Sunday, March 1, 2020 - Pastor Simpson's Retirement

Prayer as We Gather

We enter your tent of meeting this holy hour, Lord, bearing witness to a long pastoral obedience in the same direction. Thank you, God of our Hebrew forebears, for Abraham's stalwart example in stepping away from the familiar in response to your bidding to seek "the land I will show you,” going out not knowing where you were leading him. Grant us strength to do likewise, mindful that "the will of God will never lead us where the grace of God cannot keep us." Amen.*  - inspired by Genesis 12, the wisdom of Eugene Peterson, and words inscribed on a tattered old bookmark

Call to Worship: 

I raise my eyes toward the mountains.

Where will my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

The maker of heaven and earth.

God won't let your foot slip.

Your protector won't fall asleep on the job.

The Lord will protect you from all evil;

God will protect your very life.

The Lord will protect you on your journeys,

From now until forever from now.  (From Psalm 121, The Common English Bible)

Morning Prayer:  Open our eyes, Lord, so we might see how ripe for harvest are the fields of ministry opportunity all around us.  Grant us the sheer unbridled joy of the  woman, soul-weary from being passed among too many men already, whose chance encounter with Jesus at a well turned out to be no mere chance at all.  Soften our defenses as we stand in the presence of One who knows everything we've done, yet loves us still.  May we, like Jesus, be nurtured by spiritual food about which the world knows nothing, nourishment realized only by doing your will, Lord.  In the challenging days of pastoral transition just ahead, remind us how your called out and gathered church needs for some to sow, others to harvest, so all may celebrate your love made known to us by the Galilean carpenter who taught us to pray, saying … *(Inspired by John 4)

Prayer of Confession: As Lent's dark mystery unfolds before us, Lord, forgive our deliberate misappropriation of the cross event as some tawdry sacrificial transaction by which an angry God is assuaged, bought off by the necessary death of an innocent victim.  Shatter our 2,000 year illusion that somehow everything changed on Calvary, a distorted notion transforming you into the Sacrificer-in-Chief, ignoring Jesus' teaching, reducing the scope of his influence to the last three hours of his life. Have mercy on our utter rejection of apostle Paul's insistence that we are equally "saved by His life."  Hammer into our souls the abiding truth that nothing about you changed on Calvary, God, but everything was revealed as your suffering love - so we could change!  Amen.*(Inspired by Romans 5 and the searing wisdom of Franciscan friar Richard Rohr)

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the good news:  The Kingdom of God has never depended upon our goodness, purity or endurance.  Neither has the truth of God's love, revealed in Calvary's cruciform grace, ever been limited to our petty creeds and mumbled confessions.  Nor does our deliverance from our own dark selves depend on some unnatural, self-invoked strength of will.  Rather, as the irascible apostle redeemed from the strictures of legalistic religion came finally to know when his own orthodox world crashed around him, "the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."  Thanks be to God, in whose presence we continue to stand amazed, for a love that will not let us go.*(Inspired by Romans 5 and the poetry of George Matheson)

Thought for a Lenten Sabbath:  "To be true to itself, the church needs to be in trouble.  The ancient name of that trouble is the cross.  The gospel message to such Christian communities in cruciform trouble is that they are in the right place at the right time."  - James McClendon, Jr.   

Sunday, February 23, 2020

Prayer as We Gather

God of timeless wonder, we enter your sanctuary longing for respite from our hurry-up-and wait culture, jostled on all sides by the competing demands of "the next big thing." Slow us down, and give us a glimpse of the eternal stretch of your vision, as UBC moves forward seeking your face for our future. Ancient scriptural voices guide us ever onward, echoing your consistent counsel during holy mountain encounters from Moses to Jesus: "Wait. Listen. Don't be afraid." Help us obey your flawless bidding, as we gather on our own hilltop to hear your voice. Amen.*                                                                                                                 - inspired by Exodus 24

Call to Worship                                                                                                                 

The Lord rules, enthroned on winged heavenly creatures:

The nations shakes, the earth quakes!

The Lord is exalted over all the nations.

Strong, holy king who loves justice,

You established what is fair and righteous.

