Here are worship materials for the 24th Sunday after Pentecost.
Call to Worship Psalm 9 excerpted & adapted
One: I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; All: I will tell of all the Lord’s wonderful deeds. One: I will be glad and exult in you, O Lord; All: I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
One: The Lord sits enthroned forever, he has established his throne for judgement. All: He judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with equity.
One: The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. All: And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
One: Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion. All: Declare his deeds among the peoples. One: For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; All: he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
One: The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; All: in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught. One: The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgement; All: the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
One: Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail; All: let the nations be judged before you. One: Fill us with fear and awe, O Lord—that we might know ourselves as only human.
All: Fill us with fear and awe, O Lord—that we might become fully human,
fearfully and wonderfully made.
One: This becoming begins here and now, as we greet one another,
“The peace of the Lord be with you.”
All: And also with you.
Prayer of Invocation
Gracious God, open our hearts to receive your presence, our lips to proclaim your promise, and our hands to offer forth your good news manifest. Bless our worship with a sense of your good purpose; and bless the church, as ever you have, that it might make of history and the creation a place of hope and a time of fulfillment.
What otherwise might be is but weeping, gnashing of teeth. This world could be overwhelmed by sorrow, dominated by cruelty. By your church, may this not be so. By us, who gather as your people, may your goodness abound, to your glory and for our wellbeing.
We confess our frequent failure to respond rightly to your call. We confess our easy believing in brute force to win the day. So we pray your persistence and faithfulness in our regard. We pray your forgiveness upon us, and your spirit of renewal among us. Help us to build up your beloved community wherever and however we can.
In Christ we pray. Amen.