Call to Worship
(A responsive reading

Come, worship the One who calls us to listen.

We are here to encounter the living Lord Jesus who comes to us in plainsong and symphony, in parable and poetic verse, in humble circumstances and transfigured glory.

Come, worship the One who commands us to hear.

We have come to attend to the divine command to love God and neighbor as ourselves and to find in Jesus Christ the way to be God's people.

Come, worship the One who listens and hears us.

We long to know the God who promises us newness of life and whose transfiguration calls forth the hope of our own transformation. In this moment, in this place, we come to worship the Lord our God.

written by Dawn Ottoni Wilhelm         
Richmond (Indiana) Church of the Brethren
Assistant Professor of Ministry Studies   
Bethany Theological Seminary           
for the                                     
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin

For Children
"Wandering Up and Down"
retelling Matthew 17:1-9

         Wow! That was some story! Were you listening to it? Jesus took with him three of his disciples and went up a high mountain. Does anyone want to pretend you are one of the disciples? How about all of you. Follow me. [Play follow the leader for a bit, gradually leading them to the baptismal pool behind the worship table. Climb the steps as if climbing a mountain. Then climb down the steps into the empty pool, making comments that recognize we’re going down even though we’re pretending to go up. Play with the children as you act out the story.]

         On that mountain the disciples saw two other people with Jesus ahead of them. One they recognized as Moses, though how they knew that was Moses I don’t know. The other looked like the prophet Elijah. When Peter saw this, he said something stupid, like, "Hey, this is great, Jesus! You wait right there and we’ll put up three tents, one for each of you." Why he thought he should do that, I don’t know. Sometimes we say silly stuff when we don’t know what else to say.

         What happened next? Anyone listening? Yes, a cloud covered everything. The disciples couldn’t see a thing. It was pea soup! But they heard something, didn’t they. A voice spoke. It said, "This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him." [pause, look a bit perplexed] Wait one minute! Haven’t I heard those words before? Do they sound familiar to anyone else? Whoa! [look at where you are, in the baptismal pool] Now I remember. It was when Jesus was baptized. He stood up out of the water, and a voice said, "This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).

         Isn’t that interesting! Do you think it was the same voice? Who was speaking? Do you really think it was God? Those three disciples got really scared and fell to the ground. Jesus reached out and touched them and said, "Don’t be afraid. Just get up." And when they did, there was no cloud, and no Moses or Elijah. I wonder if they didn’t think they had just imagined it all.

         Wow! Wasn’t that a cool story? Funny that it was sort of like the story of Jesus’ baptism. Well, all stories must come to an end, a right now something else is ready to begin. Can you carefully go with Miss Gayle and Miss Sharon and sit in the front row? It’s time for us to share joys and concerns and then pray, before you leave for Alleluia choir. As we do all this, however, don’t forget the story.

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

         We've listened to the story of Jesus upon the mountain - how he was transfigured in the eyes of his disciples, how a voice spoke from a cloud, saying, "This is my Son..." Perhaps we recall a different mountain, covered also in a cloud, upon which Moses stood and received the Commandments (Exodus 24:12-18).  Would you now turn to the 99th Psalm. You'll find it on page 520 of your pew Bible.
         As you return your offering just now, I invite you to quietly read and ponder and pray this Psalm. May your thoughts be not so much upon what you hold in your hands ready to place in the offering plate. Instead, turn yourself - as you read and give - toward the One who holds you, who holds the universe, in his hands. Holy is he!

         Would the ushers come forward to serve?

Dedication Prayer

Our LORD, you are King!
         You rule from your throne...,
                  as people tremble and the earth shakes.
         You are praised in Zion, and you control all nations.
Only you are God!
         And your power alone, so great and fearsome,
                  is worthy of praise.
         You are our mighty King, a lover of fairness,
                  who sees that justice is done...
Our LORD and our God, we praise you
         and kneel down to worship you, the God of holiness! Amen.

(Psalm 99:1-5, Contemporary English Version
©American Bible Society, 1995, adapted)