Called to Worship

Scripture as the unfolding story of God’s grace

Leader:
God of the Bible’s story; God of Genesis to Revelation; God of creation to new creation;

Response:
“Wonderful story of love!”

Leader:
God of Deuteronomy and Isaiah and the Psalms, God of Luke and Ephesians and Revelation;

Response:
“Wonderful story of love!”

Leader:
God who called Moses and David and Esther into your purposes; God who invited Peter and Andrew, Mary and Martha into your story of grace; God who invites us into your story of grace.

Response:
“Give us ears to hear your wonderful story of grace!”

Worshipping the God who made, sustains, and rules all things

Leader:
Creator God, we come to worship you this day. Maker of all things in heaven and earth; Maker of galaxies and glaciers, of Atlantic puffins and whales,

Response:
We thank you for your good creation.

Leader:
Providential God, we see your hand in all things. You are a God of purpose, and we seek that purpose, You are a God whose hidden ways can be trusted.

Response:
Great is your faithfulness, Lord unto us.

Leader:
Sovereign God, we bow before you this day. You are sovereign in love, Ruling as One who serves; You are God alone, a God of integrity. One!

Response:
We trust your faithfulness as we worship you this day.

Celebrating the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as the God of love

Leader:
Triune God, we come into your presence this day; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Triune God of love; God whose love has overflowed into our world.

Response:
Joyful, joyful we adore Thee.

Leader:
Father, who understands the risks of being a Parent; Son, who knows what it means to grow in stature and wisdom; Spirit, who enlightens every person with grace.

Response:
Thou art giving and forgiving, Ever blessing, ever blest.

Leader:
Triune God, Who embraces unity in diversity; Triune God, Who shares in the work of our immense salvation; Triune God, Who calls us to live out your mission.

Response:
Teach us how to love each other, Lift us to the joy divine.

Christ of Bethlehem, the Cross, and the Resurrection

Leader:
Christ of Bethlehem’s manger; Christ of faithful obedience; Crucified, Risen, Exalted.

Response:
We come into your presence this day, fairest Lord Jesus.

Leader:
You have made visible truth and grace; You have made known the Father’s love; You have shown us the Servant’s way.

Response:
Through you we come to know the Way, the Truth, the Life.

Leader:
You emptied yourself of all but love; Fully human; Fully Divine; In whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

Response:
Glory and Honour, Praise and Adoration, Now and forevermore be Thine.

Made in God’s image, broken by sin, renewed by grace

Leader:
O Lord, our Sovereign, when we look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, what are human beings that you are mindful of us? Mindful of all races: Asian, Indigenous, Black, White; Mindful of all genders, abilities and disabilities;

Response:
O Lord our Sovereign, You have created us in your image; we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Leader:
O Lord, our Sovereign, we grieve because of what we have done to your world; We have polluted your world; bent your world; fragmented your world; We have excluded the other instead of creating community;

Response:
O Lord our Sovereign, we have grieved You. Forgive us our sinful ways, O Lord.

Leader:
O Lord, our Sovereign, you have acted to restore our humanity; In Jesus of Nazareth we see what it means to be fully human; Taking responsibility, embracing the other, full of grace and truth;

Response:
O Lord, our Sovereign, renew us in his image, even as we worship you this day.

The Cross — suffering, solidarity, and salvation

Leader:
We come into your presence this day, God of the Cross; Through the life of Jesus we see You engaging a suffering world; Yet his compassion also evoked anger, hostility, death;

Response:
Lest I forget Gethsemene, Lead me to Calvary.

Leader:
Your death holds meaning for us, suffering Servant; The Good Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep; Yet the rejected stone has become the cornerstone;

Response:
Lest I forget Gethsemene, Lead me to Calvary.

Leader:
Your wounds are yet visible above, Inviting us to walk the path of suffering, the path of solidarity; Calling us to live a life shaped by the cross.

Response:
Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Repentance, faith, and new life in Christ

Leader:
God of grace, we come into your presence this day; You call us to repentance toward You; You call us to turn and be restored;

Response:
Just as I am, without one plea.

Leader:
Lord Jesus Christ, in You we place our faith; In You we find forgiveness of sins; In You we receive the gift of salvation;

Response:
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Leader:
Holy Spirit, You bring new birth and new life; You renew our hearts and restore what is broken; You lead us into the life of salvation;

Response:
Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Saved by grace through faith

Leader:
We come into your presence this day, God of Grace; We come as a people saved by grace; Justified, aligned with your holy love.

Response:
Tune our hearts to sing Your Grace.

Leader:
We thank you for your grace; For taking those first steps towards us; For extending your undeserved love to us;

Response:
Tune our hearts to sing Your Grace.

Leader:
We gather to be shaped by Your grace; We seek to be a sacramental community in our world; That our life together be Christ’s broken bread;

Response:
Tune our hearts to sing Your Grace.

A life of faithful obedience in Christ

Leader:
We come into your presence, faithful God; You have called us to faithful obedience; Like Abraham and Sarah and Peter, we too seek to be obedient to your voice.

Response:
Grant us an obedient faith in response to Your Grace.

Leader:
Like Jesus, we recognize your claim upon our lives; Like Jesus, we seek to learn from our suffering; Like Jesus, we seek to be obedient, even unto death;

Response:
Grant us an obedient faith in response to Your Grace.

Leader:
You have set a long distance race before us; You have called us to respond freely to your demands; You have promised your gracious presence with us;

Response:
Grant us an obedient faith in response to Your Grace.

Called to be a holy people

Leader:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! Utterly distinct, in a class by Yourself; Yet a God in our midst.

Response:
Who is like You, O Lord, majestic in holiness.

Leader:
Jesus of Nazareth, Holy One of God; Your cross tore the curtain distancing us from God. Your love overcomes the boundaries separating us from each other;

Response:
To be like Jesus, this hope possesses me.

Leader:
You call us to be a holy people, a different people; Bearing the fruit of your character through your Holy Spirit; Renewed minds, renewed justice, transformation.

Response:
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity.

God’s coming kingdom and the healing of the nations

Leader:
God of beginnings, God of endings; God who will gather up all things in Christ; God whose Kingdom will come in its fullness;

Response:
We long for the day when righteousness will be at home.

Leader:
Christ, who brought God’s future into our present; Christ, for whose coming we wait; For that Day when tears will be wiped away;

Response:
Even so, Lord Jesus, come.

Leader:
Holy Spirit who will bring God’s good work to completion; Holy Spirit who will accomplish the reconciliation of all things; We pray for that Day which will bring the healing of the nations;

Response:
Guide us as we seek to make your future in our present.

A community of salvation for God’s mission

Leader:
God of Triune love, we meet to worship you this day; We come as individuals with our personal stories; But we come into your presence as a community of salvation;

Response:
We have come from the East, We have come from the West, To sit down in the Kingdom of God.

Leader:
Bride of Christ; Body of Christ; Branch of the Vine; Holy Nation; New humanity; Third Race; Our differences are held together by your story of salvation;

Response:
Grant us your unity as we serve you.

Leader:
Called to embody your holy character; Called to engage in your mission of salvation; Called to make a difference in your world;

Response:
We need each other’s voice to sing the song our hearts would raise, To set the whole world echoing with one great hymn of praise. Alleluia!