Easy Faith, Difficult Faith, Integrative Faith

10 Pentecost, Cp15, August 14, 2022
Jeremiah 23:23-29  Psalm 82
Hebrews 12:1 – 14  Luke 12:49-56

Lectionary Link

It is rather easy to be persuaded about the goodness of God, the reality of God, the love of God, and the goodness of the world, when we are living free, healthy lives with pollyannish naivete.

We're lucky if we get sheltered from any harshness in life such that in living lives completely exempt of hardship, we gleefully and confidently express our confident persuasion about the God whom we call good, loving, and all powerful, and about the goodness of our lives.

And I do wish people as much pollyannish naivete in wonderful childlike world shielded by goodness.   I'm all for the conditions which make faith in God and in each other easy.

But......that kind of easy faith is not a faith that has built muscles.  And it is the kind of faith that does not give one the kind of experience to have actual empathy with other people who have not always had such fortune in lives.

In the free world on the field of competition among all the free agents of creation, it would seem that most people come to some kind of experience of disharmony; times when things don't seem to fit together.

This was the case for the Lucan community hearing the sermons of their leaders about their situations.   What were their situations?    Family discord.   Person fighting over religion.  Stay with the ritually pure synagogue where families members lodged or follow those who saw a different path in the way of Jesus Christ.  Or for a Gentile family in the Roman Empire?  Should I follow my family in the temple ritual for our preferred gods and goddesses and should I participate in the civil religious cult of the divinized Emperor who called not only for civic loyalty but also cultic loyalty?

Easy faith does not work in times of conflict.   Easy faith is based upon the accidental innocence found in life situations shielded from conflict.

If it seems like the biblical record is more about difficult and heroic faith rather an easy faith, it is because biblical faith is true to the reality of the free conditions of what can actually happen.

And rather than say easy faith, difficult faith, or heroic faith, the faith inspired by the witness of Christ might be called an integrative faith.  What would that be?  It would be the ability to adjust our persuaded lives to the specific conditions which face us at anytime in our lives.

And those conditions are wide and varied and differ according to the situations of people, groups, and nations.

But what can one strive for in having this integrative faith?  One should strive to have a seeming alchemical faith, namely, the ability to transform the mean, the harsh, the ordinary, the base, or the whatever into persuaded actions and words of hope for betterment.

And what would the betterment outcomes of faith be?  empathy, compassion, fortitude, resilence, love and justice.

The event of faith is the ability to transform the stuff of life into better stuff of life for all people.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to integrating transforming faith for all the stuff of our lives to be given a presentation as better stuff for the life of this world.  Amen.

Sunday School, August 14, 2022 10 Pentecost C proper 15

 Sunday School, August 14, 2022    10 Pentecost C proper 15

Sunday School theme:

Jesus said, “Why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Jesus wants us to learn how to interpret what is happening in life in a way that we can make the very best decision.

Another easier word to use for interpret is the word “read.”

If you see smoke in the air, how do you read this?  You see smoke and you think, there must be a fire somewhere close which is causing the smoke.

If you see lots of dark clouds, what do you read?  You think there are clouds and so there could be some rain.

We learn how to read “natural” signs in life.  One thing is associated with or causes another thing to happen.

We also have to learn to read our human lives in the ways in which we live with each other.

Like: if people do not do good things to others or say good things to other people, what will happen?  Anger and not friendship.

We need to learn how to read our human relationship to learn how to learn how to perform our very best behaviors for living in peace and kindness.

Sometimes we might wonder why other people are treating us in ways that we do not like.  And we must read and study our own behaviors.  Are we doing things that might make people respond to us in ways in which we don’t like?

We have to learn how to read other people’s behaviors and our own behaviors so that we can help each other live the very best lives of love and kindness.

If we see a big fire, we have been trained to call 911 and call for the fire department.

Jesus said that we need to learn to read everything that we do in our lives so that we can live healthy, loving and safe lives.

Jesus taught us that reading is not just about looking at words on a page; reading is also about reading the events of our lives and making the right choices to do the right things.

Sermon:

  This week many of you will go to school.  How many of you will be going to school? 

  How many of you know how to read?  How many of you want to learn how to read?

  I think most every one, even little babies know how to read.  Why?  Because in life we have to learn how to read more than words.  We have to learn how to read the things that happen in life.

  Let me test your reading ability.  If you see some very dark clouds in the sky, what do you read?  What do you predict?

  If you see smoke in the air, what you read?  You say,   “There must be a fire.” 

  Even a baby can read?  When a baby keeps dropping a spoon from the high chair and he knows that mom or dad is going to keep picking it up?  How does he know that?  He already understands gravity and he understands how he can get mom and dad to do things for him.  So even a baby knows how to read the things that are happening in life.

