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Reformation Day Service: complete with prayers and meditation

 

Call to Worship (adapted from Psalm 119:137-144)

L:  You are righteous, O LORD, and your judgments are right.
P: You have appointed your decrees in righteousness and in all faithfulness.
L: I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts.
P: Your decrees are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.
L: Come, let us worship the Lord with open minds and open hearts.

Call to Worship

Leader: Though we think we are not important and try to hide from You, O God,
People: We cannot escape your love or presence.
Leader: Come in the power of your spirit, O God,
People: That we might be moved from our hiding place and meet You here in worship.
Leader: Let us worship God.

 

Invocation

The grace of eternal God, the holy and living One, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with you all.

And also with you.

Let us pray. Lord, when the day of wrath comes we have no hope except in your grace. Make us so to watch for the last days that the consummation of our hope may be the joy of the marriage feast of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

 

A Call to Reformation (in unison)

Remind us, o Lord, on this Day of Reformation, that we are always in need for renewal. As you spoke to the Reformers of your Holy Church, speak to us, too, your living word of transformation. Help us earthen vessels to yield to the loving hands of the Master Potter. And renew our minds by the power of your Holy Spirit as we present ourselves in worship to you.

 

A Responsive Call to Worship

Pastor: We remember, O God…
People: The countless saints of history who have blazed a trail of courage through time,
Pastor: We remember, O God…
People: The tender touch of loved ones, the example of heroes, the healing words of comforters, the remarkable acts of fearless ones.
Pastor: We remember, O God…
People: The gentle strength of grandmothers, the loyalty of friends, the kindness of strangers, the joy of children, the sacrifice of parents.
Pastor: We remember, O God…
People: The supreme love of Jesus, the blessing of his Spirit, the reminder of his words, the sharing of his suffering, the glory of his resurrection: shown forth in the lives of his disciples, young and old, dead and living, articulate and silent, strange and familiar, brilliant and ordinary.
Pastor: We remember in every time and place the saints of God who have shown us the Lord.
ALL: SINCE WE ARE SURROUNDED BY SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES... LET US WORSHIP GOD WITH JOY!

 

Prayer of Confession (Luke 19:1-10)
by Lydia Martinez, UM-BOW, 1993

Almighty God,
   we confess that we are often swept up in the tide of our own generation.   We have failed in our calling to be your holy
   people, a people set apart for your divine purpose.
We live more in apathy born of fatalism than in passion born
   of hope.
We are moved more by private ambition than by social
   justice.
We dream more of privilege and benefits than of service and
  sacrifice.
We try to speak in your name without relinquishing our
   glories, without nourishing our souls, without relying wholly
   on your grace.
Help us to make room in our hearts and lives for you.
Forgive us, revive us, and reshape us in your image. Amen.

 

Morning Prayer reflecting the Lessons:
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

Almighty God, our Parent and Provider, we thank you for your endless and faithful provisions. You shower us with an abundance--indeed overabundance--of blessings. You provide the nutrients we need for body and soul. Yet, we often say: "I have so little. What do I have to give?" Today, you remind us of the wealth of our blessings:

*our families, and spouses (expand on Ruth)

*our children (expand on Psalter)

*the privilege of a relationship with You (expand on Hebrews)

 

You call us to give of what we have; you even accept two little copper coins and use them in a mighty way. Help us give all that we can. Make us aware, Parent of all creation, of the tremendous needs others have in this world: those who go hungry, the impoverished, the orphans and widows, those who suffer illness, injustice, and those who can no longer care for themselves. We pray for them and carry them in our hearts as we make our offerings to you, eternal God, who lives and reigns now and forevermore. Amen.

 

 

Prayer by Mother Teresa
(can be used with 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12)

Make us worthy, Lord,
To serve others throughout the world
Who live and die
In poverty or hunger,
Give them, through our hands,
this day their daily Bread,
and by our understanding love,
give peace and joy.

 

God Is Able (Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4)
by Martin Luther King

L: Is someone here moving toward the twilight of life and fearful of that which we call death?
P: Why be afraid?  God is able.
L: Is someone here on the brink of despair because of the death of a loved one, the breaking of a marriage, or the waywardness of a child?
P: Why despair?  God is able to give us the power to endure that which cannot be changed.
L: Is someone here anxious because of bad health?
P: Why be anxious?  Come what may, God is able.
All: Surely God is able.

  

Zacchaeus Prayer

God of all times and all places, we praise You for Your patience with us and our waywardness. We try to hide from You in trees of our own making. Like Zacchaeus of long ago, we are curious about Your power, we hold our distance and long to truly see You. We know you bid us come to You from the obscurity of our busy world and join You in a pilgrimage of faith. Come into our homes, our businesses, our very lives that we might be guided by Your presence, empowered by Your spirit and warmed by Your love. We pray in the strong name of Christ Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, our brother and friend. Amen.

 

A Reformation/Counter-Reformation Day Prayer:

Lord God of hosts, the Refuge of every sinner and the Strength of all who put their trust in you, we praise you for having made us partakers of the blessings of your Reformation. Without any merit on our part, you have sent your Holy Spirit into our hearts and brought us to faith in your dear Son, Jesus Christ. You have made known to us the worthlessness of our own good deeds and the perfect merit of Christ. You have directed our faith to rest on the exceedingly great and precious promises of your Gospel. You have revealed the beauty of your grace, which rescued us from a just condemnation and assured us of certain salvation in Christ. Grant us your grace that we may receive your forgiveness with thanksgiving and reflect your mercy in thanks-giving. Use us as your witnesses in bringing the message of pardon in Christ to our fellow men everywhere. Open our eyes to a better understanding of your Word and a deeper appreciation of your grace that our faith in Christ Jesus may grow and flourish with the fruits of righteous living. Grant purity of doctrine and practice to you. Amen.
 

Closing Prayer

Almighty God, whose people are knit together in one holy Church, the body of Christ our Lord; Grant us grace to follow your blessed saints in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared for those who love you; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Reformation Day Service: complete with prayers and meditation