Worship Prayers Sept. 4

PRAYER IN PREPARATION:  Almighty God, whose ways are far beyond our understanding,

help us to trust your judgments so that we may do your will by loving you and one another.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen  

CALL TO WORSHIP                                                                                                                                          

Turning, turning, turning: the clay on the potter's wheel comes round.

         And the turning of the seasons brings us round to this new day.

Gripping, molding, forming: the hand of the potter shapes the clay.

         In the grip of God, we are formed anew.

Lifting, shaping, stretching:  the hope of the potter is brought to life.

         God’s hope is us renews and transforms.

Opening ourselves, in faith, to God’s action in our lives we worship God.

  

   PRAYER OF CONFESSION                                                                                                                             

O Fountain of Every Blessing, who pours the holiness of your divine self into every corner of the world and into our very lives: we confess to you that the vessels of our lives are made of fragile clay.  Sometimes we are like cracked pots that cannot hold the measure of compassion you pour out, jugs that leak patience, crocks where hope seeps dry.  Our lives become dust; we chip, crumble, and are empty.  God of mercy, we confess that we are poor vessels.

   SILENT CONFESSION

   Divine Potter, who first knelt in the dust and formed our being, return to that dust and refashion our lives, so that we might hold the fullness of your image once again; we pray through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

  

SCRIPTURE READING                                                                                          

Jeremiah 18:1-11, p. 720