Magnify the Lord, our God!  Bow low at God's footstool.

Moses and Aaron were among those who called upon God's name.

They cried out, and the Lord answered them from a pillar of cloud.

Lord God, you answered them, a God who forgives.

Magnify the Lord, bow low at God's holy mountain!        - from Psalm 99, CEB

Morning Prayer                                                                                   

Thank goodness for Simon Peter's reminder, Lord: Bearing witness to Jesus never requires crafty myths, only a personal encounter with him on his terms. Across the ages, we have trusted reliable prophetic voices willing to speak truth to the powers that be, whether in the statehouse or the church house, stubborn truth flickering bravely "like a lamp shining in a dark place." Now, as the lively experiment of American democracy continues its fearsome descent into chaos, we take comfort that "no prophecy ever came by human will, but through men and women led by God's Holy Spirit." Shine, Spirit, shine through us as we resolutely follow our risen Lord, the Galilean carpenter who taught us to pray, saying …*                              - inspired by 2 Peter 1

Prayer of Confession                                                                                 

Lord, forgive our perpetual orthodox inability to "leave a tender moment alone" when it comes to your Spirit's mysterious, whimsical intrusion into our tame everydayness. Like Simon Peter's        ill-timed blurting out to Jesus on the mount of transfiguration of his misguided good intentions to "make three shrines - one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah," we have a tendency to get in your way, substituting our plans for yours. In these months of pastoral transition, forgive our temptation to pull the entire congregation through the knothole of our limited individual  perspective, lest we compromise your will for our church's future. Amen.*                                                       - inspired by Matthew 17 and the poetry of singer-songwriter Billy Joel

Assurance of Pardon     

I have great news: God is patient with our childish willfulness, and has an expansive (if little acknowledged) sense of humor, so when we throw our little churchly tantrums God politely     ignores us until we've regained our grown-up composure and are ready to hear what Peter, James and John heard in the blinding light of Jesus' transfiguration: "Hush. Listen. Get up. Don't be afraid." Thanks be to God that the Kingdom of God is not tethered to our fear-tinged shrinking of its boundaries.*              - inspired by Matthew 17

Thought for a Transfiguration Sabbath

"Worship of wealth is probably the besetting sin in the church, followed closely by identification of the national interest with the will of God."         -  Charles Kiker, Texas farmer, preacher and professor                                                                                        

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Prayer as We Gather: Lord, in this holy hour we embrace your "If-Then" covenant with our Hebrew forebears:  "If you obey me and walk in my ways, you will live and thrive. But if you worship other gods, you will definitely die.  I have set before you life and death.  Choose life."   We therefore reject the false gods vying for our allegiance:  Wealth, nationalism, racism, military might.  With contrite hearts, we put away the sins of the past that cling so closely and we press toward the mark of our high calling in Jesus.  Amen.*(Inspired by  Hebrews 12 and Deuteronomy 30)

Call to Worship:

Those who walk in the Lord's instruction are truly happy!

Those who guard God's laws seek God with all their hearts.

They walk in God's ways.

God, how I wish my ways were strong when it comes to obeying you.

Then I wouldn't be ashamed when I consider your commandments.

I will keep your statutes.  Please don't leave me all alone! (from Psalm 119, The Common English Bible)

Morning Prayer:  As UBC steps further into the unfamiliar waters of pastoral transition, we recall apostle Paul urging the early church to progress beyond baby's milk into the solid food of mature disciples.  He insists each of us has a distinct, God-given role to play in our unfolding ministry to the powerless, the voiceless poor, the immigrant stranger at our borders. Make us mindful of Paul's counsel:  "Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but the only one who is anything is God, who makes God's field grow. We are God's co-workers, and you are God's field."  Here and now we accept our commission as disciples and co-laborers in the name of our Galilean Lord who taught us to pray, saying …*(Inspired by 1 Corinthians 3)

