From Chaos to Community: Creation

FROM CHAOS TO COMMUNITY: Creation

Trinity Sunday
Peace with Justice Sunday

ENTRANCE

“Awesome God” Africana Hymnal, 4004
“God of Wonders” Worship & Song, 3034 OR
(suggested video or photo montage: images from outer space)

“Gracious Creator of Sea and of Land” W&S 3161
“God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale” UMH 122
(suggested video or photo montage: diverse creatures)

WORD AND RESPONSE

Reading based on Genesis 1:1-31
(suggested video or audio with multiple children’s voices from your congregation and community while the stagescape for the series is being built or revealed)

Script:
In the beginning there was God… and a mess.
And it was a real mess.
You couldn’t see anything.
Things could bump into you and
you would bump into them all the time.

There were icky, gooey things,
and soft things,
and hard things,
and sharp, prickly things —
Ouch! —
and everything was bumping into everything all the time,
because you couldn’t see anything,
because there wasn’t any light.
Just the mess.
And God.

Some people call a mess like that “chaos.”
I just call it a mess.

Then God did something about the mess.
God started talking.
God said, “Turn on, light!”
And light turned on.
And when light turned on,
you could tell light from dark,
and you could start to make out colors,
so you could see the mess for all it was,
everything, all jumbled up.
There was water, and rocks, and clouds,
and sand, and fire, and glass,
all jumbled up.
You could see the mess.
And so could God.

So God kept talking.
And the more God talked,
the more unjumbled things became.
Clouds rose, water fell and gathered into streams and lakes,
sand and smaller rocks dotted their shores,
while bigger rocks became land and hills and mountains,
and fire moved under the rocks.

And God kept talking.
And the unjumbled jumble began to dance
with all kinds of life.
Life in the waters, life on the land and hills and mountains,
life in the ground, and life above in the skies.
Everything was dancing with all kinds of life.
There was green life covering the land,
swimming life in the waters,
bobbing life, hopping life, standing life,
wriggling life, flying life, walking life,
running life — life watching life,
everywhere life.

And God kept talking.
And there was one more kind of life
that started dancing.
And when this kind came,
our kind of life,
we did more than dance.
We started talking, too,

kind of like God was talking,
getting the jumble out of the mess,
and making more room for more life to dance.

And when God saw us start talking,
kind of like God was talking,
God said,
“This is very good.”

Sermon From Chaos to Community: Creation

Call to Hear or Join God’s Speaking
While music plays, invite participants to identify one “mess” in their own life into which God is speaking either to “unjumble” or bring life. Then invite them to consider one person in their lives and ministries to whom God is calling them to speak a word of unjumbling or bringing life, to write down that person’s name, and pray either in their seats or at the prayer rail or prayer stations.

“Living in the Imagination of God” Africana Hymnal, 4141
“The Right Hand of God” Africana Hymnal, 4041

“Jesus Calls Us” UMH 398
“It Is Well with My Soul” UMH 377

Prayers of the People
“Prayers of the People“ CCLI# 7039048 OR
“Prayers of the People“ The Faith We Sing, 2201

The Lord’s Prayer

THANKSGIVING (AND COMMUNION)

The Peace
May the peace of God’s Word made flesh be always with you.
And also with you.

The people may exchange the peace of Christ. The offering may be collected. If Communion is celebrated, the Lord’s Table may also be prepared at this time.

Music During the Peace and the Offering

“All Creation Sing” CCLI# 5305393 OR
“All Things Bright and Beautiful” UMH 147


(COMMUNION Great Thanksgiving for Trinity Sunday)

SENDING FORTH

“All Creation Sing” CCLI# 5305393 OR
“Creation Sings” W&S 3018

Deacon or Pastor:
God spoke,
and chaos became thriving community.
Go forth in the image of our Triune God,
and speak life everywhere. Amen.

Postlude
“All Creation Sing” CCLI# 5305393

OR

A selection based on OLD 100TH or LASST UNS ERFREUEN