Worship - August 8, 2004

         Awesome God, who does shower all around exactly what your people need, who loves and empowers trembling mourners who struggle hard with sin, who finds us even before we find you - we praise you. Your Spirit, a constant presence, makes it possible for us to pray with all our power, and to help share the holy manna which you so richly provide.
         We open ourselves to hear your Word as it is preached, and to respond with our active love of you and one another, as well as our neighbors near and far. However, unless it is your Spirit which moves us, all is in vain. Therefore, shower us this morning, O Lord, for we have met to worship. In Jesus� name. Amen!

Unison Confession

Lord, our God,
         great, eternal, wonderful
         utterly to be trusted:
                  you give life to us all,
                  you help those who come to you,
                  you give hope to those who cry to you.
Forgive our sins, secret and open,
         and rid us of every habit of thought
         that stands against the gospel.
Set our hearts at peace,
         so we may live our lives before you
                  confidently and without fear,
                  through Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN

Hymnal #699. Based on a prayer from
The Liturgy of St. Basil of Caesarea, 4th c.,
adapted from Contemporary Prayers for Public Worship,
ed. Caryl Micklem, copyright � 1956 1967 SCM Press, Ltd.

For Children

Our resident storyteller, Ed Lewis, writes, "I want to share a story about how I can get to heaven by doing all good deeds (not!). Using the scripture about how you can't "earn your way to heaven," I hope to stimulate thinking about ideas for good deeds and after sharing the scripture, share with the children that we should do the good deeds, because God is so good to us and we should in turn do good for others, but, not for rewards..."

Pastoral Prayer

written closer to the time (if not at the moment)

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen... By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going" (Hebrews 11:1 & 8).

As you return your offering this morning, I encourage you to reflect on the words of our denomination�s moderator, found on the back of your bulletin. You might even use the prayer he wrote as your own, dedicating your offering, your life to Christ... Will the ushers now come forward to serve...

(back of bulletin:)
The Conviction of Things Not Seen

         Baptisms, weddings, funerals, anointings, worship, child dedications, love feast, prayer, marriage counseling, sitting with the dying, sponsoring a refugee family, working at a soup kitchen -- on goes the list of a congregation's work.
         Acts such as these are gifts that must be placed in God's hands in faith, because we do not and cannot know where these actions will lead us. We have to trust that God will do what is best with those gifts.
         But it can be hard to trust God.
         Such trust was no easier for Jesus disciples when they answered his call. When asked, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" Jesus replied, "Come and see" (John 1:38). When seeing two sets of brothers working on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus said to them, "Come, follow me" (Mark 1:17). Without knowing his purpose or plan, they went with Jesus.
         In Hebrews, we read that faith is "the conviction of things not seen" (11:1). We, like those early disciples, are asked to trust and follow Jesus even when the way is unclear, unpopular, or unknown.
         So, as we read later in Hebrews (12:2 NIV), "let us fix our eyes on Jesus" and trust him for what we cannot yet see.

Prayer
O Lord Jesus, I have trouble trusting you for what I cannot see. Yet, you are my Lord. I want and need to trust you. Call me through your word and your people. Confessing you as Lord, I will follow. Amen.

Jim Hardenbrook
Annual Conference Moderator
Pastor, Nampa (Idaho) Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series"

Benediction