Prayer of Confession: Forgive, Lord, our terrible literalness where scripture is concerned, our tendency to rip Biblical words from their context and use them as weapons of exclusion and bigotry. We are masters at averting our eyes from Jesus' penetrating gaze, his mirthful countenance lancing our humorless proclivity to swallow scripture like bad medicine, holding our noses and suspending healthy curiosity in favor of blind allegiance to lifeless words on the page. If we merely took Jesus' words at face value, our sanctuary would be populated this morning by one-eyed men with their right hands chopped off. Have mercy on our dullness and renew in us a faith-filled sense of humor. Amen.* (Inspired by Matthew 5)

Assurance of Pardon:  Take heart, all culturally-captive recovering Biblical fundamentalists. Our kind, smiling Galilean Lord looks beyond the facades of our stern religious meanness and sees the hurting, crippled children cowering there. Leaning in, he reaches tenderly to bid us "come and see," offering liberation from the crushing strictures of stale doctrine and harsh judgment.  Lifting our countenance to meet his compassionate look of absolute acceptance, he offers our souls solace and a place of permanent healing. Take him at his word, and your heart can finally know a peace not bounded by life's strictures or death's hollow menace.  Thanks be to God for such a Deliverer!*(Inspired by Matthew 5)

Thought for an Epiphany Season Sabbath:  "Mature faith is able to deal with darkness and failure with quiet, confident joy.  Infantile religion insists on certainty every step of the way, and thus is not very happy." (Richard Rohr, Franciscan Friar) 

Sunday, February 9, 2020

Prayer As We Gather:  Lord, through Isaiah you’ve declared our  worship efforts bogus. Feigning a desire for closeness to you, we do whatever we want on the Sabbath.  Our wealth is gained on the backs of migrant workers we disregard, yet we wonder why your Spirit seems absent from our lives. You implore us to share our bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into our house, in return for which you offer healing for our sin-sick souls and darkness-dispelling light. In this holy hour, help us earn the title you grant those who obey:  Mender of Broken Walls.  Amen.*(Inspired by Isaiah 58)

Call to Worship: 

Those who honor the Lord are truly happy.

Their offspring will be blessed.

They shine in the dark for others who do right.

They are merciful, compassionate and righteous.

Those who lend generously are good people,

As are those who conduct their affairs with justice.

These sorts of people will never be shaken;

They won’t be frightened at bad news.

Their hearts are steady, trusting in the Lord.

Their hearts are firm, they are not afraid. (from Psalm 112, The Common English Bible)

Morning Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for apostle Paul’s assertion that proclaiming your good news requires not wise words but a demonstration of Holy Spirit. Your wisdom, so absent in “today’s  leaders who are being reduced to nothing,” remains hidden to those unaware of your cruciform love on full display at Calvary.  As we consecrate Megan, Thomas and Siangluai for deacon servant ministry, who knows what spiritual depths await them and all who are willing to heed the call of the Galilean who bids us follow, and who taught us to pray saying …*(Inspired by 1 Corinthians 2

Prayer of Confession:  Forgive us, Lord, our utter failure to behave as the salt of the earth.  Flatter than day-old beer, our passionless parroting of stale orthodoxy rarely rises to the level of inspiring witness.  Should we be impeached on charges of following Jesus, would there be enough evidence to convict us? We are more upset over no longer being number one in basketball than over Jesus’ warning that ignoring God’s commandments will earn us the title “Lowest in the Kingdom of Heaven.”  What a mess we are! Have mercy, we pray. Amen.*(Inspired by Matthew 5

Assurance of Pardon:   I have good news! Our capacity to be lowest in the Kingdom is mercifully counter-balanced by the hopeful tone Jesus posits, embedded in his stark insistence that we are in fact already salt and light, not merely potentially so.  The issue is whether we embrace full saltiness and light-emanating status by obeying Jesus’ commands. Those who do, he promises, “will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Thanks be to God for such a matchless incentive!* (Inspired by Matthew 5) 

Thought for an Epiphany Season:  “There are many people who think being oneself means being spontaneous, giving way to one’s every whim. To act spontaneously is to act without thought, without judgment.  It cannot therefore be said to involve choice. To live is to choose.” - Paul Tournier, Swiss Physician and Author

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Prayer as We Gather: Lord, you always keep your promises.  Today, amidst threats of global health crises, evidence of constitutional democracy's decline in our own nation, friends struggling with the abrupt intrusions of sickness and death, we cling to prophet Isaiah's assurance that distress will not exhaust us: "On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned." Move among us this holy hour in this sacred place, shattering every yoke that burdens us.  Amen.*(Inspired by Isaiah 9)

Call to Worship:

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Should I fear anyone?

