THE GATHERING
* Please stand if willing and able
Gathering Music: Hymn #664 “Morning Has Broken”
Welcome and Announcements
Prelude: “Among Us and Before Us” by The Iona Community
* Call to Worship
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation
The Lord will speak peace to the faithful, to those who turn to God in their hearts.
Surely Salvation is at hand for those who fear the Lord, and God’s glory will dwell in our land. Therefore, let us pray:
* Prayer of the Day
Holy God, you are our faithful lover, our generous parent, our patient teacher, our constant friend. We live by the hope of your promises, seek to follow your way, and rely on the gift of your Spirit, by whose power we breathe, and move, and pray. Amen.
* Hymn of Praise #39 “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
* Invitation to Forgiveness
Let us come before God acknowledging our brokenness yet embracing our essential goodness.
* Prayer of Wholeness
Holy Peacemaker, hear our prayers. Your love is constant and your grace abundant. Forgive us of the help we have not given, the hospitality we have not offered, the prayers we have not spoken, and the faithful steps we have not taken. Forgive us, God, and through your forgiveness embolden us to be your servants, that we might do those things – be helpful, offer hospitality, say our prayers and faithfully walk with you… (silent personal prayer)
* Kyrie #437 “You are the Lord, Giver of Mercy”
* Assurance of Pardon and Passing of the Peace
Friends believe this Good News: God is One and God is Three – Love constantly flowing in, out, and through; the gift of Jesus Christ for me and for you. For this we say:
Thanks be to God!
Since God has loved us through Christ, let us love one another. Please share a sign of peace with those with whom you are worshiping.
Sung Response: #591 “Halle, Halle, Hallelujah” (Chorus 2X)
Celebrating Joys and where we have seen God at work.
Sung Response: #647 “Give Thanks”
THE WORD
Prayer of Illumination:
God of Wisdom, you promise to give your Spirit to those who ask. Overwhelm us with your Word, that we may know, love, and follow you more closely; in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Hebrew Scripture Reading: Hosea 1:2-10 p. 1103 OT
“The Word of the Lord” “Thanks be to God”
Epistle Reading: Colossians 2:6-19 p. 270-271 NT
“The Word of the Lord” “Thanks be to God”
Children’s Moment
Gospel Reading: Luke 11:1-13 p. 98-99 NT
“The Gospel of the Lord” “Praise to you O Christ”
Message: “A Different Prophetic Witness” ~ Pastor Scott
Please spend several moments in silent reflection
RESPONSE TO THE WORD
* Hymn: #753 “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace”
* Affirmation: A Brief Statement of Faith section 3 (pp. 37-38, Hymnal)
Intercessory Prayers of the People
Call and response: “Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayers.”
Invitation to Present Our Offerings
With our tithes and our offerings let us give thanks and praise to the Triune God: to the Son for our salvation, the Spirit for our rising, and the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.
Offertory: “Andante” by Mozart
* Doxology: #606 (with text below)
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Christ, all creatures here below;
Praise Holy Spirit evermore;
Praise Triune God whom we adore. Amen.
* Prayer of Dedication, Thanksgiving, and the Lord’s Prayer
Holy One, you are the giver of every good gift. Accept these offerings we pray, that through them we may do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with you, our Sovereign and our God. We pray all this in the name of your son Jesus, who taught his disciples to pray, saying: “Our Father…debts…debtors…”
* The Lord’s Prayer is found on p. 35 in Hymnal (Español en p. 40)
SENDING
* Closing Hymn #539 “We Will Go Out with Joy”
* Charge:
Go out into the world proclaiming Christ in every corner, admonishing and teaching with all wisdom, so that everyone can comprehend fully the presence and witness of Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
* Blessing
* Congregational Song “Let There Be Peace on Earth”
Lyrics found on the inside front cover of the hymnal. Bathrooms and a diaper changing station are located in the Fellowship Hall. Please join us across the way for refreshments and conversation following worship.
Questions for Reflection
- It is difficult in our day to consider the analogy of Hosea and Gomer. The figure of Gomer as adulterous prostitute offends our feminist sensibilities, and Hosea evokes pity more than admiration. Yet, as William Willimon points out, this scandalous story directs our attention to the God who went so far as to be crucified for us. “Only a passionate, unseemly God who is willing to risk scandal could possibly save a bunch of adulterers like us.”[1] What does it mean to place ourselves in the role of Gomer? What does the person Hosea say about the character of God?
- This week’s lectionary texts say that the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were arrogance, excess food and leisure, injustice and inhospitality, and not helping the poor and oppressed. Why do you think rich and powerful church leaders in the Middle Ages and in modern times went against the Bible and taught that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was “homosexuality” (a word not invented until the late nineteenth century)?
Household Prayer: Morning
Thank you, God, for waking me up this morning. May I live wholly for you this day, that whatever I say and do might help make a path for your coming reign. Open my eyes to your goodness and my heart to your children. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Household Prayer: Evening
Thank you, Lord, for the gift of this day, its challenges and its blessings, its burdens and its delights. Forgive my failures and misdeeds and refine my heart, that I may greet the new day to live more faithfully for you. Amen.
[1] William H. Willimon, “Pastoral Perspective, Hosea 1:2-10” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Volume 3, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 272.
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