Worship Resources

Calls to Worship:
L\ In the midst of abundance
P\ We remember those who live on nothing.
L\ In the midst of security
P\ We remember those who live in fear.
L\ In the midst of peace
P\ We remember those who live in conflict.
L\ In the midst of freedom
P\ We remember those who live under oppression.
L\ In the midst of our faith
P\ We remember that Christ bids us care for these, the least, the last, the lost of our world.

— Renee Jensen, Omaha, Nebraska

Hear the call, O People of God —
See with your eyes the abundance of gifts God has given us,
Hear with your hearts God calling to us!
Let us take our gifts, and in love, serve one another.
This is the worship God asks of us.

— Beth Burton Williams, Smithfield, NC

Gather together, People of God, and rejoice in your array of gifts!
For we have been uniquely called
to teach, to sing,
to create, to speak out,
to mourn, to rejoice,
to love — to do anything
and everything the imagination can fathom as God has given us, to serve one another with whatever gift each of us has received.

L\ Praise the One who hears the cry of the poor,
P\ Who lifts up the weak and gives them strength.
L\ Praise the One who feeds the hungry,
P\ Who satisfies the longing of those in need.
L\ Praise the One who holds with tenderness the widow and the orphan,
P\ Who gives the stranger a land and a home.
L\ Praise the One who blesses us with gift upon gift,
P\ Who asks that we now serve one another with the gift we have been given.
L\ Praise the One who is our Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer,
P\ Who is worthy of our praise this day and all day, now and forever.

Opening Prayers:
O Lord, we come into your presence today giving thanks for all the good gifts you have bestowed upon us — to each of us is given both gifts and calling, and we look now to you to lead us as we offer our gifts to one another in love and rise to the calling we have heard from you. In Christ, we pray.
AMEN.

— Beth Burton Williams, Smithfield, NC

O God of all mercies, heal us that we may be your instruments of healing. Stir us that we may be your makers of peace. Embolden us that we may be your voices of justice. Touch us that we may be your channels of compassion. Bless us now to be a blessing to others, serving one
another with whatever gift each of us has received.
AMEN.

— Renee Jensen, Omaha, NE

Offertory Invitation:
For all that we receive, may we be thankful.
For all that we are called to give, may we do so with glad and generous hearts.
And may we, in love, serve one another with whatever gifts we have received.

— Beth Burton Williams, Smithfield, NC

Offering Meditations:
“Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.
— I Peter 4:10

After visiting a sister Disciple congregation in a nearby state, a member of my congregation returned to announce to me: “Jim, you probably wouldn’t like that church; they’re pretty charismatic.”

She did not explain what she meant, and I did not ask. But I suspect that she was saying that the worship service was less formal than she was used to.

What about your congregation and its participation in the Week of Compassion? Would you call it charismatic?
The theme verse for this year’s Week of Compassion has a play on words that is obscured by our English translations. We are exhorted to “serve one another” as stewards of God’s grace (charis), because each one of us has a gift (charis-ma). Any reader of Greek would have seen the connection: God’s charis (grace) comes to us not for our own gratification but to give us a charis-ma (gift) with which we can serve someone else.

It would appear that whether a church is charismatic or not has nothing to do with the style of form of worship, or the ability of its members to heal and speak in tongues.

A charismatic church is a church that uses its gifts to make God’s grace real for itself and for others.

There are, of course, different gifts, since, as the theme verse says, God’s grace is “manifold” — many-sided. But one of the gifts the Scriptures commend to us is giving aid (Romans 12:8; I Corinthians 12:28). It is a gift to which anyone who claims to have been touched by grace can aspire. And it is a gift that you can exercise right here and right now with your Week of Compassion Offering.

— Jim Crouch, Duffield, VA

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
— Acts 20:35

It is a word in the Bible that has become part of our folk wisdom. Luke said that Paul said that Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

And I suppose that there is some truth in the maxim. People would not keep repeating it if it did not reflect
something of the reality they experience. Still, it seems to me that it reflects only part of the truth. The truth is that it is not only more blessed to give than to receive; for most of us it is also easier. I am confident that many of the people who receive aid from our Week of Compassion dollars will not feel as good about the transaction as you and I feel in bringing today’s offering. If you are like me, you feel good bringing your gift to this table. You feel blessed. You also might feel just a little bit superior.

Being on the receiving end of a transaction is a humbling, sometimes even a humiliating, experience. Gifts can, of course, be given and received as expressions of love, but there is also a power dimension in every transaction. The people with power give. The people without receive.

So, where is the power when we come to this table? On the one hand, we receive the bread and wine. We live, we tell ourselves, by God’s grace. But then we give our offerings as if to remind God that we are still in control and that we have the last word.

Listen carefully! “This is my body, broken for you. This is my life, poured out for you.” Those are not words we speak to God. They are the words of Jesus that define our relationship to him.

And they remind us that ultimately what we bring to this table is not our wealth but our poverty. Even when we think we are giving, it is God who gives and we who receive.
— Jim Crouch, Duffield, VA

Invitation to the Table:
Placed before us is a table, and on the table, gifts. They are simple gifts — bread and wine — and their simplicity reminds us that the true gifts of life can never be bought, demanded, or begged, but instead are given and received in love.
Around this table today gather the people who have been given these gifts — teachers, merchants, healers,
farmers, students, homemakers. All over the world Christians come to Table, many hands, many talents, many gifts coming together, each to be fed by God’s gracious gifts.
We take this bread. We take this cup. We eat, we drink. And then, filled with love, we turn to the world God loves to offer our gift — to love as God has loved us.

— Beth Burton Williams, Smithfield, NC

Pastoral Prayer:
Glory to you, O God, giver of every good and perfect gift. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. You have blessed us with every manner of good thing. And according to the good pleasure of your will, you have sent us Jesus to lavish upon us the riches of your grace.

But having received such bounty, we have failed to be as generous ourselves. We have not been good stewards of your manifold grace, nor has the measure of our gratitude reflected the magnitude of your generosity. Break through the crust of our ingratitude, we pray. Make us a grateful, gracious, giving people.

We thank you for appointing us caretakers of creation — tillers and keepers of the earth. And for giving us the opportunity to make a difference in others’ lives by sharing our own lives — our gifts and talents and treasures — we give you thanks and praise. Teach us to be good stewards of all you have entrusted to us. Reveal to us the gifts you have planted within — the gifts of your Holy Spirit — and open our eyes that we may see and affirm the gifts of others.

Kindle in us a compassion that will shine forth the light of your steadfast love. Stand beside victims of both natural disaster and human cruelty. Shelter refugees. Sustain beleaguered souls who look out over parched land and dry wells. Be for all who suffer a refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.

Empower the ministry of Week of Compassion and our partner churches worldwide. Renew their resolve that they not grow weary in well doing. Leaven their service with joy. And hasten the day when love’s redeeming work is at long last done. Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.

— David A. Shirey, Columbus, IN

Prayers of Dismissal and Benediction:
God who was before time and who will reign beyond time, we have come to this place and we now recognize you have granted us many gifts — talents, abilities, resources — and that you now call us to use this gifts in service to one another. Lead us as we leave this place to use our gifts as you have asked, to fulfill the calling to which you have called. And the love of God, the grace of Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit go with us.
AMEN.

— Beth Burton Williams, Smithfield, NC

May the God whose voice shakes the foundations of the world, shake us from our complacency. May the Christ who disturbs the principalities and powers, disturb our comfortable assumptions. May the Spirit who pours forth power, bless us with the power to go forth and to be a blessing.
AMEN.

— Renee Jensen, Omaha, NE