Call to Worship (Based on Psalm 45:10-17)

Leader: Come together, O people of God, and listen! Forget the past, and look forward to the new thing that God is about to do.

People: God our King looks on us with love. God our Lord desires to see beauty in what we say and do.

Leader: With joy and gladness, come into God’s presence! Enter the courts of the Lord and be transformed into new creations!

People: The Holy One has made us God’s children. May God’s name be honored in all that we do. May all the people of the earth come and praise our God!

Prayer of Confession

Holy One, You have shown us what is right and good. You have not hidden Your Word from us in some dark cavern. Through the Scriptures, You have set Your Word before our eyes. Through Your Holy Spirit, You have spoken Your Word to our ears and have written Your Word on our hearts. But we refuse to listen. With our minds we know the right way to go. But when it comes time to make the hard decisions in our lives, so often we ignore Your ways, as we follow instead the paths of our own choosing. Forgive our sin. Speak Your Word to us yet again. Strengthen our spirits, so that with renewed commitment, we might turn away from sin and turn to You, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Pastoral Prayer

God of wisdom and life, there are so many times each day that we feel torn. We have gathered here today because we want to be Your people. We want to make the right choices. We want to speak the right words. We read about the faith that Moses had, and we desire to possess that same kind of faith ourselves. We hear about the courage that Daniel had, and we wish for that courage to be present in our lives. We witness the utter devotion of those women who provided for Jesus’ needs, and who stood with him even at the cross, and we long for that kind of devotion in our own walks of faith.

But all too often, when we look at ourselves, we find that instead of following in the way of those heroes of the faith, we allow sin to cripple us. Instead of being like Moses, we find ourselves being more like Pharaoh with his hardened and unbelieving heart. Instead of living our faith like Daniel did, we find that we are much more timid and hesitant. Instead of committing ourselves to Jesus like those women did, we realize that sometimes we are more like the disciples on Good Friday, abandoning our Lord when the going gets rough. Send forth Your Spirit upon us, and strengthen our wills, so that we may be faithful not only with our thoughts and intentions, but also with our words and deeds. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication

Gracious Lord, You created a world of plenty, and You have entrusted us to be Your stewards. Help us to make the right choices. Show us how to use all things whether it’s our time, our talents, or our money for Your glory. Amen.