We come seeking Jesus,
the Light of the world!
Shine in our hearts Lord Jesus!
We believe in the strength of God
to illuminate our bleakest night.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness shall not overcome it.
God, in this hour of worship,
kindle in us the light of your love.
Let your light shine through us,
and through our community, always.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory. [Isaiah 6:3 NRSV]
The Lord of hosts is with us.
Let us lift up our hearts!
We lift them up to the Lord!
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God!
It is a good and joyful thing to give God thanks and praise!
Let us pray:
Holy God, we come together as your people
searching for sacred space,
longing to be cherished,
craving a real connection.
1. In the name of Jesus Christ, I welcome you to worship!
2. It is a delight to be together in the house of God!
1. We lift our voices with joyful hearts!
2. It is right to give God thanks and praise!
1. May the grace of God, the love of Jesus,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with us now in this hour and always.
Amen.
Leader: We come to this table with thankful hearts.
People: Why do we give thanks at this table?
Leader: We give thanks because God has invited us here!
All God’s children are invited to the Lord’s supper.
We come humbly to the table,
knowing that we have not earned our way here,
but are invited, guests at this feast of love.
People: Why do we eat at this table?
Leader: We eat at this table to remember
that on the night before Jesus died, he ate with his friends.
The world is filled with the glory of God, and we say,
Thank you!
The hills and valleys are filled with colour, and we say,
Thank you!
The vines and trees are filled with fruit, and we say,
Thank you!
Because we have food to put on the table, we say,
Thank you!
Because we have this community that loves us, we say,
Thank you!
We fill this house of God with our voices, saying,
Thank you!
May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts
be acceptable to you, O God,
as we enter into this service of thanksgiving and praise.
On this day when we remember your triumphal entry
we admit that we, too, have paid lip service to you,
but have not wanted to follow when the road is difficult.
The words in our heads have often been,
“Can’t,” “Won’t,” “Never,” “Impossible.”
Believing our problems too deep for you,
we have underestimated your power
and stewed in our own misery.
We repent of this hardheartedness.
God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
God, you are the great Healer.
Today we pray for those who live with mental illness.
For those crippled by depression and anxious feelings,
bring healing, bring peace.
For those who suffer from the high and lows of severe mood swings,
bring healing, bring peace.
For those who are tormented by voices and hallucinations,
bring healing, bring peace.
For those who find it difficult to cope with tasks of daily living,
bring healing, bring peace.
For those who struggle with suicidal thoughts,
I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.
I love to write and to lead worship! If you are finding my writing helpful, I would love to hear from you! Feel free to use or adapt the material here, it is all written by me. If printing material, please credit “Copyright Carol Penner www.leadinginworship.com” (and say whether you modified it). If publishing, please contact me for permission. Contact me at carol@leadinginworship.com
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