September 13, 2020 Liturgy

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Preparation for Worship

Songs:  Ask yourself and the people who will be worshipping with you (kids included), “What are some of the songs we sing about God’s power?”. Play them on Spotify, sing them a cappella, or create your own instrumental arrangement.

Bible:  You will need a Bible to read from the scriptures.  You can use this doc or your phone as well . . . but I’d recommend using an actual Bible.

This week’s liturgy is based on the following texts: 

Exodus 14:19-31 and Psalm 114, Genesis 50:15-21 and Psalm 103:1-13, Romans 14:1-12, Matthew 18:21-35.

You can decide who will lead the different movements of this gathering.  It would be great for every person to have a part.

Gathering

Gathering Words

In the Bible, in Matthew 18:20, the scripture says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.”  We believe that the church is not a building. The church is made up of people.  So, we have gathered here in the spaces in which we live to be the church.  We will worship God together.  We trust that God is here with us, and God is at work among us. 

Call to Worship

Leader:       Praise the Lord!

All:              With all our hearts, we will praise God’s holy name!

Leader:       Praise the Lord!

All:              Never forget the good things God has done for us.

Leader:       Praise the Lord, all the earth—everyone, everywhere!

All:              We will praise the Lord together!

Song of Response

Bless the Lord  

Song of Praise

Sing one song that focuses on God’s love and God’s call.

Some suggestions:

Goodness of God

Blessed Assurance

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Creator God (for kids) 

Praise the Lord Everyday (for kids)

For other song ideas click here.

Reading of the Psalm 

The psalmist writes in Psalm 103 (ESV),

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

    and all that is within me,

    bless his holy name!

² Bless the Lord, O my soul,

    and forget not all his benefits,

³ who forgives all your iniquity,

    who heals all your diseases,

⁴ who redeems your life from the pit,

    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

⁵ who satisfies you with good

    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The Lord works righteousness

    and justice for all who are oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,

    his acts to the people of Israel.

⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious,

    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

⁹ He will not always chide,

    nor will he keep his anger forever.

¹⁰ He does not deal with us according to our sins,

    nor repay us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

¹² as far as the east is from the west,

    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father shows compassion to his children,

    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

Exhortation from the New Testament

Romans chapter 14 says,

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. ² Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. ³ Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. ⁴ Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

⁵ Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. ⁶ Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

⁷ We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. ⁸ If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹ For it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,

    and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

¹² So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

Prayer of Preparation

Holy God,

We bow in worship to you.

With our mouths we give you praise.

For in you is extravagant mercy

and salvation from all that would destroy us.

Be with us as we hear your word. 

Open our eyes and ears to see and hear you.

Open our hearts to receive your word today.

In Christ’s name we pray.  Amen.

Listening

(The time of listening is a series of reading the scripture, re-telling the story, and paying attention to where God is stirring your hearts as you listen.  Invite everyone to listen to the words of the scriptures and to be ready to re-tell the story.)

A reading from Exodus, chapter 14 (CEB).

¹⁹ God’s messenger, who had been in front of Israel’s camp, moved and went behind them. The column of cloud moved from the front and took its place behind them. ²⁰ It stood between Egypt’s camp and Israel’s camp. The cloud remained there, and when darkness fell it lit up the night. They didn’t come near each other all night.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord pushed the sea back by a strong east wind all night, turning the sea into dry land. The waters were split into two. ²² The Israelites walked into the sea on dry ground. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left. ²³ The Egyptians chased them and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry. ²⁴ As morning approached, the Lord looked down on the Egyptian camp from the column of lightning and cloud and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. ²⁵ The Lord jammed their chariot wheels so that they wouldn’t turn easily. The Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites, because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water comes back and covers the Egyptians, their chariots, and their cavalry.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. At daybreak, the sea returned to its normal depth. The Egyptians were driving toward it, and the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. ²⁸ The waters returned and covered the chariots and the cavalry, Pharaoh’s entire army that had followed them into the sea. Not one of them remained. ²⁹ The Israelites, however, walked on dry ground through the sea. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰ The Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians that day. Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ Israel saw the amazing power of the Lord against the Egyptians. The people were in awe of the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Re-Telling

Let’s remember together what happened in this story.  You may want to read/act out one or both of the following readings. What happened first?  What happened next? (go around the circle and tell the story to each other.  Try to remember as many details as possible.). Perhaps your group would like to act out this story…

Paying Attention

What part of these scriptures stood out to you?  Why do you think that part stood out?

Let each person in the circle take a turn to wonder about something in this text…a word, a phrase, something that happened in the text, something that you’re thinking about…  Start out by saying “As we read this story, it made me wonder…”

What senses were stirred as you heard this story?  What did you feel?  What did you hear? 

What will we carry into this week from this text? 

How can we be praying this week? 

Responding

Prayers of the People

Eternal God,

When we are afraid of all that today holds,

you go before us,

making a path through

the sea of our doubts.

Be with us and hear our prayers. (pause)

When our hearts become

deserts of stony bitterness,

you transform them

into an oasis of joy.

When we doubt, waver, fail, or fall,

you stretch wide your arms

in welcoming grace.

Be with us and hear our prayers. (pause)

When fill our hearts with worry, guilt, and stress,

you open our eyes to the hope

which paves the path ahead of us.

Holy God,

we offer our lives to you.

Be with us and hear our prayers. (pause)

And now we pray the prayer you taught us to pray saying,

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name, 

thy kingdom come, 

thy will be done, 

on earth as it is in heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread. 

And forgive us our sins, 

as we forgive those who sin against us. 

And lead us not into temptation, 

but deliver us from evil. 

For thine is the kingdom, 

and the power, and the glory, 

forever. Amen.

Sending

Benediction

As you have been forgiven,

now go into a world that needs your forgiving.

Bring peace and hope to others,

sharing God’s love with them.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,

In the name of Christ. Amen.

Closing Song

We Are Called