Creating One, in all your magnificence you are changing and adapting in relationship with us and all of creation. We see this in your great rivers which change courses in response to cliffs. We see this in the chameleon’s adaptive color changes. Like rivers and creatures of all types, we are continually made and remade by your loving spirit. Reflecting your image, we are our most authentic selves when we live into your dreams for us. May we perceive your loving lure as we live into relationships which reflect your creating, transforming essence. May each of us, perceive you within the journeys of our neighbors whether cisgender or transgender. May we fully affirm the transforming pilgrimage in ourselves and others as full evidence of your glory. We are all your people. May our movement throughout our lifespan, radiate your continuously creating essence. For this inexplicable touch of love, we are grateful. Amen.
The Continuously Creating Love
Posted in Prayers, Uncategorized
Palm/Passion Sunday Liturgy (Journey)
Prelude
Welcome
Invocation responsive
In this very room, we feel your divine breath that blew across the waters. You move in and out of our lungs. You seek to touch our hearts and minds, awaiting our response to your boundless love and dreams for humanity. Your confidence in us is revealed in your persistence. May we be worthy. May we perceive your Spirit as she lures us ever toward you within the unfolding realm of hope, peace, justice, and boundless love.
May we follow the beckoning Spirit this morning and beyond. Amen.
Journey to Jerusalem
*Call to Worship responsive
We’ve been on a journey for five weeks now.
We began with ashes, reminders that we are created from the earth.
And that it is God who breathes life into us.
We traveled with Jesus who is the gate for us to a better way. He called Lazarus out of the tomb telling us to unbind him.
He reminded us that God’s unfolding realm on earth requires our participation.
With Jesus riding a colt, we arrive in Jerusalem today on that morning when the palms waved and all seemed right in the world. The full manifestation of the kingdom seemed imminent.
We glimpsed the kingdom of God on that day.
*Sacred Words John 12:12-13 CEB
12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him. They shouted, “Hosanna! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the king of Israel!”
*Hymn Ride On, Ride On in Majesty! #191 v. 1 & 2 (Chalice Hymnal)
Journey with Others
Call to Servanthood responsive
On our journey we traveled through the upper room where Jesus shows us that the path to liberation, joy, & justice is through radical servanthood.
Jesus turns the ways of the world upside down. Love of neighbor and expanding hope & justice are cornerstones in the unfolding kingdom on earth.
Hymn Make Me a Servant #99 (Chalice Praise)
Sacred Words John 13:1-9 CEB
Before the Festival of Passover, Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them fully.
2 Jesus and his disciples were sharing the evening meal. The devil had already provoked Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew the Father had given everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was returning to God. 4 So he got up from the table and took off his robes. Picking up a linen towel, he tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he was wearing. 6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand what I’m doing now, but you will understand later.”
8 “No!” Peter said. “You will never wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t have a place with me.”
9 Simon Peter said, “Lord, not only my feet but also my hands and my head!”
Offering Invitation
Offertory
Doxology together
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Circling through earth so all may grow
Vanquishing fear so all may give
Widening grace so all may live. Amen. (traditional tune, words from Eric Law)
The Lord’s Table
Invitation
Hymn Here is Bread # 161 (Chalice Praise)
Words of Institution
Prayer
Distribution
Please take a piece of bread and dip in the center cup as it is passed to you. All bread is gluten-free.
Journey to the Cross
Call to the Cross responsive
Fearful in the midst of a harsh world, clinging to an illusion of their power under the thumb of Rome, the leaders of the Temple manipulate an unjust system to be rid of Jesus.
Jesus is mocked and whipped.
Throughout his suffering, Jesus remains calm and at peace. Trusting God, he follows his calling despite the looming cross.
The trial of Jesus before Pilate and the Temple leaders comes to a conclusion. Christ is crucified!
Sacred Words John 19:16b-22 CEB
16 Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified. The soldiers took Jesus prisoner. 17 Carrying his cross by himself, he went out to a place called Skull Place (in Aramaic, Golgotha). 18 That’s where they crucified him—and two others with him, one on each side and Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate had a public notice written and posted on the cross. It read “Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. 21 Therefore, the Jewish chief priests complained to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The king of the Jews’ but ‘This man said, “I am the king of the Jews.”’”
22 Pilate answered, “What I’ve written, I’ve written.”
Hymn Were You There? #198 v. 1 & 2 (Chalice Hymnal)
Call to Hope responsive
Because we’ve journeyed with Jesus, because the breath of God is our very lifeblood we know this will not be the end of the story. Let us pray:
In this world of deep hurt & hatred, of poverty & hunger, alienation & greed, and of human frailty of body & spirit, we turn to you. We celebrate with palms, break bread assured of your love, strive to be radical servants, and grieve at the crucifixions all around us. Fill us with the confidence and peacefulness of Jesus. We long to be hopeful in the knowledge of the coming resurrection. Amen.
Journey Outward
*Sacred Words John 13:31a, 34 CEB
31 When Judas was gone, Jesus said…34 “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other.
*Hymn of Commitment Just As I Am, Without One Plea #339 v. 1 & 4 (Chalice Hymnal)
*Benediction
Invocation: Alpha & Omega
Invocation responsive
In this very room, we feel your divine breath that blew across the waters. You move in and out of our lungs. You seek to touch our hearts and minds, awaiting our response to your boundless love and dreams for humanity. Your confidence in us is revealed in your persistence. May we be worthy. May we perceive your Spirit as she lures us ever toward you within the unfolding realm of hope, peace, justice, and boundless love.
