CALL TO WORSHIP
God calls us to worship, and we come, some with laughter and songs of joy.
God calls us to worship, and we come, some in obligation or habit.
God calls us to worship, and we come, some with hearts heavy and grief.
God calls us to worship, and we come, some with doubts and distraction.
As those loved by God, we come.
We bring our joy and pain, our doubt and faith,
into this place of Spirit-given grace, truth, and peace.
We come to you, O God, come to us!
CONFESSION & ASSURANCE
All:
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by preferring the extraordinary over the ordinary,
the new over the old
and loving good things more than our good God.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved the church or the city as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
Because of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us, and forgive us, O Lord;
that Christ may dwell in us richly and the Spirit burn brightly,
that the nations will come to Zion,
and your gospel preached to the ends of the earth,
through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Reader:
While it is true that we have sinned,
it is a greater truth that we are forgiven
through God’s mighty grace in Christ Jesus.
To all who humbly seek the mercy of God I say,
in Jesus Christ your sin is forgiven!
All:
Thanks be to God!
BENEDICTION
Go with a sense of awe
Seek holy joy, for yourself and for others
For God loves the ordinary with an extraordinary grace
Burn brightly, not by might nor by yourself,
but with his people and by his Spirit.
For Christ is All!