The Lord is a fortress protecting my life.

Should I be frightened of anything?

God shelters me during troubling times,

High up in a secret place up high, safe on a rock.

I will bring offerings with shouts of joy, Singing and praising the Lord!

Lord, listen to my voice when I cry out - Have mercy on me and answer me!

Don't hide your face from me, don't push me aside.

You have been my help, don't neglect me! (from Psalm 27, The Common English Bible)

Morning Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for apostle Paul's encouraging reminder that baptism isn't a magic act cloning people in the image of their religious leaders, but a deep dive into the very mind and purpose of Jesus. When our soul was in the lost and found, you came along to claim it.  We didn't know just what was wrong with us, but your love helped us name it.  To our great relief, Jesus doesn't send us out to proclaim the gospel with clever words, but with changed hearts and minds that lift up our broken sisters and brothers. Now we're no longer doubtful of what we're living for, because your power delivers us by way of the cross, whose message is sheer foolishness to the distracted children of this age. Thanks be to God, who is indeed the key to our peace of mind, for coming to us in the Galilean carpenter who taught us to pray, saying …*(Inspired by 1 Corinthians 1 and the soulful witness of preacher's daughter Aretha Franklin)

Prayer of Confession:  Forgive us, Lord, for choosing precisely the political leaders we deserve, people of boundless hubris and ambition on both sides of the aisle, whose primary guiding star is their desperate lust for re-election.  Only a nation of shallow, performance craving consumers with the attention span of a gnat could have brought us to the precipice upon which we now teeter, our available choices for leadership mostly cut from the same old field of snake oil salesmen pandering to our insatiable need to be entertained. Thank goodness Jesus' first followers were drawn from hardened, rough hewn, no-nonsense fishermen accustomed to stormy seas and sleepless nights of fruitless labor, who nevertheless kept mending their nets and putting out to sea again in dogged hopes of better results next time.  Have mercy on our addiction to quick fixes, effortless success, and con artists who would be king.  Amen.*(Inspired by Matthew 4)

Assurance of Pardon:  Take heart! I have good news for just such a time as this in the life of University Baptist Church.  Jesus is still looking for followers, still offering the same miraculous covenant he first offered those sturdy fishermen by the lakeshore, some of them in their accustomed daily routine of casting their nets in hopes of a catch, others mending their nets in necessary preparation for the relentless demands of the dawning day's work. "Come," Jesus beckoned, "follow me and I'll show you how to fish for people."  The looming transition in our beloved community's pastoral leadership brings its own set of changes, adjustments and churchly introspection, but one thing remains constant:  The church exists for those who are not in it.  Nothing about learning to heed a new shepherd's voice changes Jesus' basic expectation of us, to minister to the least of God's children and by our lives show weary pilgrims the way home. Thanks be to God for such a privilege, and for the exciting unknowns of the future being shaped for us in God's always-present Kingdom.* (Inspired by Matthew 4)

Thought for the Epiphany Season:  "Most wishes - even good wishes - will not come true.  Bodies age.  Love slips out of our hands.  Hope is the language of May it be."    -  Kate Bowler, author of Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Prayer as We Gather: Lord, what was it you told us through prophet Micah about how best to approach you in worship, what you consider good, what you require from us? In this holy hour, speak to us once more of doing justice, embracing faithful love, and walking humbly with you. It's easy to forget, hard to do.  Amen.*(Inspired by Micah 6)

Call to Worship:

Who can dwell on your holy mountain, Lord?

The person who does what is right and speaks truth sincerely.

Who can live in your tent, Lord?

The person who does no damage with their talk, doesn't insult a neighbor, Keeps their promise even when it hurts, But despises those who act wickedly, And honors those who honor the Lord.

