Call to Worship (Based on Psalm 46)

Leader: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.

People: Therefore we shall not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea.

Leader: Come, behold the works of the Lord, how God makes wars to cease and shatters the power of bows and arrows, of guns and missiles, of tanks and bombs.

People: Here in God’s house of worship we will be still and know that the Lord is God. We will exalt God among the nations; we will exalt God in the earth.

Prayer of Confession

Dear God, we confess that too often we have been hearers of your word, rather than doers. The latter demands so much of us, because we love our creature comforts or just cannot seem to summon up the energy and will to overcome our inertia It is so much more pleasant sitting in front of our TV sets than involving ourselves in the problems of our community. Continue to challenge us with the words of your Son, and forgive us for our failing to live up to them. Renew us by your Spirit that our lives will be able to stand against the storms of the times. Amen

Prayer of Dedication

Gracious and loving God, as we bring our offering to your Table we are aware that each gift is like a small stone which we are laying for the foundation for our lives, because each gift comes from a decision to love and serve you through the church. May you use this offering, as you use us, for the work of your kingdom. Amen.

Pastoral Prayer

Ever-loving God, we thank you that the words of Jesus have been gathered together so that they can become for us “a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” May we study and cherish them so that they can become for us the foundation for life. Help us to unmask the many other words that we hear, calling us to find meaning in wealth, power or fame, as being the dangerous lies that they are. In a world where people sell out their values for the sake of gain, may we stand firm in our loyalty to your word? We thank you for the companions in the faith that you provide for us, honest friends and imperfect but loving families, and above all the church wherein we can share mutual joys and burdens. May each storm through which we go teach us something new, and may we always see your rainbow promise of being with us in every time and place.

Today we pray not just for ourselves, but also for friends, neighbors, and, as your Son bids us, for enemies as well. Bring relief to the ill and suffering, joy to the mourning, release from captivity the poor and the oppressed, and courage to those speaking for the oppressed or defending justice. Help us, even in the presence of sin and death, to affirm and celebrate the mystery of your love, a love so great that not even a cruel cross could destroy it. Help us never to give up dreams that the rich and poor will share bread and wealth, that Jew and Arab will live in harmony, or black and white, Christian and Muslim, Irish Catholics and Protestants will sit at table together. Make the day when religion is no longer used to promote ethnic, racial and nationalistic interest. Hasten the day when all guns and bombs, landmines and guided missiles are relegated to museums, and national budgets can allot ample funds to educate children instead of to kill them with the weapons of war. We ask this in the name of the Christ whose words still challenge and surprise. Amen.