08/11/19

Liturgy Aug 11

Call to Worship:

We gather together because though we were dead, we have been made alive.

Our God is kind to us in Jesus Christ

We sing together because we have been made one with Jesus, seated alongside him in the Heavenly places.

Our God is kind to us in Jesus Christ

We pray together for faith to receive God’s Son and the immeasurable riches of his grace to us.

Our God is kind to us in Jesus Christ

We are his people, his workmanship, his beloved. His life is our life. His works are our works. His glory is our glory. 

Praise be to God for his kindness to us in Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Prayer of Confession:

Father of mercy,

Forgive our divisions: The ones we create, the ones we perpetuate, the ones we insist on seeing. You have broken down the wall of hostility, but we are at war with our actions and words. 

Have mercy on us. Though we were once far off, we have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Forgive our self-righteousness: our feelings of superiority, our willful ignorance, our withholding of love. You have abolished the law of commandments, but we live as its slaves and enslave others to it. 

Have mercy on us. Though we were once far off, we have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Forgive our self-reliance: our hesitancy to trust, our hiding in shame, our hatred of need. You have made us members of your household and fellow citizens, but we live as though we are lost. 

Have mercy on us. Though we were once far off, we have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Indeed, though we were once far off, we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. We are no longer strangers, no longer slaves, no longer alienated from God. 

Our peace is the person of Christ Jesus. Give us faith to behold him. Amen.