Worship Resources
Liturgy I:
Love Your Neighbor Theme
Call to Worship
Leader: Come, beloved children of God, rejoice in the embrace of the Holy One.
People: We delight in the presence of God.
Leader: Let us praise God together.
People: We will sing of the love of God.
Leader: Let us seek God together.
People: We will pray to know God’s heart.
Leader: Let us enter God’s gates with thanksgiving.
All: Glory and praise be to God.
Opening Prayer
Gracious God, we enter this hour with hearts filled with joy, and hearts filled with sadness. With pockets full, and with pockets empty. With calm minds, and with minds we cannot seem to turn off. Come to us in this hour, and grant us your peace. Open our eyes that we may see the needs around us. Open our minds that we may understand the ways we are called to help your children. And open our hearts that we may desire to be your hands in a hurting world.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Loving and tender-hearted God, we seek each day to be your hands and heart in the world, yet we fail. Our time is short — we cannot stop for all of the needs around us.
People: Forgive us, we pray.
Leader: Our hands are tight — we’re afraid to give away too much.
People: Forgive us, we pray.
Leader: Our energy is used up in our daily round of work and responsibility.
People: Forgive us, we pray.
Leader: Forgive us for the things we do that we should not do. And forgive us for the things we fail to do though the need is great.
People: Forgive us, we pray.
Leader: Create new spirits within us, and show us the way we should go.
All: Show us your mercy and grant us your peace.
Words of Assurance
Leader: Hear the word of God who created you — everyone who is called by my name I created for my glory. Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
People: Thanks be to God.
Litany
Mark 12:29–31 (NRSV)
Leader: Which commandment is the first of all?
People: Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
Leader: And what is the second?
People: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Leader: There is no other commandment greater than these. God is one, and besides God there is no other.
People: Jesus calls me to love God with all my heart, and with all my understanding, and with all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself.
All: Thanks be to God.
Invitation to Communion
Leader: Come, neighbors, to eat at Christ’s table.
People: We come to share the bread and cup.
Leader: Come, neighbors, to remember Christ’s sacrifice.
People: We come to share Christ’s love in the world.
Leader: Come, neighbors, to rejoice in God’s overflowing grace.
All: We come to Christ’s table with joy.
Communion Prayer
God who knows us, who loves us, who redeems us — you call us to this table to share simple gifts of the earth. Bless these gifts to embolden our hearts and strengthen our spirits in your service to our neighbors near and far. Amen.
Invitation to the Offering
Come, you that are blessed by God, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me . . . Truly, I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.
Dedicatory Prayer
Gracious and loving God, we place before you this offering — the fruit of our labor. Help our gifts to reach our neighbors: those who live in our community, and those who live in communities we will never know. Bless these gifts, that they may multiply and be used wisely to bring food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless, hope to the hurting, and peace in the land. Grant us the courage to be a giving and generous people — to love and care for others as we love and care for our families and ourselves. In the name of Jesus, who calls us to radical love, amen.
Charge and Benediction
Go into this week with hearts open to the needs of your neighbor. Seek the face of God in each face you meet. Be the hands of God in each action you take. Rest in the knowledge that you are known, that you are loved, and that you are being redeemed.
Liturgy II:
Who Is Our Neighbor Theme
Call to Worship
Leader: Come, ye thankful people, come!
People: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless God’s holy name.
Leader: Give thanks to the Lord and call on God’s name.
People: We thank you, God, for your many blessings.
Leader: Seek God’s presence continually, and remember the wonderful works God has done.
All: We come to worship you, loving God. Be with us, we pray.
Opening Prayer
Holy and gracious God, turn your ear to our praise and open your heart to our prayers. Fill this hour with your presence, and ignite in each of us the spark of justice and the steady flame of mercy. Inspire us to a greater passion to know you, to share your love, and to be your hands in the world. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Forgive us, God, for we have sinned. We know what you expect,
People: But we frequently lose our focus.
Leader: We know you call us to love,
People: But we often lose touch with your heart.
Leader: We know what needs to be done,
People: But so often our hands are already full.
Leader: Forgive us our inability to live richly in the abundance you offer.
All: Grant us the grace to know you better each day.
Words of Assurance
Psalm 32:1 (The Message, adapted)
Leader: Count yourself blessed — how happy you must be!
People: We get a fresh start! Our slate is wiped clean.
Leader: Count yourself blessed — God holds nothing against you.
All: And may we hold nothing back from God.
Litany
Isaiah 58:9–11 (adapted)
Leader: Hear the word of the Lord. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
People: If we offer our food to the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
Leader: Then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong;
People: And we shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
All: Let us sing praise and thanksgiving to God.
Invitation to Communion
In holy communion, the bread and cup are symbols, and we savor them because they connect us more closely to Christ. But for many who live in a daily struggle against hunger, even starvation, these simple elements represent a solid meal.
Let us remember those neighbors today as we share in God’s blessing and eat at Christ’s table. Bring a heart that is grateful for the bounty we enjoy and open to the connection this meal offers to those of God’s children who would weep to share our feast.
Communion Prayer
Generous and loving God, we cannot know why we are blessed as we are when others suffer cruelly. As we share this communion meal, keep us mindful of our abundance, and help us to listen for your voice — taking the grace of this spiritual sustenance into the world, better equipped to be your hands and heart among our neighbors.
Invitation to the Offering
As Jesus praised the widow’s gift, know that each offering is precious in its response to God’s love and blessing. Pray that God will open your ears to the cries of our sisters and brothers and your hearts to the rich blessing of giving like a spring of water that never fails.
Dedicatory Prayer
Loving God, you have blessed us, and we thank you that each offering is precious in its response to your love and care. Speed these gifts to the hands of those who work to shelter, feed, clothe and care for your children who face challenges with each new day. Multiply our gifts that they may do your work among neighbors we may never meet. Grant us the grace to continue to give with joy, secure in the know-ledge of your steadfast love.
Charge and Benediction
Leave this holy place with your heart light. Rejoice in your blessings, but keep your ear tuned to the voice of the God whose love knows no bounds. Care for all of God’s children whose needs come into your awareness, with your heart and hands open.
