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Call to Worship (based on Psalm 20)

L: The LORD answer you in the day of trouble!
P: The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
L: May he grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill all your plans.
P: May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners.
L: May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
All: Give victory to the king, O LORD; answer us when we call.
 

Call to Worship:
L: God does not hold the past against us.
P: His compassions are new every morning.
L: Give praise to God, for he is slow to anger and rich in mercy.
P: His faithfulness extends to all generations.
L: Come, let us worship God!

 

Prayer of Confession:
by Moria Laidlaw, Liturgies Online

Lord Jesus Christ, we remember with gratitude those people who generously sowed the seeds of faith in our lives. 
Pause for a time of reflection
Above all. we recognize how you have blessed our lives with the gift of the Holy Spirit so that our faith has miraculously and mysteriously grown. 

We confess the times we fail to involve ourselves in planting any seeds of faith in the lives of others;
the times when our personal agendas become more important than yours;
the times when we have denied others the opportunity to expand their faith through our lack of interest or involvement;
the times when our lives become so entangled with the values of the world, that we forget what you have said and done and promised.
  
Lord Jesus Christ,  we know that when we become disconnected from you, our lives becomes parched and unfruitful and our faith becomes stunted and dry.  Bless and renew our lives, we pray, so that we remain connected to you at all times and in all places,  strengthening our faith to expand and, growing strongly and vigorously,  to bear the fruit of your mercy, your love, your undying life.  Amen.

 

Prayer for God's Anointing  
by Charlene Fairchild

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, king of love. Your love is so much more than we can imagine, so perfect, so beautiful that we have hugged it to our bosom and hidden it away to admire in secret. When what you have wanted was for us to let it loose upon this earth. Help us, O Lord. Pry the box loose from our hands and open it wide that we may be bathed in your love and thus anointed, go out into all the world to share this treasure. In Jesus' name we ask. Amen.

 

Father's Day Prayer:
by Jessica Steinmetz

God, bless all the fathers in the world. Guide them to be good role models and loving to all their children. Help them to be a father like You are. Give them grace and patience to handle situations in a loving way. Amen.

 

Closing Prayer:
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

Lord, let us live in the shadow of the cross, for to us who are made a new creation in you, the message of the cross is the power of God. May we go forth into our every-day lives in the consciousness of your power at work in us and may we live in light of eternity.  Amen!