Whoever does these things will never stumble.  (from Psalm 15, The Common English Bible)

Morning Prayer:  On this Men's Day, Lord, we're thankful for our rich Baptist traditions of laity-led worship and local church autonomy, the hard-won privilege of soul freedom granting us direct access to you, without intercession of clergy or magistrate. As UBC's beloved community  moves into a time of transition, help us keep sight of those truths that have shaped us into faithful followers of Jesus, called to be disciples and to continue making disciples in Jesus' name.  May we be deliberate in our search for new pastoral leadership, careful not to shift our personal ministry commission onto the shoulders of whomever you lead to take up the mantle as our next under-shepherd, for we make our appeal in the name of our Galilean Lord who endured the deadly foolishness of the cross and taught us to pray, saying …*(Inspired by 1 Corinthians 1)

Prayer of Confession:  Forgive us, Lord, our perpetual quest for happiness through things that cannot make us happy.  We are intent upon pursuing the exact opposite of what Jesus identified as true sources of happiness:  Humility, mercy, purity of heart, peace-making. We fervently try to avoid the difficult circumstances Jesus saw as precursors of genuine happiness:  Grief, hopelessness, harassment. We are looking in all the wrong places for what can only be realized through following Jesus, a Way we have found difficult and left untried. Have mercy, we pray. Amen.*(Inspired by Matthew 5 and the wit of G.K. Chesterton)

Assurance of Pardon: Take heart, for Rabbi Jesus never gives up on us, his belligerent students. He assures us we can endure the worst insults and false accusations our adversaries lob our way, if they are doing so "because of me." Since most of our adversity is untethered from discipleship and is likely our own fault, may our loving God keep us honest about the sources of our woes, so we might hear Jesus encouraging us to "be full of joy and be glad, because you have a great reward in heaven." Thanks be to God for how great a friend we have in Jesus!*(Inspired by Matthew 5)

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Prayer as We Gather:  You shaped us and called us, Lord, while we were still in the womb, hidden in the shadow of your hand.  In this holy hour, in this sacred space where “memory believes before knowing remembers,” we draw near to you as you draw near to us.  We feel the ancient pull of a covenant with you older than time, stronger than death.  You have chosen to move among us, now have your own way with us while we are waiting, yielded and still.  Amen.*(Inspired by Isaiah 49, the wisdom of William Faulkner and the poetry of Adelaid Pollard)

Call to Worship:

I put all my hope in the Lord,

Who leaned down and listened to my cry for help,

Lifted me out of the mud and filth, set my feet on solid rock.

The Lord steadied my legs, put a new song in my mouth.

Those who trust the Lord, who pay no attention to the proud,

Are truly happy!

I want to do your will, my God.

Your Instruction is deep within me.

So don’t hold back any of your compassion from me.

Let your loyal love and faithfulness always protect me. (From Psalm 40, The English Common Bible)

Morning Prayer:  How blessed we of UBC’s beloved community have been these thirty years, Lord, to greet each other in worship every Sabbath by echoing apostle Paul’s venerable words of compassion: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Like Paul, we give constant thanks  for the sisters and brothers who have peopled our faith journey, as together we have seen Jesus reveal himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings we have passed through in His fellowship, learning as an ineffable mystery who He is, this risen Lord who taught us to pray, saying …*(Inspired by 1 Corinthians 1 and the eloquence of Albert Schweitzer)

Prayer of Confession:  Forgive us, Lord, when we try to change the subject on you.  Like those first curious followers of Jesus, tagging along behind him at a safe distance after John the Baptizer outed him as “the Lamb of God,” we have often been little more than religious stalkers of the Galilean carpenter. When he abruptly turned to demand “What are you looking for?” their clumsy “Where are you staying?” implicated them as conflicted camp followers, driven as are we by cravings for familiarity without commitment.  We yearn to be called people of The Way, heedless that it leads to a cross.  Have mercy, we pray.  Amen.*(Inspired by John 1)

Assurance of Pardon:  Take heart, for even a lame inquiry about where he is lodging can be transformed by Jesus into a liberating summons:  “Come and see.”  More than simply providing a street address, Jesus bids us tag along on the most perilous, terrifying, joyful  and life-giving sojourn we could ever embrace.  One of the two disciples mumbling an awkward response was Andrew, who sought out his own brother Simon Peter and led him to Jesus, prompting the history-altering pronouncement:  “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.”  You and I, thanks be to God, are no less capable, through acts of simple obedience, of changing the world in Jesus’ name.*(Inspired by John 1)

