Worship - October 26, 2014

One:    God has been our dwelling place in all generations.
            Before the mountains were raised up,
            before the universe was even formed,
            God has been there for us.

All:      So let us live in him,
            rooted and established in the faith of Christ,
            and abounding in thanksgiving.

One:    Love God, love your neighbour.
            All the laws of Moses,
            and all the teaching of the prophets,
            hang on these two commandments.

All:      May the love of God be upon us,
            establishing whatever is loving in the work of our hands.
            Yes, let God establish all that is loving in the work of our hands.

by Bruce Prewer, Uniting Church in Australia,
from Resources: Based on the Revised Common Lectionary

Opening Prayer

Every generation has found
its home in you,
God our provider,
and discovered that every moment
spent in your holy presence
lasts beyond all imaginable time.
You watch over us in the night,
cradling us in your arms
as tenderly as a nurse
cares for her children,
and her neighbor's.

Full of wisdom,
Imagination of Creation,
you humbled yourself
that we might learn
to love those
who have been swept aside
by a callous and cruel world.
Witness to God's grace,
you call us to act
in ways of love of peace
to all we meet in this life.

In the fresh breeze
on a summer's day;
in the leaves dancing
across autumn's lawns;
in the crisp, new snowfall
crunching beneath our feet;
in the new life
flowering in the spring:
from everlasting to everlasting
you proclaim God's grace to us,
Spirit of Life.

God in Community, Holy in One,
continue to be the dwelling place
of our minds, our hearts, our souls,
even as we pray as we have been taught,
(The Lord's Prayer)

by Thom M. Shuman
just finished an interim assignment at
Immanuel Presbyterian Church
Cincinnati, OH
from Lectionary Liturgies

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

We turn to the first Psalm in the Prayer and Songbook of the Bible, and listen to the wisdom found here. May the words elicit an echo from the depths of our being… (pause)

Psalm 1

The Bible paraphrase from which I just read originated “down under” in Australia, where the season of spring now clothes the land. To hear the wisdom of God spoken with that different accent, and with images a bit foreign to our experience, can open us to the Holy Wind of God blowing across our own lives.

Are we listening to God or to greed?
Are we choosing the easiest path,
         or the one that leads toward what is right?
Do we sit back and make fun of what is good,
         or do we get up and work for goodness’ sake?
Do we take the time to read God’s Word,
                  even if we don’t understand it at first glance,
         or do we only revere a book we never open?

Such questions flow from wisdom. With them, the Holy One blows through our lives, and like seeds we land beside the river and grow deep and flourish. As the plates are passed, and our offering returned to the Giver, ponder the questions, and pray your own prayer of dedication.

Ushers?

Actively Remembering the Commandments

(follows reading of Leviticus 19:1-2,15-18)

Those were good words from the Law of God. When we think of God’s Law, also known as the Torah, ten special words or commandments come to mind. This morning, let’s see how many of these ten commandments we can remember (no fair looking them up). I’m going to need some children to come forward and help with this, but I’m also going to need adults to assist with your memories and with your height.

Maybe you’ve noticed that there are post-it notes on the walls surrounding us, each with a number from 1 to 10. This is where we will place the commandments we’ve remembered, so that they will be all around us for the rest of this worship service. Putting them up is where I’ll need adults to stand and help the children.

On one side of the sanctuary (point) we will put the commandments that specifically talk about our relationship with God. On the other side of the sanctuary (point) we will put the commandments that specifically talk about our relationship with each other. As we remember each one (and we may not remember them in any particular order), we’ll decide whether that commandment is about our relationship with God or our relationship with each other. Do you understand what we’re about to do?

Okay, I have a pile of commandments in my hand. Let’s see which one we remember first. (Encourage folks in the pews to shout a commandment. Choose one at a time. God through the pile and pick out the poster with that commandment – in simple form below – on it. Then ask the children to decide whether it is about our relationship with God or our relationship with each other. Then send some of the children with the poster to the numbered spot on the wall that corresponds and, with the help of a nearby adult, put it up into the sticky clips already in place.)

1. Worship no god but me.
2. Don’t make idols.
3. Do not use my name for evil purposes.
4. Keep Sabbath holy.
5. Respect your father & mother.
6. Do not murder.
7. Be loyal to your family.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not tell lies about others.
10. Do not be jealous of other people’s stuff.

(I cut 5 large poster boards of different colors in half and shaped 2 corners of each so that it might look like a tablet.)

Thank you for helping us to remember God’s commandments this morning and to surround us with them. That is what the Torah, God’s Law, was meant to do – to encircle and protect God’s people.

Thank you, God!

(As the children return to their seats, 2 adults come forward to the sides of the sanctuary and prepare to lift up and place a stand at the appropriate moment in the scripture reading. To one is taped a poster which reads, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” The other bears these words: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” They return to their seat after the reading.)

We turn now to the Gospel according to Matthew to hear some good news words from Jesus. In the accounts of both Matthew and Mark, these words came in answer to the last of three questions asked by the religious authorities who were trying to trap Jesus in a corner. Listen.

Matthew 22:34-46

the seed for this was planted
by Carolyn Brown in her blog,
Worshiping With Children
(a great resource!)

Pastoral Prayer

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

Benediction

Go now, with courage in our God.
Declare the message of the gospel
which God has entrusted to us,
and in wholehearted love for God and for others,
share not only the message, but your very selves.

And may God be your haven;
May Christ Jesus lead you into love - heart, soul and mind;
And may the Holy Spirit bless the work of your hands
and gladden all your days.

by Nathan Nettleton (©2001)
pastor, South Yarra Community Baptist Church
(near Melbourne, Australia)
from the Laughing Bird resources