Call to Worship

Leader: Beloved, the voice of Wisdom calls to us from the street corner, the grocery store aisle, the noisy dinner table, and the quiet places of our hearts. Will you listen?

All: Yes, with God’s help, we will listen!

Leader: Wisdom calls to us with hard truths, showing us where we’ve strayed in our hearts and as a community and urging us back onto God’s path. Will you follow?

All: Yes, with God’s help, we will follow!

Leader: Wisdom’s call persists through the twists and turns, the rough patches, the barely discernible paths forward, and the moments we feel completely lost. Will you hold onto Wisdom wherever she takes you?

All: Yes, with God’s help, we will hold onto Wisdom!

Leader: Then Beloved, let us worship God together as we cling to wisdom on our journey along the path of salvation paved with God’s love.

All: Yes! Let us worship God together! Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, June 2024.

Litany

I Will Trust in the Lord
(Based on Proverbs 1:20–33)

One: I will trust in the Lord.

Many: Let all the people say, I will trust in the Lord.

One: I will trust in the Lord—Let the wounded say . . .

Many: I will trust in the Lord. I will hear God’s voice in dangerous streets where mothers cry over their children.

One: I will trust in the Lord—Let the wounded say . . .

Many: I will trust in God as people sell their bodies to survive, while the voice of insanity shouts louder than the voice of Truth in the ears of the homeless.

One: I will trust in the Lord.

Many: May the Savior’s voice speak loud and linger long so we may hear it and live.

One: O, I will trust in the Lord.

Many: May we hear that Holy voice in houses of prayer and in city streets.

One: I will trust in the Lord.

Many: I will trust in Mary’s Baby, Savior of the world.

One: I will trust in the Lord.

Many: I will trust in Jesus, the way!

Written by Darlene A. Moore, The Africana Worship Book, Year B (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2007), 99.

Prayer of Confession

We long for wisdom, O Lord, but prefer that it be our own.
We turn away from the ideas of others
and ignore the possibility and promise that come
from life together with you.
Most of all,
we drown out your gift of Wisdom as she seeks to get our attention,
for we believe that we know better
or would prefer to decide where we make her welcome.
Forgive us, loving God.
Bring an end to the self-righteousness that ignores you,
and awaken us anew to the Wisdom that comes only from you.
Show us how to walk in your ways
and listen to your promise each and every day.

Written by Rev. Andy James, New York. Posted on LiturgyLink, http://www.liturgylink.net/. Re-posted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2012/09/confession-we-long-for-wisdom.html.

Benediction

Beloved, may you be blessed with a holy resolve to hold tight to Wisdom wherever she may guide you, knowing that Wisdom will always lead you down the path of God’s love. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, June 2024.