  If I hit my hand hard against this chair, what will happen?  It will hurt my hand?  How do you know this?

  How do we come to know things?

  We read.  We interpret.  We learn.

  To read the things that happen to us means that we are learning more than written words in our life.  How do we learn?  We learn by trying and making some mistakes and having some success.

  The better that we are at learning, the more successful we will be in our lives.

  Jesus encouraged his disciple to learn how to read the things that were happening in their lives.  That means learning what is happening right now and making the best decision in our lives.

  Are you too young to read the events of your life?

  No, many important things are happening for you, so it is very important that you learn.

  What you learn now will help you for the rest of your lives.

  What should you learn now?

  1-Learn the commandments. Learn the rules.  If you learn the rules then you can avoid lots of mistakes.

 2-Make friends who are going to help you and friends that you will help.  Your family can help you and you can help your family.  Your church can help you and you can help your church.  It’s important in good times and difficult times to have the support of your family and church.

  3-Trust in God.  God has lived before us and God lives after us and it is only God who is great enough to take care of our lives forever.

  As young people let us learn to understand what is happening in our lives now, and learn how to make the right decision, for our own success, to please and help our friends and family, but most of all, to please God.  Amen.

An inter generational Eucharist  which is accessible to children
August 14, 2022: The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: O Come, Let Us Adore Him;  Hosanna; Wait for the Lord; The King of Glory

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: O Come, Let Us Adore Him,  (Renew!, # 1)

1-O come, let us adore him; O come, let us adore him; O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

2-We’ll give him all the glory.  We’ll give him all the glory.  We’ll give him all the glory, Christ the Lord.

3-For he alone is worthy.  For he alone is worthy.  For he alone is worthy.  Christ the Lord

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Liturgy Leader: In our prayers we first praise God, chanting the praise word: Alleluia

Litany of Praise: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 80

Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, * the son of man you have made so strong for yourself. 

And so will we never turn away from you; * give us life, that we may call upon your Name. 

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; * show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

. 

 Liturgist: Before we offer our thanksgiving, is there anything special you are thankful about today?

As we thank God, let us chant, “Thanks be to God.”

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! 

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, `It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, `There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon:

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and 

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is 

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Liturgist: As we offer our prayers for people in need, let us chant: “Christ, have mercy.”

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. 

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:                        And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Offertory Song:           My Jesus, I Love Thee, (Renew!  # 275)

My Jesus I love thee, I know thou art mine.  For thee all the follies of sin I resign.  My gracious redeemer, my savior art thou.  If ever I loved thee, my Jesus tis now.

I love thee because thou has first loved me.  And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;  I love thee for wearing the thorn on thy brow, if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ. 

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory. 

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

Liturgist continues:

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat 

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as   

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

The Prayer continues with these words

And so, Father, when we will bring you the gifts of bread and wine. We will ask you to bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing, 

(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)  

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Let All That Is Within Me, (Renew! # 269)

1-Let all that is within cry holy.  Let all that is within me cry holy.  Holy, holy, holy is the Lamb that was slain.

2-Glory   3-Jesus

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: Lord, Bid Your Servant Go In Peace, (Renew! # 295)

1-Lord bid your servant go in peace; your word is now fulfilled.  These eyes have seen salvation’s dawn, this child so long foretold.

2-This is the Savior of the world, the Gentiles’ promised light, God’s glory dwelling in our midst, the joy of Israel.

Dismissal:    

Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ. 

People: Thanks be to God! 

Ironic, Not Irenic Peace

10 Pentecost, Cp15, August 18, 2019

Jeremiah 23:23-29  Psalm 82

Hebrews 12:1 – 14  Luke 12:49-56

 Lectionary Link

For the past few weeks, we have been reading in series, the chapters in the Epistle to the Hebrews on faith.  We read that faith is the conviction of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.  In short, faith is living toward a hopeful future with the assurance that the future is going to complete the past in a positive and wonderful way.

In today's installment on faith, the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews, recounts the great events experienced and endured by the heroes written about in the Hebrew Scriptures.  The heroes of the past experienced things that we did not; conversely we have experienced things which they never experienced.  The writer states that our faith of the present perfects the faith of the past.  There is a reciprocity across time of the faith of people of the past with our faith today.  It means that we in our assessment of the people who have come before us, the great people of the cloud of witnesses, we need to interpret them in charity and endeavor to escape our temporal provincialism of believing that because we are prisoners of our own time, we are necessarily better than the people of any other time.

The faith of the people of the past was necessary for us to come to the experience of faith that we live and articulate today.  It should be rather awesomely humbling to think that our faith perfects the faith of the people of the past.  Too often we view perfection as an individual attribute rather than the perfection of completeness within the community of faith. Jesus is the pioneer and the perfecter of our faith as the Risen Christ and as the Eternal Word of God from the beginning.  In faith, we are always living into the perfection of being made complete as a community of faith.  So faith is both personal, individual and communal.  The two cannot be separated.

