You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation. It is free for worship use. Please credit Jill Duffield of the Presbyterian Outlook. Download the PDF of the full order worship: Liturgy 11.01.20 … [Read more...]
21st Sunday After Pentecost — October 25, 2020
Deuteronomy 34:1-12; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-18; Matthew 22:34-46 Ordinary 30A; Proper 25 I used to feel sad for Moses when I read this story in Deuteronomy. Moses, so faithful, so stalwart, does not get to enter the Promised Land. After all he endured, confronting Pharaoh, 40 years in the wilderness, grumbling people, idolatry, receiving the commandments, seeing God face to face, the list goes on, he does not set one foot in the land God swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Seems unfair, does it not? And yet, this year, when I read this familiar account of the Lord and Moses on Mount Nebo, I get a sense of relief. Somehow, this difficult year of so much tumult and pain, I feel as if Moses might see that vast expanse of land and think, “Whew, the next part of this journey is Joshua’s responsibility, not mine.” Moses, we are told, was 120 and not fading in vigor; perhaps the idea of passing the baton to Joshua felt right and good. The focus of our faithfulness is not success or a … [Read more...]
Horizons 3 ““Into the Light: Finding Hope Through Prayers of Lament”
Lesson 3: Jeremiah 9:17-21; Matthew 2:16-18 Elizabeth and her son, Andrew, had set out early in the morning to meet with the admissions officer at the University of Virginia. Andrew was a high school senior and looking at various colleges. The other son, William, had already left for school on the bus. When Elizabeth and Andrew returned home at 2:30 p.m., they found 45-year-old Paul, Elizabeth’s husband and the boys’ dad, on the floor in a diabetic coma. Paul’s breakfast lay untouched. Paul was rushed to intensive care, but he never revived. In planning the memorial with the family, I asked if Elizabeth wanted the Apostles’ Creed as part of the worship service. Elizabeth replied, “I won’t be able to say it, so the congregation will have to say it for me.” Though the family’s names have been changed, those days are seared into my memory. The women in the church filled the house with food. Relatives came into town. People sent sympathy cards and made memorial gifts to the church. … [Read more...]
The call of the righteous (Dec. 13, 2020)
Uniform Lesson for December 13, 2020 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Matthew 1:18-25 Joseph, in the call of Jesus, is essentially a spare tire. He’s essential, but not necessary for the story. But maybe, just maybe, this is the right perspective for all of us when it comes to our role in God’s saving story and the proper understanding of our call. Often we’re not the most righteous agents in the narrative; frequently our greatest risk is missing out; and always, thanks be to God, we are essential but not necessary agents in the ongoing story of God’s salvation of the world. Matthew 1:18-19 — Being a righteous man All too often when we read and preach Matthew’s version of the Christmas story, we frame it as a story of a righteous man confronted with an unexpectedly pregnant partner, whose situation may make her seem less than righteous. How many Christmas sermons have we heard about the church’s need to welcome such marginal neighbors into our fellowship? However, having … [Read more...]
October 25 — Reformation Sunday: Family faith formation @ home
Welcome Invite various persons to bring a designated item and use this liturgy to begin your time of learning together. One: Come, let us gather around and see how the Spirit will nurture our faith today. All: Who is with us? One: Christ, the light of the world. (Place a candle on a table in your gathering place and light it.) All: Who is with us? One: The Love of God, who came to meet us in the world. (Place a cross on a table in your gathering place.) All: Who is with us? One: The Wisdom of God, who speaks through the Scriptures. (Place an open Bible on a table in your gathering place.) All: Who is with us? One: The Grace of God, who proclaims we are children of God. (Place a symbol of baptism – a bowl of water, a seashell – on a table in your gathering space.) All: Who is with us? One: Our risen Lord, who meets us at the table. (Place a symbol of communion – a plate and cup, a loaf of bread, grapes – on a table … [Read more...]
God’s call of Jesus (Dec. 6, 2020)
Uniform Lesson for December 6, 2020 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Matthew 1:1-6, 16-17 This week, we begin a series on “Call in the New Testament.” We lead off with four lessons from Matthew focusing on the most essential call of them all (at least for Christians) — God’s call of Jesus. While, as we shall see, this call is complicated by the mystery of incarnation (how does God issue a call to Godself?), it nevertheless (from the human point of view) follows the trajectory of calls throughout Scripture. It starts this week way back with Abraham, and then rolls out through three blocks of 14 generations each, culminating with “Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born.” Matthew 1:1-6 — Genealogy as call It may seem strange to begin a call story with a list of long-dead ancestors. You may have heard the slogan, “There is no such thing as a second-generation Christian,” meaning that God’s call and claim on our lives is a matter of personal responsibility and choice, … [Read more...]
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