God is throwing a wedding feast!
Show up to the party ready to gorge on love & compassion. Dance like the transforming spirit has washed over you.
As the offering plate comes round, place your hand over it.
Commit to God that you will use all your gifts and skills — your whole being — for furthering the extravagance of the God’s unfolding realm.
“Come!” you call out to us.
And we make up excuses.
“Come!” you call out to us.
And we come half-heartedly.
“Come!” we call out to you.
Forgetting you’ve already issued an invitation to us.
When you call, move us to respond.
Robe us in your royalty,
transform us fully into
citizens of your Realm.
Amen.
Get Ready! Use all that you have at your disposal: your money, your spiritual gifts, and your time.
As the offering plate comes round, place your hand over it. Pause in the presence of the One. Commit to God that you will use all your gifts and skills — your whole being — for furthering the extravagance of the God’s unfolding realm.
We are ready to open our whole selves to God.
Get ready!
We’re not quite ready.
Get ready!
What must we do to be ready?
Esther prepared a party.
She put into action events that would save her people.
She focused on others.
Get ready!
Who must we be to be ready?
The wise bridesmaids prepared
their hearts and minds for
the arrival of the bridegroom.
They kept their lamps burning
until he arrived,
trusting the groom’s promise.
Get ready!
Though we,
like the foolish bridesmaids,
sometimes forget to bring oil for our lamps,
we confess we are not as ready
as we ought to be.
Get ready!
Though we,
like the wise bridesmaids, sometimes fall asleep
we are ready for God.
Get ready!
God is among us.
Praise be to God!
Praise be to God! Amen.
We believe in God.
God who created each of us in the divine image.
God who loves our neighbors and our enemies as fully as us.
We trust in the love that binds
human being to human being.
The love that connects freezing fog,
the coyote, the tadpole of spring, and
even the tiniest microbe to us and to you.
We trust in the grace revealed
through Jesus the Christ.
We believe in your goodness and
desire for all of your creation
to live in harmony and peace.
Admitting our failures and faults,
we pledge anew to
learn and grow.
We commit our hearts and bodies to
strive into the divinity
you placed within us.
Amen.
God created each of us
in the divine image.
Go outward, act and love in
just such a time as this (1) with a
heightened sense of God.
We commit to live faithfully,
embracing the royalty within
ourselves and others.
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(1) Direct phrases in this element come from the New Revised Standard Version. New Revised Standard Version, copyright © 2009 by, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Come to the Table.
We come to the Table.
Share yourselves.
We come to share
our whole selves.
Share your gifts.
We come to the Table to share our gifts,
our hurts, & our uncertainty.
Come. Christ calls you.
Gather around as we celebrate
the gospel of the risen Christ.
We’re ready to spread
the gospel to those across
the globe and here in Condon.
The Good News of the risen Christ
with its abundance of love is for all
peoples.
We’re not ashamed of the gospel! (1)
It is God’s own power for salvation
to all who have faith in God. (1)
It was shared first with Jesus’ own
people, the Jews,
then the Gentiles, and
then “all the nations”.
God’s righteousness is revealed
through the gospel. (1)
Praise be for the gospel,
which guides us in our
faithfulness and our faith.
Let us worship.
Let us worship the source of
life-giving love!
Praise be to God!
Praise be to the One!
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(1) Direct phrases in this element come from the Common English Bible and are Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
They met on the mountain,
where Jesus told them to go.
Mountains are places where
divinity meets humanity.
Eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain.
When they saw the risen Jesus,
they worshipped him,
but some doubted.
Jesus said to them,
“I’ve received all authority in
heaven and on earth… (1)
“Therefore,” he said to the eleven,
and to you & to me,
“Go. Go and make disciples,
baptize others in love, and
teach them my ways.(1)
The risen Lord remained with them.
He remains with us.
every day until the end,
of this present age.”
Let us do as Jesus calls us.
Let us go make disciples,
baptize, & teach
in the name of the Creator,
the Son, & the Holy Spirit.
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(1) Direct phrases in this element come from the Common English Bible and are Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Listen!
We yearn to hear God speaking.
Listen!
We yearn for a concrete
sign from the one who binds
all of creation together.
Listen!
We’d be satisfied with a dream,
a voice in the night,
a lightning bolt,
or even an email.
Listen!
We come to worship the one
who speaks with
a still small voice.
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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