Thought for Season of Epiphany:  “I believe our inner world of emptiness is itself the sound God’s voice makes in a world that has explained him away.  Maybe God speaks to us most clearly through his silence, his absence, so that we know him best through our missing him.”   - Frederick Buechner, Secrets in the Dark 

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Prayer as We Gather:  Thank you, Lord, for bidding us serve you, placing your spirit upon us to bring justice to the nations.  Isaiah insists we are “called for a good reason,” a personal relationship in which you grasp our hand and guard us as your covenant people “to lead the prisoners from prison, and those who sit in darkness from the dungeon.”  As this transition year at UBC reveals your steady hand, we trust you to “declare new things before they even appear.” Amen.* (Inspired by Isaiah 42)

Call to Worship:   

Give to the Lord glory and power!

The Lord’s strong, majestic voice is over the mighty waters.

The Lord’s voice shakes the wilderness,

But in the Lord’s temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”

Let the Lord give us strength,

Let the Lord bless us with peace! (from Psalm 29, The Common English Bible)

Morning Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for scripture’s radical claim:  God doesn’t show partiality to one group of people over another.  May our tribal loyalties and entrenched ideologies melt away in the face of Simon Peter’s brash claim that whoever worships you and does what is right is acceptable to you.  Whereas Jesus “went about doing good,” we are most often content to simply go about.  Grant us sufficient epiphanies of your grace that we may have courage to follow the risen Galilean who bids us pray … *(Inspired by Acts 10)

Prayer of Confession:  Forgive, Lord, our pious false modesty.  Our patron saint seems to be Baptizer John, who was arguably at least sincere when he tried to refuse Jesus’ request to be baptized.   John’s attempt to stop Jesus issued from a genuine sense of his own unworthiness to baptize “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”  Our own efforts to thwart our risen Savior, on the other hand, are less noble, less likely premised on a healthy sense of our insufficiencies, more apt to hinge on our selfish refusal to risk everything for the sake of the Gospel.  Have mercy on our petulant resistance to Jesus’ constant whispered entreaty within our hearts:  “Please allow me to hold sway in your life.”  Amen.*(Inspired by Matthew 3)

Assurance of Pardon:  I have good news for all would-be discouragers of Jesus and his claim upon our lives:  The same Baptizer John who at first sought to hinder Jesus’ perfect will finally relented, agreeing to escort Jesus into baptism’s swirling, mysterious waters of grace.  Who but John, then, was

privileged to hear and later report to a world desperate for hope, God’s voice from heaven saying “This is my Son, whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him.”  Failing John’s change of heart and subsequent faithful witness, we would be denied God’s history-altering affirmation of Jesus, his true identity, his divine mission.  Thanks be to God for extending to us that same opportunity, despite our initial stubborn refusals, to relent and permit Jesus’ loving intrusion into our closed minds.*(Inspired by Matthew 3)

Thought for an Epiphany Season:  “Local church ministry amounts to creating the right spaces and letting Holy Spirit do the rest.”   -Samuel Wells

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Thought for an Epiphany Sunday:  “Christmas Jesus is a beautiful baby boy wrapped in swaddling clothes, sleeping in a trough on a bed of straw as farm animals and shepherds look on pensively.  For many, these are the defining images of Jesus:  helpless, dependent, silent. This is not at all the person of the Messiah who is announced in the Old Testament.”        - M. Daniel Carroll R., Professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College

Prayer as We Gather:  Thank you, Lord, that you alone establish our borders peacefully.  Give us leaders in this New Year, we pray, who will acknowledge that you are God and they are not.  Amen.*(Inspired by Psalm 147)

Call to Worship:

Listen to the Lord’s word, you nations:

The one who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them safe.

The Lord will rescue them from those stronger than they are.

They will come shouting for joy,

Jubilant over the Lord’s gifts.

Their lives will be like a lush garden; they will grieve no more.

