Laws for Life

Laws for Life is our worship theme for the third Sunday of Lent, March 11, 2012.  Our focus scriptures are Exodus 20:1-17 (the Ten Commandments) and Psalm 19.

Psalm 19 proclaims that there is such a thing as spiritual gravity.  “The heavens declare the glory of God,” the Psalmist writes. The beauty and order of the sun rising and setting; the night sky of stars and moon circling overhead; all express the hand of God at work. “There is no speech… yet their voice is heard through all the earth.” The simple sight of these natural wonders pulls on our souls and portrays the integrity woven into creation which undergirds the integrity of God’s written law.

The aim of the Ten Commandments and Psalm 19 is not to bind us in a strict code of law so that God can convict us of our sins and punish us appropriately. Rather, as Jesus knew, the law of the Sabbath was made for human beings and not the other way around. The law is meant to call out the integrity of our God-created souls, and is meant to guide us in the paths of life.

Here is a Call to Worship based on Psalm 19. As always, please feel free to use or adapt anything in this post that is helpful to you.

**Call to Worship   From Psalm 19

L: Sisters and brothers, let us praise and thank our Creator!

P: Our God has made the heavens and the earth!

     God has filled them with wonders!

L: The very sky cries out the glory of God!

     Each sunrise proclaims God’s presence,

     each nightfall whispers mysteries!

P: No human words are spoken, but God’s voice carries everywhere!

L: As the sun rises and sets, so God’s wisdom governs our human lives.

P: God’s commandments are clear, they make the simple wise.

L: God’s teachings bear fruit, they make us rejoice.

P: Respect for God and God’s ways is the key to life.

L: So we pray for God to clear away our hidden faults

    and keep us on the right path.

All: Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts

       be acceptable to you, O God, our rock and our redeemer!

       Let us worship God!

The Economy of Life

The Economy of Life is our worship theme for the second Sunday in Lent, March 4, 2012. Our focus scripture is Mark 8:27-38.

Two Sundays ago on Transfiguration Sunday we explored the passage immediately after this one. There Jesus’ disciples, Peter, James and John see Jesus transfigured and soon hear the voice of God command them to “Listen to him!” The reason why they need to listen is that they and the other disciples are resisting the way of the cross. In our scripture for today they hear Jesus predict his death and they shrink back. Peter even takes Jesus aside and tries to talk him out of it. But Jesus responds: “Get behind me Satan! For you are not thinking like God, but like a human.”

There follows a fascinating teaching on the economics of life. As humans, we tend to think that the more we can get, the better and safer we will be. But from God’s perspective, it’s what we give that counts.

The reason why we are able to give away our lives is that we live within the constant, surpassing love of God. This is beautifully expressed by Paul in Romans. Here is a Call to Worship based on that passage. Please feel free to use or adapt anything in this post that is helpful to you.

Call to Worship   From Romans 8:26-39

L: Sisters and brothers, as we begin to worship, let us recall God’s constant love:

When we cannot help ourselves, God’s Spirit comes to our aid.

P: We may not even know how to pray, but the Spirit prays in our groans.

L: And God listens as the Spirit tells God exactly what is going on.

P: In both joy and tragedy the Spirit works in our lives for good.

L: So what have we to fear? God is on our side, what else do we need?

P: After all, God gave us Jesus and all the grace and love that Jesus brings.

L: So who is left to frighten us? We’re all right with God. Who can condemn us?

P: Jesus died and rose and rules from heaven. And Jesus loves us!

L: Can you imagine anything doing away with his love?

P: Can hard times, or anxiety, or persecution, or hunger, or poverty stop him?

L: How about those who want to kill us, even slaughter us like sheep?

P: No, we conquer every fearful thing through Christ who loves us!

L: For we have learned that nothing – not death or life, angels or demons,

P: present or future, heavenly bodies or powers from hell –

L: absolutely nothing in the whole cosmos –

P: can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!

All: Praise God! Let us worship God!

Driving Spirit

Driving Spirit is our worship theme for the First Sunday in Lent, February 26, 2012. Our focus scripture is Mark 1:9-15.

