Call to Worship

Call on the Lord Who Bends Low to Hear Us
(Psalm 116)

One: Come! Lift your voices to the Lord who always hears us.

Many: Listen, Lord. Hear our voices sing your praises.

One: Call on the Lord who bends low to hear us.

Many: Listen, Lord. We lift our voices to you in praise.

One: Call on the name of the Lord, all people.

Many: Listen, Lord. We call on your wonderful name. For you saved us, you raised us and turned our lives around. Let your name be praised in this congregation.

Written by Kwasi I. Kena, in The Africana Worship Book Year A (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2006), 61.

Prayers of the People

Leader: The psalmist says, “I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplication.” Using a few words or a phrase, how has God heard your voice and supplication?

After each testimony, say:
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.

Leader: The psalmist also says, “Because [God] inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” Using a few words or a phrase, in what areas of your life do you need to call on God’s help today?

After each intercession, say:
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.

Let us pray:
Merciful God, even as we remember how you have heard us in the past, we come to you again in our need, carrying burdens too large to bear. And yet, even in our need, we praise you. We praise you because we remember all you have done in the past and know that you will continue to love us and our community into flourishing. As we lay our burdens at your feet, transform the outpouring of our praise into love for all of our neighbors, so that we may grow more like you every day. Amen.

Adapted from Psalm 116 NRSVUE by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, October 2022.

Prayer of Confession

Gracious God,
When we remember the journey of our faith, the story that we live with you and one another, we recall all the ways we have missed the mark.
We have failed to live our Christian story well.
We have neglected to listen to and believe the stories of our neighbors.
We have ignored how we contribute to the hardships that exist in our community.
We have turned away from the needs of the poor.
We have shied away from the suffering of our neighbors.
We have valued independence over interdependence and connection.
In so many ways, big and small, our lives have not demonstrated our testimony of new life in Christ.

Time for silent confession.

Forgive us, we pray, that we, your Easter people, may testify the Good News with our voices and our lives. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

Hear the good news: Out of God’s great love for us, we have been ransomed by the precious blood of Jesus. Christ loosens the bonds of sin so that we may live our story of exuberant praise for the God who saves through radical love for God and one another.

In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.

Thanks be to God! Amen.