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CTW: wait for the Lord

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L:  At the defeat of a candidate, the news shouts polarizing speculations:  how the mighty have fallen!

P:  We wait for the Lord, our souls wait in hope;
L:  When economies crash,  investors bemoan their losses, crying: how the mighty have fallen

P:  We wait for the Lord, our souls wait in hope.

L:  When beloved pillars of community, church or family die, like David, we wail our grief: how the mighty have fallen!

P:  We wait for the Lord, our souls wait in hope.

All:  Lord, hear our voices! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of our praise and our prayers!
A call to worship based on 1 Samuel 1 and Psalm 130. Submitted by Rev. Deb Avery.

CTW: the day, and the church, the Lord has made

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One:      This is the day the Lord has made,

let us rejoice and be glad in it!

All:      We come with awe and praise, hearts lifted high!

      Some of us come with doubt and fear, hearts troubled.

One:      This is the church the Lord has made,

the people God created for this place and this time.

All:      We come, all of us, to hear God’s word,

      know Christ’s presence,

      and follow the Spirit wherever she may lead.

One:      Come, let us worship the Living God,

who calls us together.

Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church, Crystal Lake IL.

confession: one-way conversations

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God, you call to us, but often we do not listen.

We are so busy speaking, we forget that conversations go two ways.

We are so busy looking for what we want, we forget to look for what you want.

Quiet our fear, our greed, and even our uncertainty,

that we may seek you, and hear you, and know you.

Forgive us our one-way conversations, our short-sighted solutions, our narrow fields of vision.

When we look only for answers, sit beside us as a friend in the questions.

When we look only for our desires, walk with us through your beautiful yet broken world.

When we look only for our own ways, open our eyes to your way,

and bring us to true life with you, today and every day.

We pray in the name of the One who lives and breathes among and within us. Amen.

 

Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church, Crystal Lake IL.

confession and pardon: walk by faith and not by sight

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Prayer of Confession
God who knows each heart, you call us to walk by faith and not by sight, giving us new vision that goes deeper than outward appearance; yet how often we remain blind, returning to a human point of view, relying instead on our society’s signs of right or wrong, success or failure.  We miss your warning signals of internal corruption or moral deficiency in those in whom we put our trust.
Forgive us, O God.  Become our Vision as we keep learning to walk by faith. Teach us to observe ourselves and others as you do, with prudence and wisdom as well as compassion and love, so that your deeper way of seeing might grow within us and among us, in Christ’s name, Amen.
Silent Prayer   
Assurance of Grace
Just as Paul reminded the Corinthians of their new way of seeing, he told them that anyone in Christ is a new creation, that everything old is passed away, and all is made new!
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.Thanks be to God. 

CTW: it is good

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Leader: It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High.
People: We declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.
Leader: As flowers unfold in the light of the sun, our creation comes to fullness in the presence of our God.
People: Christ brought a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
Adapted from Psalm 92 and 2 Corinthians 5 by Kathleen Sheets, Pastoral Assistant, First Congregational Church of Williamstown, MA