Prayer as We Gather: Like old man Paul, imprisoned for his faith but undaunted in his witness, O God, we come this holy hour giving thanks as we recall the faithful love we have known across the years through UBC’s beloved community. May our hearts continue to be refreshed by their compassionate acts of faith. Amen.*(Inspired by Paul’s letter to Philemon)
Call to Worship:
Lord, you know me.
You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways.
You surround me, you put your hand on me.
That kind of knowledge is so high above me I can’t fathom it.
You created my innermost parts, knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I was marvelously set apart.
When I was woven together in a secret place,
Your eyes saw my embryo.
God, I can’t comprehend your countless plans,
But if I came to the very end, I’d still be with you. (from Psalm 139, The Common English Bible)
Morning Prayer: Lord, like prophet Jeremiah observing an artisan potter as his work, we await your instructions for what to do next. Like clay on the turning wheel, we have often yielded to forms and shapes that grieve you, causing you to break us down for re-forming in your caring hands. Thank you for loving us enough to deliver us from our evil thoughts and selfish actions, crafting us instead for the good you have intended for us all along, for we make our appeal through the unflawed vessel of our Galilean Lord, praying as he taught us … *(Inspired by Jeremiah 18)
Prayer of Confession: Forgive us, Lord, for ignoring Jesus’ clear demand that we calculate the high cost of following him, including rejection by family and forfeiture of earthly wealth. We have often relegated Jesus to a distant third place behind parents’ suffocating expectations and the seductive lure of material possessions. We have foolishly tried to have it both ways, settling for a fool’s compromised discipleship ridiculed by a watching world. No wonder so many folks have such low regard for the church. Have mercy, we pray. Amen.*(Inspired by Luke 14)
Assurance of Pardon: Take heart, for Jesus has not set us an impossible task, only a task whose successful completion is wholly reliant upon his faithful presence – which he has promised unconditionally. In every confrontation with competing demands that would thwart Jesus’ claim on our lives, whether in the form of families’ pre-conceived notions of who we should become or society’s incessant “show me the money” drumbeat, what may appear to us as a better way than servant discipleship cannot begin to match the incomparable joy of walking through this life with Jesus at our side. Thanks be to God for such a faithful friend! *(Inspired by Luke 14)
Thought for a Sabbath Day: “I can see no way out but through.” - Robert Frost