The Lord will turn their mourning into laughter

And their sadness into joy. (from Jeremiah 31, The Common English Bible)

Morning Prayer:  As we recuperate from holiday excesses and battle seasonal fatigue, Lord, we welcome apostle Paul’s clear-eyed reminder:  “Through Jesus you have imbued us with every heavenly spiritual blessing.”    As this transition year unfolds in the life of our beloved congregation, we cherish our adoption as your children, chosen before the creation of the world, destined to honor your glorious grace given freely through Jesus, sealed with Holy Spirit’s promise.   Lead us to the pastoral shepherd whose name you already know, as we continue to follow the Galilean who taught us to pray, saying …*(Inspired by Ephesians 1)   

Prayer of Confession:  Forgive us, Lord.  No sooner do Christmas carol lyrics extolling the light of the world fade from our lips than we begin to act out gospel writer John’s chilling verdict:  “The light was in the world, but the world didn’t recognize the light; He came to his own people, and his own people didn’t welcome him.” It’s a lot easier to sing about adorable baby Jesus than to follow offensive grownup Jesus.     Have mercy, we pray, on our penchant for pulling the welcome mat out from under Mary’s boy child.  Amen.*(Inspired by John 1)

Assurance of Pardon:  Take heart, all who launched into this New Year afflicted by a momentary spiritual amnesia that prohibits our recognizing or welcoming God’s dearest child, the Galilean Lord who is our only hope in this self-destructive world.  John’s honest reprimand includes this hope-inducing addendum:  “But those who did welcome him, those who believe in his name, he authorized to become God’s children.” Come into our hearts, Lord Jesus, there is room in our hearts for you.  Thanks be to God that the Word became flesh!*(Inspired by John 1)

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Prayer as We Gather:  Thank you, Lord, for the stumps in our lives.  Amidst our pre-Christmas fascination with the tall trees of material possessions, make us mindful of the neglected poor through whom you have always spoken a word of wisdom and justice.  Bring our gaze back down to earth, so we may finally see you in the ruined stumps of broken lives from whose roots stubborn branches of hope and peace still sprout.  Amen.*(Inspired by Isaiah 11)

Call to Worship: 

God give your judgments to our rulers,

Judge your poor ones with righteousness and justice.

Let the righteous flourish throughout their lives,

And let peace prosper until the moon is no more.

Bless the Lord God, who does wondrous things!

Let God’s glory fill all the earth! (from Psalm 72, The Common English Bible)

Morning Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, that Advent is no mere four week run-up to flying reindeer and a jolly old bearded man with obvious appetite issues.  Rekindle within us the hard truth that peace, like war, must be waged.  Baptizer John’s bluntness still offends our tender sensibilities, for surely we are not “children of snakes,” surely our failure to produce fruit won’t mean we are to be cut down, surely Jesus wouldn’t sift us like wheat to cull out the husks of empty churchmanship and toss them into Holy Spirit’s fire. Surely not.  Surely he wasn’t serious when he taught us to pray “Our Father …” (Inspired by Matthew 3

Prayer of Confession:  Forgive us, Lord, for misconstruing hope as some luscious sugar plum to be enjoyed without enduring the hardship and struggles required of disciples.  We like apostle Paul’s notion of copping the same attitude Jesus had, we’re just summarily unprepared to pay the price such an attitude demands. Have mercy on our infatuation with servant ministry requiring no servant-hood. Amen.*(Inspired by Romans 15)

Assurance of Pardon:  I have good news:  An attitude similar to Jesus’ attitude is still attainable, if only you’re willing to follow Paul’s basic guidelines: Endure times of testing, allow scripture to encourage your daily sojourn, and welcome others in the same way Jesus welcomed folks of all temperaments, inclinations and skin tones (religious credentials not required).  Thanks be to God for all the Advent opportunities UBC provides to become a servant to the voiceless poor and imprisoned, and for the overflowing hope, peace and joy springing forth from our stumpy mission to the least of these. (Inspired by Romans 15)

Thought for an Advent Sabbath:  “True prophets have never lived in mansions or been the pastor of affluent churches (at least not for long).”   - Mary Lin Hudson, United Church of Christ minister and professor of homiletics