Worship Resources for May 25, 2008 – Proper 3a, Epiphany 3a, Pentecost 2a,

From time to time, I hope to offer worship resources on this site, not all of which are prepared by me.  The following were written by Gary L. Lake Dillensnyder, an ordained United Methodist Elder and my friend.  These are published with his permission.

GATHERING WORDS

Leader:  We gather for worship carrying within the thoughts and feelings that have accumuated over the week.
People:  Some of the things are weighing freshly on our hearts and minds, others are like long term companions that have been around for what seems like forever.
Leader:  God knows each thought and feeling and provides a time and place where we can be free from those that are a burden.
People:  God is the One who whispers through the ages: “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you peace.”
Leader:  That is what we need! That is what we have come seeking!
People:  Lighten the load, O God, and keep us from worry in your peace!

OPENING PRAYER

O God of peace, within whom there is wisdom and wellness:
We confess that we often live in the fragmentations of life’s challenges.
We become consumed with the challenges in ways that wrought worry within us.
We worry to the extent that it keeps us from trusting in you and one another.
And, our failings of trust prohibit our faithful stewardship as your servant-disciples.
We take this moment as a time to name our worries and lay them down as if at your feet.

~ A moment of silence ~

[Sung]
Something beautiful, Something good,
All my confusion, God understood,
All I had to offer God, Was brokenness and strife,
But God made something beautiful, Of my life.
(continued as many times as seems to be helpful)

~ A moment of silence ~

O God of all necessary provisions, within whom there is love greater than we can begin to imagine:
We confession that we often live without a seeking or sense of your love among us.
We get busy, we get deterred, we get detoured; and grow stranger to your love.
We awaken to find ourselves adrift, knowing the loss and unsure where to find our way again.
We take this moment as a time to name the distractions and lay them down as if at your feet.

[Sung]
Precious God, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I’m tired, I’m weak, I’m lone
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious God, lead me home.
(continued as many times as seems to be helpful)

~ A moment of silence ~

O God of this moment, within whom there is eternity yet focused redemption and reconciliaton:
We confess that our lives are often lived in the past, or in some dream for the future.
We have difficulty accepting the current happenings as times of grace and opportunity.
We know the pain and struggle that might be part of our present life.
We prefer to escape from it, than learn in it.
We opt for fleeting comfort rather than a faith that is growing and deeping, dynamically alive within us.

~ A moment of silence ~

[Sung]
One day at a time, sweet Savior, that’s all I’m asking of you.
Teach me today, to do all the things that I have to do.
Yesterdays gone, sweet Jesus, and tomorrow may never be mine.
God, for my sake, teach me to take, one day at a time.
(continued as many times as seems to be helpful)

~ A moment of silence ~

O God grant unto us—
what we truly need
what serves your purpose
and what will be most helpful for the common good;
for we seek to your providential care and your call to be your witnesses in a troubled world.
We take this moment to be filled with your blessing and to be renewed for our ministry.

~ A moment of silence ~

[Sung]
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
And God’s righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you
Allelu, Alleluia!
(continued as many times as seems to be helpful)

~ A moment of silence ~

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name … Amen.

Notable Firsts

Dustin Rowles of Pajiba (see link below) started his own little meme today called Cherry Poppers, in which he lists some of his first experiences: your first concert; the first movie you saw in a movie theater; and name the first person you ever kissed.  For obvious reasons, I have renamed the meme, as well as expanding it some.  You are invited to participate on your own blog or in a comment below.

1) First Movie in a Theater:  The Ten Commandments  (it was the only movie my parents would go and see . . . Later on the first movie I saw as a teenager was Star Wars)
2) First Person Kissed: Pam, the daughter of candlestick makers (I kid you not) at the end of the lunch line in Kindergarten)
3) First Car Owned:  1972 Buick Slylark, SE – Red with a black vinyl top and 350 engine – that car could fly!
4) First Album Bought:  Tales of Mystery and Imagination by the Alan Parsons Project
5) First Job:  An apprentice at my uncle’s electronics repair store – Bloomfield Electronics, which is still in business no thanks to me
6) First Award Ever Won:  Mr Scholastic at the Kentucky Church of God Youth Camp in 1976. I also won the Badminton tournament that year, but had the trophy taken away from me and given to another kid because I was a couple of months too old : (

Now it’s your turn, and feel free to add some firsts of your own.

Idea taken from Cherry Poppers by Dustin Rowles, published May 21, 2008

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Matthew 1

[print_link]

The book of the lineage of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham,

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time they were taken away to Babylon.

And after they were taken away  to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

So all the generations from Abraham to David: fourteen generations; and from David to the taking away into Babylon:  fourteen generations; and from the taking away into Babylon to the Messiah:  fourteen generations.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they lived together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. But her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, intended to divorce her secretly.

But while he pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  Moreover, she will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Now all this came to pass took place so that what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled:  “Behold, a virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.”

And Joseph, being awakened from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had enjoined him, and took her as his wife.  But  he but had no sexual relations with her until she had given birth to her firstborn son; and he named him Jesus.

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Genesis 1:1-31

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  And the earth was unformed and empty, with darkness over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and light came into being.  God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light Day and the darkness Night.  And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”  And God made the expanse and divided the waters which were above the expanse from the waters that were below the expanse, and so it came to pass.  God called the expanse Heaven.  And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

And God said, “Let the waters under heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.”  And so it came to pass.  God called the dry land Earth; and the gathered waters, he called Seas.  And God saw that it was good.

And God said, “Let the earth sprout grass, plant yielding seed, and fruit trees producing fruit in which is their seed, each after its kind, upon the earth.  And so it came to pass.  The earth sprouted grass, plant yielding seed after its kind, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, after its kind.  And God saw that it was good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.  And let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And so it came it pass.

And God fashioned two great lights – the greater light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night; and the stars.  And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness.  And God saw that it was good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

And God said, “Let the waters swarm with multitudes of living creatures, and let birds fly over the earth and across the face of the expanse of the heavens.  And God created great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, and with which the waters teem, after its own kind, and every winged bird after its kind.  And God saw that it was good.

And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas and let birds multiply on the earth.  And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kinds:  cattle, creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kinds, and so it came to pass.  And God created the beasts of the earth after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creeps upon the earth after its kind.  And God saw that it was good.

And God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.  And so God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them:  male and female he created them.

And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.  And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant bearing seed which is upon the face of the earth and every tree with seed in its fruit.  To you it shall be for food.  And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to every thing that creeps upon the earth, every thing that has a living soul, I have given every green plant for food.”  And so it came to pass.

And God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

A Quote from Henri Nouwen

Love Remains

Hope and faith will both come to an end when we die. But love will remain. Love is eternal. Love comes from God and returns to God. When we die, we will lose everything that life gave us except love. The love with which we lived our lives is the life of God within us. It is the divine, indestructible core of our being. This love not only will remain but will also bear fruit from generation to generation.

from “Bread for the Journey”

My Prayer

That I may so live my life that there will be much love left behind when I leave.

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