May we follow the beckoning Spirit this morning and beyond. Amen.
Palms to Crucifixion
Call to Worship responsive
In the beginning,
God took dust of the earth,
and breathed us to life.
Repeatedly,
God called to our ancestors,
“Return to my ways.”
Confident in us,
God adapted and created,
new ways to reach us.
God called a babe,
of Mary’s womb:
Jesus breathed in God.
Jesus taught and journeyed.
Jesus loved and showed us how.
Arriving in Jerusalem,
we celebrated with palms.
We could taste the beloved kingdom.
But by the end of the week,
of betrayals, trials, & denials:
Crucifixion had come.
We are a fickle people.
We are a people who don’t get it.
But God still dreams big for us.
We wave palms,
and we whip and mock.
We even hammer nails out of fear.
But God is present in the Alpha,
and the Omega.
God is with us as we wave palms,
and as we crucify Christ.
Alpha & Omega, Beginning & End,
and in the now,
God’s love shall overcome. Amen!
Suggested Hymn Alpha & Omega #102 (Sing! Prayer & Praise hymnal)
Leave & Turn
Leave your homes. Leave your worries. Let go of blame and hostility. Set them down, & focus on the Source of all love & justice.
We turn in this hour to the Source of life, the essence of our existence. We focus upon the love that journeys with us.
[Moment of Silence.]
Confession of the Sin of Blaming Pilate, Temple Leaders, & Everyone Else
*Confession of Sins & Assurance of Grace
We fear new ways.
We fear giving up the status quo.
And Pilate has Jesus whipped.
Open our eyes, Lord.
Open our eyes, Lord.
We think we know best.
We reinterpret what your clearly teach.
We dress up Jesus in a crown of thorns and mock Christ’s kingship.
Open our eyes, Lord.
Open our eyes, Lord.
We know our earthly ways fail us.
We yearn for ways that restore, heal, & usher in a world of love & justice.
But we get scared and shout “Crucify!”
Open our eyes, Lord.
Open our eyes, Lord.
When we see the mess we’ve made of our world we turn to blame.
We blame Judas. We blame Pilate. We blame the Temple leaders.
We blame one another.
We blame one another.
We confess we have sinned against ourselves, against one another, and against you. Open our eyes, Lord.
Forgive us our sins.
And still Christ loves and offers grace.
Open our eyes to be loving and grace-filled like you, Lord. Amen.
*Suggested Hymn to Follow Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord (#37 Chalice Praise)
Posted in Confession of Sin & Assurance, John, John 19, John 19:1-16a, Uncategorized
Worship in Earnestness & Humility
Come. Worship in earnestness. Worship with humility and commitment to grow, to be transformed, to become the people God creates you to be.
We gather as your people united in our desire to become all that you dream. Amen.
Posted in Call to Worship, John, Uncategorized
But Jesus Offers a Different Way
Frightened and worried about loss of power, comfort, and the known, leaders in Jerusalem and Rome put Jesus on trial.
When the world became scared,
it lashed out against Jesus.
In our journey to Jerusalem, changes and the unknown can frighten us as well.
When we become scared,
we sometimes lash out or hide.
We yearn for what was, what is known.
But Jesus offers a different way.
His kingdom, the realm of God unfolding upon earth, originates in the great mystery.
Jesus comes into the world to testify to the truth of expansive love and justice.
Let us pray,
Be among us this hour. In the darkness, point us toward the hope of the time to come when we live in the beloved kin_dom. Amen.
Who are you?
“Who are you?”, they asked Jesus.
“I Am,” he replied.
They followed Jesus.
Peter and the others journeyed with him from place to place.
You will deny me before the cock crows.
“Never,” replied Simon Peter.
They came for Jesus.
And Peter turned to violence.
“Who are you?”, they asked Jesus.
“I Am,” he replied.
“Are you a disciple of Jesus?” they asked.
No, he said.
Who are you? Are you a follower?
Three times Peter denies who he is.
“Who are you?” the world asks us.
Let us pray,
Forgive us. We claim to follow Jesus but act in ways counter to his teachings. Rather than share, we hoard. Rather than love, we are quick to anger. Rather than forgive, we hold onto our hurt.
Rather than risk to love and strive for justice, we back down or rationalize. Move our hearts and hands to respond as followers of Jesus, who always responds in love and in solidarity with the oppressed, hurting, and poor. Amen.
Posted in Call to Worship, Confession of Sin & Assurance, John, John 18, John 18:12-27, New Testament, Uncategorized
Whatever Our Shape, Abilities, or Struggles
We are created by God!
We gather assured of God’s love and dream for humanity.
We are created in God’s image.
We gather assured that whatever our shape, our abilities, or our struggles, we reflect the image of God.
Our mental or physical characteristics are never punishment for sin. Never. God created each of us out of love and hope.
Within you, within me, within all people, the essence of God can be found.
Let us pray:
Creating One, we are humbled by your confidence in us. Encourage us as we strive to manifest who you dream we can be. Amen.
All materials by Tim Graves unless otherwise noted. Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/
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