CENTERING PRAYER - God of Perfect Peace, we come to you today with heavy hearts in a broken and violent world, but we trust you to remain when others forsake. When we are tempted to abandon ourselves today, help us to stay present to this moment, that we may know and do your will. Through the Creator who enfolds us, Christ who defends us, and the Spirit who never abandons us. Amen.
CALL TO WORSHIP (from Psalm 19)
The heavens declare the glory of God!
The skies proclaim God’s handiwork.
The day pronounces God’s glory without a sound,
the night expounds God’s knowledge without a word,
and yet their voice goes out through all the earth.
Let us join our voices with the voice of creation in declaring God’s glory!
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (modified from “Prayers For the Twenty-First Century”, page 124)
Save your people, God of truth and mercy, from the chaos of divided loyalties and the worship of many gods;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From making God in our own likeness and the slavery of self-centeredness;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From using God’s name trivially and claiming him for our prejudices;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From neglecting sabbatical quiet times and being obsessed with busyness;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From ignoring or despising the elderly and over-indulging the new generation;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From glorifying armaments and war and wishing our enemies dead;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From watering-down love and marriage and the exploitation of sex;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From the sin of taking what isn’t ours and denying others what is rightfully theirs;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From TV programs that twist the facts, and cruel gossip in supermarkets;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From those who preach greed as a virtue and possession-lust which is never satisfied;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
O Jesus Christ, Savior of all who lose their way, O Healing Spirit, Power who renews the world; We need you, God of truth and mercy! Amen! (Silent Confession)
† SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
Peace be with you. And also with you.
† AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – Westminster Confession of Faith Shorter Catechism
Question One: What is our chief end?
Answer: Our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy God forever.
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