19th April 2020
Service playlist:
Call to Worship
We gather as people on a journey.
We believe & we have doubts, we do good & we sin.
We are imperfect humans, and still beloved by God.
Love and grace. Hope and faith. These are the essence of the one we call God.
We seek forgiveness & grace from the One and from those we’ve harmed.
Assured of that grace, we are ready to grow again.
We yearn for a new way, a new perspective, and a clear path.
Though we are full of trust and full of doubt, we are here.
Speak to us, God! Continue creating us! Inspire our hearts. Enlighten our minds.
Guide our actions. Amen.
~ written by Tim Graves and posted on Liturgy Bits https://liturgybits.wordpress.com
Prayer of Confession (based on John 20:19-31)
Lord God,
you made the hearts of the disciples glad with the knowledge of the resurrection of Jesus, your Son. Forgive us because, like them, we find the truth of Easter so hard to believe;
forgive us that we are so easily downcast, and given to despair;
forgive us that, although we claim to live by the resurrection faith, we so often appear to believe that suffering is simply a tragedy and that death is the end;
forgive us that we take so much convincing of the hope that you give to the world.
Come to us, Lord God, in the power of the risen Christ.
Take away our crippling doubts and fears, and through your Holy Spirit bring us to life in your service; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
—from Companion to the Lectionary, Volume 3, A New Collection of Prayers by Neil Dixon, posted on the Church of Scotland’s Starters for Sunday website.
Prayer for Easter
At this Easter time we welcome you Jesus into our lives.
We welcome your resurrection for it is life changing, life giving and life sustaining.
We welcome the hope it brings to our world.
We welcome the joy it brings to our darkness.
We welcome the empty tomb for we know that it means you are on the loose.
Lord, may your resurrection give life to those who feel lifeless, those who are just going through the motions, and those who have had the death of a loved one.
Lord, may your resurrection give hope to those who are mired in despair, who feel hopeless, and who have given up all hope.
Lord, may your resurrection give joy to those who feel no joy, lost their joy or have had their joy snuffed out.
Lord, may you be on the loose in this world as the risen one.
~ written by Abigail Carlisle-Wilke, and posted on Rev Abi’s Long and Winding Road blog. http://vicarofwadley.blogspot.ca/2010/04/easter-sunday-morning-prayer.html
Blessing
May you trust in God’s promises to his people:
Peace, security, blessing, even when they are difficult to believe.
May you know that God’s news is good news,
Nourishing, true, even when people tell you it is not.
And when you encounter doubt, may you strengthen your belief
guiding you in his perfect wisdom and counsel.
~ posted on Jeff’s blog. https://blog.wisch.org/category/benedictions-and-prayers/