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confession: clean and unclean

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God of the clean and the unclean, we too easily think we can see from your point of view. We exclude, hold grudges and nurse contempt, all the while hiding ourselves for fear we too would be found wanting. We think we are justified because we are made holy by your love, and we assume holiness means more like us. We forget, or never really knew, that all you touch is holy, and that you created all that is. So when we exclude, we exclude you. When we hold grudges, we hate you. When we show contempt, we are contemptuous of those you love. May we be made holy in truth, loving as you love, clean and unclean alike.

Submitted by Rev. Doug Hagler, Calvary Presbyterian Church of Wyncote, PA

prayer: speak through us

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One: God, we come to hear your word,
so may you speak through us.
All: We offer our limited understanding, our insight,
our emotions and experiences,
our skills and our talents,
and pray that your voice might be heard
in this place and around the world.
One: We praise you, O God,
and we thank you for your promise to be always in our midst.
All: Open our eyes to see you as you are,
open our ears to hear you as you speak,
open our hearts to receive your care and your challenge,
that we might be your faithful disciples. Amen.

Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL.

communion: God our shepherd

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Invitation to the Table

Sisters and brothers,
this is the joyful feast of the people of God,
a table prepared for us in the presence of our enemies,
a banquet of love in the face of hatred.

Here God’s love for us overflows,
and here we find the depth of God’s kindness and mercy
as we share this strange and wonderful feast in God’s house.

So let us pray for God’s full presence with us here,
for our great shepherd is our host
and invites us to meet him here.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Loving God,
you are our shepherd,
granting us everything that we need,
showing us comfort and peace and hope,
restoring us when we are weak,
guiding us when we are going astray.
You stay with us through the darkest valley
and show us the fullness of your love to beyond overflowing.

In Jesus you gave us the fullness of all these things.
You prepare a table for us
just as he prepared a table for his disciples the night before he was killed.
He took bread and gave thanks to you,
broke it, and gave it to his disciples and said:
Take, eat. This is my body, given for you.
Then after supper,
he took a cup of wine and gave thanks once again.
He passed it among his disciples and said:
Take this, all of you, and drink from it.
This is the cup of the new covenant
sealed in my blood for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this in remembrance of me.

So take these ordinary gifts of bread and cup
and use them to show us your presence and love.
Gather us with Jesus, the disciples, and the believers of every time and place,
that we might be one in this feast
and sustained for the days ahead by the power of your love.
Follow us from this table with your goodness and mercy and peace and love,
that we might rise to serve you with new life and hope
as we dwell in your house forever.
Lord, come quickly! Amen.

Distribution of the Elements

The bread of heaven.
The cup of salvation.

Friends, these are the gifts of God for us, the people of God.
Come, let us keep the feast.

 

Submitted by Rev. Andy James, First Presbyterian Church, Whitestone, NY

confession: we think too highly

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Call to Confession

It is tempting to gloss over our sin and focus on our strengths, but God calls us to focus on the strength of Christ, not ourselves. God, who is faithful and just, offers us a new way to live, and so we join together to confess our faults and failings. Let us pray.

Prayer of Confession

All: God, we are prone to think too highly of ourselves. We forget that it is you who are good, you who are the greatest. We forget that you call us to do your will, not the other way around. When we have fallen into arrogance, forgive us. When we have allowed our good intentions to stand in the way of your grace, forgive us. When we have directed attention away from you, forgive us. Empty us of all things that do not give glory to you, so we are ready to be filled with your love.

 ~silence~

One: We pray in the name of the One who emptied himself in order to live your will. Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness

Hear and live this good news: Love could not be contained in the tomb and will not be constrained by our understanding! Christ is risen, bringing forgiveness and hope to all people. Alleluia! Amen!

 

Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL.

confession: psalm 23

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The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

But, O Lord, we are consumed with wanting more.

He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.

But, O Lord, other pastures seem greener.  The waters aren’t always still.  Our souls still thirst.

He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.

O Lord, we long to be led by you, though we may complain along the path.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff– they comfort me.

And yet, O God, we do sometimes fear.  May we feel your presence, your comfort and your forgiveness anew.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

O God, sometimes we refuse to sit down at your table.  Forgive us and help us to see your overflowing mercy.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

Forgive us, God, and lead us into your house.

 

Submitted by Rev. Emily Schlaman Larsen, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Winston-Salem, NC