!”
L: We come today – some of us filled with eager delight,
some with sorrow,
some in internal pain we cannot even describe.
P: Each of us, and all of us, come to link our lives to Jesus, the Christ.
L: So let us turn our hearts and minds to worship God, giving thanks
for the One sent by God to live among us.
P: Created, redeemed, and sustained,
let us offer God our worship and our praise.
Opening Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for the witness of scripture,
which reveals you over and over to be one who acts in love.
Help us today to eagerly seek your Word
in scripture, in song lyrics, in proclamation, and as we gather at the Table.
Grant us minds to focus, taking in each image
so we might grow in faith, in connection to one another, and in covenantal love. AMEN
Moment for Stewardship
The story of the Canaanite woman who shouted to Jesus about her daughter rings true for so many who love someone who is tormented. This mother yearns for help for her daughter and is willing to make her case in a loud appeal to Jesus.
She wants her daughter to be healed and pleads for Jesus to act.
In a sense, this unnamed woman becomes one model for each one of us as we plead for the gift needed for someone we love.
At first, Jesus tries to ignore this foreigner. He makes his case to the disciples that he’s been sent to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
The persistent mom continues to reach out to Jesus.
When Jesus accepts her appeal, the woman’s heart-focus finds comfort, hearing Jesus declare, “Great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”
In gratitude for the ways Jesus works, we respond with our tithes and offerings. Grateful for the blessings which come to us in the tough times and in the calmer moments, let us share the gifts we’ve set aside, confident in God’s desire for each and for all to be brought close in love.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
All things come from thee, O Lord; and of thine own have we given thee.
(Chalice Hymnal #380 can be spoken, sung solo, or as a congregational response to the offering.)
Invitation to Communion
What would it take for each of us to have great faith?
Is that something which takes a lifetime to gain?
Or is it something born out of grief, pain, or anxious love for another?
When we come to this Table, there is no demand that we have great faith.
Rather, this is our opportunity to increase our faith as we
take the bread, which has been blessed and broken,
and drink from the cup, which has been blessed and poured out.
These elements are the symbols of Jesus’ body and blood,
offered to each one, no matter if we’re part of some “in” crowd,
or we have stumbled into this worship service because of an inner torment.
The bread and cup are simple gifts, made available to all who will come
and remember Jesus as you take, taste, and take on your partnership with
the Body of Christ.
Come! For the meal is prepared and there is a place for you.
(Consider using Chalice Hymnal #426 “The Voice of Jesus Calls His People” as your communion hymn.)