Call to Worship

Come, people of God!
Take refuge in the Lord,
who listens when we cry out,
who rescues us when we call,
and who leads and guides us according to his unfailing love.

You are our God;
our lives are in your hands.

Let’s worship God together! Amen.

Written by Christine Longhurst, posted at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2011/05/call-to-worship-for-easter-5.html.

Prayer of Intercession

God of grace and light,
Found within and out with the structures of humanity,
You cannot be contained,
But on occasion choose to dwell in hearts and homes.
Glance lightly upon the hearts and homes dear to us,
The people and places where we seek blessing.

Build up our homes:
Where the happy may find peace;
The sad may find comfort;
The hungry may find food;
The weary may find rest.

Build up the places where we work:
Where the honest may find reward;
The dedicated may find delight;
The imaginative may find new horizons.

Build up our community:
Where the isolated may find friendship;
The marginalised may find welcome;
The unloved may find acceptance.

Build up our nation, loving Lord,
And bless those entrusted with the care of our society’s fabric.
May they use their skills, their calling, their hard graft
To fashion communities of grace and understanding,
Where generosity of heart and mind and soul
May be not only the gilding of our daily life
But its very core.

Build up the Church, redeeming Lord,
So that all Your children may find their place,
Unique and special,
Chosen and essential to the living edifice of grace,
Where by Your grace
Each one might know their value in Your economy,
And their significance in Your eyes.

Help us all, this day, to be living stones, and not dead weights,
Dreaming dreams, and living gloriously the joy and kindliness
Of a faith that edifies everything that life should be.
In the Name of our Saviour, our cornerstone, we pray. Amen.

Written by Rev. Dr. Derek Browning and posted on the Church of Scotland’s Starters for Sunday website, http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/. Reposted at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/search?q=living+stones.

Prayer of Confession

(based on Psalm 31)

In the act of confession, we acknowledge how we have missed the mark, and we call upon God to save us from the destruction of sin and turn us back toward life. Let us now confess our sin before God and one another.

We confess that we have not loved you as you command us to love.
We have not relied on you as our refuge, choosing instead to seek comfort
in busyness and distractions.
We have not trusted that only when we put ourselves in your hands
can we find peace the peace we crave.

Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.

We confess that we have not loved our neighbors as you command us to love.
We buy into the myth that it’s every person for themselves.
We ignore the pain of those around us.
We refuse your call to care for the poor and the marginalized.

Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.

We confess that we do not answer your call to steward creation.
We look upon the earth as something to consume instead of tend.
We point fingers at others instead of doing what is ours to do.
We choose comfort over responsibility.

Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.

Offer silent prayers of confession.

Hear these words:
When we call, God inclines an ear to us
and comes quickly to help us.
God’s love is steadfast to rescue us and redeem us.
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!

In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
Glory to God! Amen.

Adapted from Psalm 31 NRSVUE by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, October 2022.

Benediction

As you go forth into the world, remember: you are a living stone. In everything you do, you can embody and enact worship. So, living stones, how will you partner with God to build the kin-dom of heaven today and every day? Amen.

Living Stones Prayer Practice

Consider ways to get the congregation— especially the children— involved in bringing stones for this practice. Invite them to bring part of their rock collection to share with the congregation, or ask all congregants to find rocks during the week and bring them Sunday morning.

Provide an opportunity for the stones to be brought to the front of the sanctuary during worship. Children could bring them forward during children’s time, or the rocks could be collected in the back and brought forward along with the offering. Depending on how you choose to introduce the rocks into the worship space, consider having the rocks dropped into a metal tub or container at the front of the sanctuary so that the offering of the stones can be heard throughout the space.

If you use this practice on a Sunday when your congregation celebrates Holy Communion, set up a station(s) for congregants to pick up a rock as they come forward to receive. If you are not celebrating Holy Communion, create space following the sermon for congregants to come forward to pick up a rock from the station(s).

As congregants come forward to retrieve a stone and/or receive Holy Communion, sing “Guide My Feet” (The Faith We Sing 2208).

Once congregants have returned to their seats with a rock, say:

Take a moment to look at your rock. What color is it? How does it feel? Is it smooth or rough, jagged or well worn? Does it weigh heavy in your hand or feel almost as light as a feather?

What you are holding is an ordinary rock. And yet, it is not so ordinary. It has gone through transformation after transformation over the course of millennia to land in your hand just as it is in this moment. We can become so used to seeing stones all around us that we lose perspective that these, too, are part of God’s creation. God made them, God loves them, and God uses them for God’s purposes in the world.

And so, as you hold your rock, let us pray together:

Merciful God and Creator of All, meet us today in the ordinary times and spaces of our lives.
Guide us as we remember that you made us and are with us in every moment of every day.

Jesus Christ, our Cornerstone, we seek you as the one who gives us new life as God’s people.
Hold our hands as we receive the love of God that saves us and transforms us into living stones.

Holy Spirit, Enlivener and Guide, breathe into our hearts and fan the flame of the divine spark that resides in us all.
Help us, your children, live as houses of worship that live out God’s purposes wherever we go.

Bless these rocks that they may be reminders of what it means to be your Easter people.
May these rocks stir us up to live as your royal priesthood, your living stones that proclaim the excellence of your salvific work in all that we do. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, October 2022.