As Was His Custom

The subtle shift in emphasis from last week to this is, “How do we honor others and their giftedness? How do we acknowledge what each one brings to the whole? How do we be thankful for what all that it takes to be the church at work in the world?” These are the questions we are considering this week as we worship. One way to approach this would be to acknowledge that worship doesn’t begin with the prelude, but in the parking lot. How do we welcome? How do we include, and how do we, on this day, say thank you to those who officially and unofficially work as hosts for the party we call worship?

Call to Worship

One: We have come to worship God, the living God,
All: Who calls prophets and teachers to bear witness.

One: We have come to praise God, the almighty God,
All: Who answers the forces of hatred and hurt with the power of grace.

One: We have come to worship God, all-gracious God,
All: Who chooses even you and me,
to receive and carry the Word of life and hope.
All glory to God!

Adapted from a post on the United Church of Christ’s Worship Ways Archive. http://www.ucc.org/ Reposted: https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/01/call-to-worship-we-have-come.html.

Prayer of Adoration and Praise

(based on 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31)

Spirit of the living God, we praise and adore you for empowering us to claim membership of the body of Christ, a gift received through the fullness of your grace. Empower us anew, we pray, with tongues of fire and hearts of love to proclaim the reconciling word among people. Remind us that we are all members of the one body and if one member suffers, we all suffer. May we, as the body of Christ in this place, be the best evidence of your love by declaring and witnessing to this as the year of the Lord’s favour for all people. We give thanks that all of us are Christ’s body, and rejoice in each one being a part of it. Accept our adoration and praise for these great gifts, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Written by Moira Laidlaw, and posted on Liturgies Online, http://www.liturgiesonline.com.au/ Reposted: https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/01/prayer-of-praise-1-corinthians-12.html.

Litany: We Are One Body in Christ

(I Corinthians 12:12-31a)

Leader: There are many members in the body of Christ, but one body.

People: We are all one body in Christ.

Leader: Just as God arranged the human body, God has arranged the church to be members of the body of Christ.

People: We are all one body in Christ.

Leader: Therefore, we need each other to survive.

People: We are all one body in Christ.

Leader: We must care for one another; for, together, we are the body of Christ.

People: There are no big gifts and little gifts. My gift is no better than your gift.

Leader: No one is greater than another, for we are one in Jesus Christ.

All: God has placed gifted people among us to equip the saints and to build God’s kingdom. We rejoice that we are one body in Christ. Amen.

Jeanette Pinkston, The Africana Worship Book for Year C, (Discipleship Resources, 2008), 86.