In Mark’s compact writing, he tells us in just a few verses of Jesus’ baptism, sojourn and temptation in the wilderness, and first preaching of the good news of the kingdom. What jumps out at us is how Spirit-driven these first days of Jesus’ ministry are. At his baptism, the Spirit comes down and settles on Jesus like a dove. Immediately this same Spirit drives him out into the wilderness for forty days where he is both tempted by Satan and cared for by angels. Then as John is arrested, Jesus comes into Galilee and begins to preach that the time is at hand for God’s kingdom to appear, blossoming in his own Spirit-filled ministry of healing and teaching.

As we enter the season of Lent, it is good to do so with empty, humble hearts and souls. If Jesus needed to be filled with God’s Spirit to carry on his ministry, then we need God’s Spirit even more. Instead of choosing our own path, what would it mean for us to be led by the Spirit?

Here is a Call to Worship from Psalm 25:1-10 that makes clear our need to be forgiven, taught and led by God. Please feel free to use or adapt anything in this post that is helpful to you.

Call to Worship   from Psalm 25:1-10

L: God, we give our whole lives to you… heart, mind and soul.

P: We trust you. We know you won’t let us down.

L: We want to walk the path you set before us. Help us know the way.

P: You are the God who saves us. Teach us your truth. We want to learn.

L: Long ago you gave our forbearers your mercy and love. Be merciful now.

P: Forgive the senseless sins of our youth. Wipe our slates clean!

L: You are always good and upright. Teach us to be like you.

P: We realize now the mistakes we have made.

With humble hearts we wait for you.

All: Yours is the path of covenant love and faithfulness.

Help us keep covenant with you!

Clean Hearts, New Spirits

Clean Hearts, New Spirits is our worship theme for Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2012. Our focus scripture is Psalm 51:1-17.

On Ash Wednesday we begin the journey that is Lent, a forty-day season before Easter (excluding Sundays). During this time, we follow the example of Jesus who was led by the Spirit to a forty day retreat into the wilderness just before he began his public ministry. There Jesus fasted and prayed in order to learn what God was calling him to do and to build the spiritual strength and integrity to accomplish it. In the same way, we now begin a period of reflection and prayer so that we can learn what it means for us to be Christ’s followers, discover what God is calling us to do, and be graced by God to grow in spiritual strength and integrity.

On Ash Wednesday we have the opportunity to be marked by ashes. Ashes are a symbol of our humble humanity and of our tie to an earth which is finite and fractured. Yet ashes are also a symbol of cleansing and rebirth and a sign that, in Christ, we are made new. As we receive ashes, God invites us to turn toward God (which is the meaning of repentance) in order to receive from God a clean heart and a new Spirit.

Here is a Call to Worship based on Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 and a Responsive Prayer of Confession based on Psalm 51:1-17. As always, please feel free to use or adapt anything in this post which is helpful to you.

**Call to Worship   From Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

L:   Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my holy mountain!

Let all tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near—

P:   A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness!

Truly the day of the Lord is great. Who can endure it?

L:   Yet, even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.

P:   Return to the Lord, your God, for God is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

   L:   Blow the trumpet in Zion: sanctify a fast;

call a solemn assembly; gather the people.

All:    Cleanse the congregation; weep tears of repentance.

          Pray, “Have mercy, O God, on your people.”

Responsive Prayer of Confession    From Psalm 51:1-17 

(Some wording from The New Revised Standard Version, The Message or the New Living Translation.)

L:  Have mercy on us, O God, according to your love.

     Blot out our misdeeds with your great compassion.

P: Scrub out the stain of our wrongdoings

     and wash away the guilt of our sins.

L:  For we recognize our rebellion; it haunts us day and night.

P: You are the One we’ve violated.

     You know exactly what we’ve done.

     You have all the facts before you.

     Whatever you decide to do is fair.

L:  We’ve been out of step with you our whole lives,

     conceived and born into a broken world.

P: What you seek is your truth at the center of our souls.

     So enter us and re-conceive us in the way you intend us to be.

L:  Create in us clean hearts, O God!

     Put a new and right Spirit within us!

     Don’t cast us away or take from us the breath of your life.

P: Restore to us the joy of your salvation!

     Blow the wind of your Spirit into our souls!

L:  You do not desire empty rituals, O God.

     You don’t want to hear us go through the motions,

     offering up repetitious prayers.

All: What we offer sincerely is our broken spirits.

     God, take our wounded and repentant hearts, 

     and make them whole with your love.