Call to Worship: Wisdom & Education

Makes a good call to worship for graduation days, back to school, wisdom literature sermon passages, and similar occasions.

In the beginning was the Wisdom* of God,
before the dust of the earth and the depths of the sea.

She rejoiced at the beauty of life on the earth;
The Lord rejoiced in her.

Whoever finds wisdom finds the heart of God;
whoever seeks wisdom is blessed.

Come and join in the work of creation!
Come and dance in the presence of God!

Citation: adapted from Proverbs 8:22–36

You may also consider adding the following footnote to your bulletin:
* Fun fact: Some commentators equate Lady Wisdom from Proverbs with Christ.

Prayers of the People: Lament Form for Lent

[sung refrain 1: 2x]

Almighty and all-loving God,
    as we begin once more to journey with you to the cross,
    as we look closely at our lives and our world,
    we find ourselves trapped in so much of the same sin and brokenness
        you came into the world to save us from,
    and we find ourselves crying out, How long, O Lord?
How long must we wait for your justice to roll down like waters?

[sung refrain 1]

How long, O Lord,
    must we watch temperatures rise, glaciers melt,
        storms worsen, and trash accumulate?
How long must we battle the despair that looms
    when we realize how much there is to change
    and how little we can do alone?
Save us, O God of creation—
    bind us together to do what we cannot do alone,
    and step in to do what we cannot do together.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
[or sung refrain 1]

Call to Worship: Advent I

Wait for the Lord,
For dawn is breaking to light the paths of peace.

Wait for the Lord,
For the kingdom of heaven is drawing near.

Wait for the Lord,
For the Creator is making all things new.

Wait for the Lord,
Be strong; take heart.

Citations: Ps 27:14; Luke 1:78–79; Matt 4:17; Rev 21:5

Prayer After Communion: Hanging of the Greens

For use in a service in which Chrismons are placed upon the tree by members of the congregation during the Communion.

Eternal God, heavenly Creator,
    we give you thanks for this holy mystery
    in which you have given yourself to us.
May these fruits of the earth sustain us
    as we await your birth into the world,
and may this tree, arrayed in splendor,
    remind us of the mystery of Christ,
    in whose death we find life,
    as we are drawn to resurrection alongside him.
Send us now into the world in peace,
    and grant us strength and courage
    to love and serve you and all creation with gladness;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Based in part on the blessing of the Chrismons prayer from the United Methodist Book of Worship.

Call to Worship: Christ the Sovereign

Feast day: Christ the King/Christ the Sovereign/Reign of Christ

---

Come to the table, you who hunger for food and for justice,
For the Savior sets a feast, without price or partiality.

Come to the water, you who are weary and heavy-laden,
For the Shepherd shelters the body and restores the soul.

Come to God’s presence with singing and with dancing,
For the Lord is good, whose steadfast love endures forever.

Come and rest in the new creation,
For the Kin[g]dom of Heaven draws near.

Prayers of the People: Basic Litany 2

Trusting in the incarnate God who weeps when we mourn and dances when we rejoice, let us join our bodies and our minds in prayer, saying:
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the church and all who encounter it:
    We pray for all those who have been nurtured by the church
        and found life and joy within its walls,
        and for all who have followed your call
            into positions of leadership.
    We pray also for all who have been rejected by the church,
        who have seen only pain and grief within its walls.
    Heal our brokenness and bring us ever closer
        to truly being the body of Christ for the world.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Prayer of Adoration for Easter Day

Holy Jesus, Almighty God, Creator and Redeemer of all life,
On this Easter day we praise you with our whole heart, mind, and voice,
As we celebrate the mysterious Passover
In which you yourself are the Paschal Lamb;
For by your death and resurrection you have freed us from our sins
As once you freed your people from slavery in Egypt.

What might have been a day of mourning after your death
You have made instead a day of rejoicing and a feast,
For in the very night we thought all hope was lost
You saw fit to work your transformation of the world.

This is the day/night when you brought our ancestors
Out of slavery, leading them through the Red Sea on dry land.

This is the day/night when you delivered us from the bonds of death and sin,
And brought us to life with you as you rose victorious from the grave.

How wonderful is the mystery of your unfailing grace, O God,
That you would give yourself in exchange for your mortal creation.

How holy and blessed is this day when earth and heaven are joined
And all creation is reconciled to you who love us even unto death.

O God our Savior, look favorably upon us your Church and continue in us the live-giving work you began in the hours before dawn on that first Easter day. Make us a beacon of your eternal love and grace; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, that things which had fallen to disrepair are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our risen Lord. Amen. Alleluia.

Based in part on the English text of the Exsultet chant.

---

Prayers of the People: Lent

O Lord our God,
We turn to you in this penitential season of Lent acknowledging the brokenness of our world and the little ways in which we find ourselves contributing to that brokenness each day.

We ask for your guidance
    in learning how to walk as Christ walked,
    how to love our neighbors and our planet as ourselves,
    and how to be the Church in a world
        that has been harmed so often by Christians.

refrain: Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
or: Lord, in your mercy— Hear our prayer.

We pray for our bishops,
    and for the leaders of all denominations,
that they may find themselves ever more open
    to your Spirit’s work through them,
    and may lead as you lead.

[Refrain]

Prayers of the People: Alternate Basic Form

Almighty and loving God, we bring to you today all that uplifts us and all that burdens us, knowing that your Holy Spirit accompanies us in every facet of life.

We pray for this congregation, for our denomination, and for the global church—
as we seek to live into your call in our lives, to live together as disciples, and to minister to one another and our world,
[Refrain]

We pray for those who enact laws and those who uphold them—
we pray for your wisdom in decision-making, your justice for those who are hurting, and your mercy for all who need reconciliation.
[Refrain]

We pray for your gift of creation—
we confess that we are prone to treat the creation-stewardship with which you have charged us not as a responsibility for care but as an excuse for exploitation, and we pray for your guidance as we learn how to reverse the harm we have caused.
[Refrain]

We pray for those who are suffering—
those who mourn and those who fear, those who live in poverty and those who hunger, those who struggle with illness of body, mind, or soul; we pray for your strength and comfort in their lives and the opportunity for us to help where we are needed.
[Refrain]

[closing collect/prayer]
through Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

---

Prayers of the People: Basic Form

Almighty and loving God, today we are at once uplifted by our joys, our hopes, and our thanksgivings, yet also burdened by our sorrows, our fears, and our doubts.

We pray for one another—
as we seek to live into your call in our lives, both as individuals and as a community,
[Refrain]

We pray for the global church—
for its leaders and all its members; as we seek to live together as disciples and to minister to one another and our world,
[Refrain]

We pray for this nation and all nations—
for those who make laws, seek justice, and govern their lands; we pray for your wisdom in decision-making and your peace in conflict.
[Refrain]

We pray for your gift of creation—
we confess that we do not often care for this earth and its inhabitants as it deserves, and we pray for your healing of a hurting world and your guidance in our stewardship of this beautiful planet.
[Refrain]

We pray for those who are suffering—
those who mourn and those who fear, those who live in poverty and those who hunger, those who struggle with illness of body, mind, or soul; we pray for your strength and comfort in their lives and the opportunity for us to help where we are needed.
[Refrain]

[closing collect/prayer]
through Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

---