We will sometimes speak of encountering God as though it were a walk in the park. And certainly, there are examples of a gentler approach to meeting the creator of all that is. Yet, Job’s experience is not so gentle. One thing that is clear throughout the biblical witness is that no one encounters God and comes away unchanged. The question is, “Are we ready to be transformed by meeting God in worship?”

Meditation for Gathering

Lord, I Thought I Knew

Lord, you know how many times I thought I knew …
How to run my life
How to fix their problems, and
How you should answer prayer.

But each time, through trauma or tragedy, hardship or hard times, you remind me how much I don’t know about your will. Though I may not like it at the time, pleased remind me that you are God, and I am not. Ask me questions I can’t answer. Give me answers I can’t comprehend. Remind me that you laid the earth’s foundation. That you speak and the winds obey. That you squeeze the clouds ‘til rain falls. Then give me the good sense to hold my peace and meditate on what you’ve just said.

Kwasi I. Kena, The Africana Worship Book for Year B, Discipleship Resources, 2007, 40.

Leader: God created the heavens and the earth.

People: And gave them to us to use and enjoy.

Leader: And God breathed life into each of us, and set us on the earth.

People: And God sent Jesus Christ to save us from the pull of death.

Leader: Everything that fills our souls with gladness and light is a gift from the loving Creator.

People: We have been entrusted with unfathomable riches. For all this our God is to be praised. Let us worship God together!

Roger D. Straw, in Flames of Spirit: Resources for Worship, Ruth Duck, ed, Pilgrim Press, 1985, 60.

Unison Prayer

Your grace is near, O God, for you are the God of the storm. You wait in silence for us until we are open to you. Tune us to hear your voice, to face your silence without fear. Speak and bring to us our Savior, Jesus Christ, to giver of your peace. In the name of this one whom we know as the world’s Savior, we pray. Amen.

Jann C. Weaver, in Flames of Spirit: Resources for Worship, Ruth Duck, ed, Pilgrim Press, 1985, 49.

Prayers:

L: Father, you inhabit eternity;
C: The heavens declare your glory and the earth announces your beauty.
L: Your presence fills the universe and yet in Christ you come to us with compassion and mercy.
C: Help us find light in our darkness,
L: Joy in our sorrow,
C: Healing in our sickness,
L: And your great grace that covers a multitude of our sins.

Rev. Reed Lessing, The Book of Job: Blessed Be the Name of the Lord, Concordia Seminary, Lenten Sermon Series, 23. https://www.csl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Lenten_The-BOOK-of-JOB.pdf.

Praying for Wisdom

(based on Job 38)

Lord, you laid the earth's foundations;
you placed its cornerstone;
while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy
you set limits for the sea and said,
“This far and no further!”
You gave orders to the morning and showed the dawn its place;
you molded the earth until it took shape.
You alone know the springs of the sea;
you alone comprehend the vastness of the universe;
you alone know the laws of heaven:

Lord, give wisdom to our hearts
and understanding to our minds. Amen.

Written by Michael Perry and posted on the Jubilate Group website. http://www.jubilate.co.uk/ Reposted: https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2012/10/prayer-for-wisdom-job-38.html.

Confession and Absolution:

P: God of thundering glory and wondrous love,
C: You laid the earth’s foundation.
P: You marked off its dimensions.
C: You laid its cornerstone.
P: You shut the sea behind doors.
C: And so to you we lay bare the thoughts and desires of our hearts;
P: We have been foolish in our secret desires.
C: We are bound to fatal enchantments that lead us into lies and deceit.
P: Hear our broken cries.
C: For we have no other hope.
P: The God who wraps himself in a storm and speaks to Job is the same God who wrapped himself in a human body to die on a cross, bleed for your sins and hang forsaken by his Father. Because of Jesus you are cleansed, healed, forgiven and made new.
ALL: I know that my Redeemer lives!

Rev. Reed Lessing, The Book of Job: Blessed Be the Name of the Lord, Concordia Seminary, Lenten Sermon Series, 20. https://www.csl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Lenten_The-BOOK-of-JOB.pdf.

Trust Me, I Got This

A Responsive Reading, Inspired by Job 38 1-7

If I created the universe with all its stars and planets, can’t I fix your brokenness?
Trust me, I got this!
Lord, help us to trust you.

If I laid the very foundation of the earth, measured its dimensions, placed my Son, its cornerstone, as a protector of my creation, then surely I can fix your broken marriage.
Trust me, I got this!
Lord, help us to trust you.

If I created the sky, the sea, the moon, the sun, then surely I have the cure for all your diseases.
Trust me, my child, I got this!
Lord, help us to trust you.

If took clay and molded you into being, if I gave you my breath to live, if I gave you my word as a compass, then surely I can take you back from the clutches of sin and death.
Trust me, my creation, I got this!
Lord, help us to trust you.

Lord, you have shown us countless times that you are here for us, yet we are slow to trust. We turn to worldly providers and hope things will work out. We resort to vices and devices to numb our pain, but the pain still exists. Help us, O God, to place all of hope, dreams, fears, plans, and doubts in your capable hands.

Amen.

Stephen Carlisle Void, Africana Writers Project, Pentecost Package 2, edited by Safiyah Fosua.