Call to Worship:
One: A shoot
shall grow from the root of Jesse.
All: In creeping winter we wait for this
shoot to grow and blossom.
One: Seeds of
hope sprout into blooms of joy.
All: Praise the God of new life and
growth.
One: Let us
worship the God who brings life.
All: Let us worship God.
Prayer of the
Day:
God of all that
blooms and sprouts and grows, show us your hope in the unexpected. We seek the
signs of your presence with us even as we wait in hope for the day of peace. We
look for signs of life in our dry and dreary seasons. We pray for your coming to us as we await your Son, and long
for the presence of you Spirit, Three in One, One in Three, now and
forever. Amen.
Prayer of
Confession:
One: Holy God, we
confess that we have sinned against you.
All: We have lived in despair when you call
us to hope.
One: We see a
shoot of green in a world of gray,
All: But we stamp it out or pull it up.
One: We live in a
lush, prolific and plentiful world,
All: But we spoil it, befoul it, pollute
it, exploit it, and degrade it.
One: You give us
Enough, as you are Enough,
All: But we trample one another to get
More.
One: We plead for
mercy for our sins against you and your world.
All: Forgive us, gracious Lord, and set us
against our old ways of fear and exploitation.
Assurance of
Pardon:
Hear this good
news: hope still blossoms. The
Advent of Christ still springs forth as a new sprout, growing into full and
gracious life in God. For this new
sprout of hope, know that in Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. Amen.
Prayer for
Illumination:
Holy God, break
into our dreary world like new springs of green, growing and taking nourishment
from your earth, that we might see and hear you aright in the words of
scripture before us today.. Amen.
Communion:
Hear these words
from Scripture: (Romans 15:4-6)
For whatever was
written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by
steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony
with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may
with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the midst of a
dark, sad world, hope gathers us around this table. We come to partake of the gifts of God’s earth because
shoots of hope sprout up in our lives despite our best efforts. We come because God welcomes us,
without walls or bars, to God’s own table, to share in God’s bounty.
The Lord be with
you.
And also with you.
Lift up your
hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give
thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Creator God,
maker of all that is, your provision for us is displayed throughout your
creation. The fertile soils,
rushing waters, and gleaming rays of the sun you created bring forth our
sustenance and nourishment since humans first worked the ground. You have sprung forth hope in dry
places, springs of water from rocks, manna from the heavens to provide for your
people. Your people found not just
drink and cleansing, but deliverance in the waters, when they crossed through
the Red Sea.
Yet we continue
to live in despair and apathy and ignorance of your graciousness to us. When we fail in hope you call us back
in the promises of prophets, the songs of psalmists, the preaching of
disciples, in the renewing of your creation in seasons and growth.
Good Lord, renew
in us the hope to sing with all of your creation:
Holy, holy, holy
Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are
full of your glory;
Hosanna in the
highest.
Blessed is the one
who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the
highest.
We thank you for Jesus
Christ your son, who burst into this world live a living green shoot from a dry
and dead stump. Living as one of
us he felt our joys and sorrows, our hopes and our despair. He plunged into the
waters of baptism, made the wine of celebration out of the water of life, and
from bread made from the grains of the earth he gave us yet a new sign of hope. In his living, dying, and rising, he
banished death and despair, and set new life into us.
Great is the
mystery of faith:
Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ
will come again.
Give to us, O
Lord, your Holy Spirit, blooming forth with new life and hope. Set us right in
your Spirit, binding us to all that you have made, and teaching us the peace
and harmony of your holy mountain where lamb and lion lie down together and a
little child leads them.
In your Spirit us
to live in justice in your creation, to welcome the unwelcome, to lay aside the
weapons of enmity and take up the banner of love.
Glory to the Creator,
the Redeemer, and the Sustainer, Three in One, One in Three, now and
forever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
The Bread and the
Cup:
Jesus took bread,
once a new sprout out of old ground, and broke it and gave it to his disciples,
giving us a new sign of hope in him.
Jesus took wine,
pressed from vines once growing and twisting their way towards the sun, and
poured it and gave it to his disciples, giving us a new sign of hope in him.
The table is
ready; Jesus bids us come and eat.
Prayer After
Communion:
God of growing
things, we are grateful for your gifts to us. Teach us to lay aside despair, to live in hope, and to share
that hope with all of your creation. Amen.
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