The witness of the faith heroes include stories of great heroism and endurance.  Sometimes we would like to think that life of time and change should be a life of ease with continuous smooth transitions.  But in our actual experience, personal growth and community growth is fraught with great eruption caused by the necessity to make creative advance.

Jesus is called the Prince of Peace.  He is the one who said to his disciples, "Peace be with you."  Peace indeed is most desirable in our inward lives and in our interactions with each other.  But peace should also be viewed as something like the function of rest in music.  The contrast of the rest of silence in music with the sounding of musical notes is what creates the fullness of musical experience.

In today appointed Gospel, we read that peace is not the static indifference of things always being the same.  Time and change involves dynamic movement and within the community, the dynamic movement can mean significant paradigm changes and shifts in the foundational definitions and practices of people.  The tectonic paradigm shifts can result in anything but peace.

Jesus himself in his time was the pioneer of faith; he was the pioneer and the instigator of a major paradigm shift for the people of his time. Jesus said, " Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son  and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

Can you imagine the members of the community to whom the Gospel of Luke was composed?  What were they going through?   Their families were divided by the message and the practice of the Gospel.   Some people remained ritually observant Jews within the synagogue, and they could not accept the changes and the dispensations permitted by Peter and Paul for the Gentiles members of the Jesus Movement.  There was conflict; there was mutual excommunication of one another.  The Christian expositors were totally re-writing the meanings of the Hebrew Scriptures with new meanings which arose because of Jesus Christ and because of the mystical experiences which the early Christians had of the Risen Christ.  The religious setting could not remain the same.  There was anything but peace.

"But I thought that my new mystical experience of the Risen Christ should be universally winsome and persuasive and accepted by my family who were members of the synagogue.  Why can't they understand and embrace my new faith experience."  The members of the synagogue wanted their heretical Christian relatives to be re-programmed and be purified of their heretical ways.  Anyone who has moved away from one's cradle religious loyalties has probably known the intensity of conflict which can occur between people who live in different faith paradigm.

The words of Jesus about the lack of peace, were the oracular words of the Risen Christ within the early churches, assuring people that paradigm shifts do not always happen with peaceful and smooth transitions.  Why?  Religious experiences are very individual and personal and they occur in serendipitous and  uneven ways.  Why, because each person has individual circumstances and individual personality which qualify their receptivity to new and different experience.

So the words of Jesus about conflict, were the oracle words of the Risen Christ in the community of Luke's Gospel to assure people about the normalcy of the results of time, change and freedom.  Yes, the peace of Christ is still possible.  It is the silence, like musical rests, which makes possible both the notes of harmony and the cognitive dissonance of open disagreement coming to conflict.

Faith, conflict and disagreement are real to life.  Jesus was real to the conditions of life.  We are called to be "child-like" in our faith, but not childishly naïve about the reality of the life of freedom, time and change.

Faith then is learning to live with the conditions of freedom, time and change.  How can we do that?  Faith is focus upon perfection and completion.  Faith is focused upon the model of what is complete and perfect and ideal; what is not yet.  This means we should live as those who mean to complete the faith of people of the past.  It means that we should live toward the people of faith who will complete what we do not attain perfect outcomes in our time.

If we are settling for old answer to old questions which prohibits us from interpreting the events of our time with wisdom, perhaps we need to experience the conflict caused by trying to give and live old answers to new question.  Perhaps we often need to lose our peace of tacit complacency in order to embrace the dynamic peace of Christ which enables us to ride the roaring waves of the cauldron of time, change and freedom. Amen.

  

Sunday School, August 18, 2019. C proper 15

Sunday School, August 18, 2019    10 Pentecost C proper 15

Sunday School theme:

Jesus said, “Why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Jesus wants us to learn how to interpret what is happening in life in a way that we can make the very best decision.

Another easier word to use for interpret is the word “read.”

If you see smoke in the air, how do you read this?  You see smoke and you think, there must be a fire somewhere close which is causing the smoke.

If you see lots of dark clouds, what do you read?  You think there are clouds and so there could be some rain.

We learn how to read “natural” signs in life.  One thing is associated with or causes another thing to happen.

We also have to learn to read our human lives in the ways in which we live with each other.

Like: if people do not do good things to others or say good things to other people, what will happen?  Anger and not friendship.

We need to learn how to read our human relationship to learn how to learn how to perform our very best behaviors for living in peace and kindness.

Sometimes we might wonder why other people are treating us in ways that we do not like.  And we must read and study our own behaviors.  Are we doing things that might make people respond to us in ways in which we don’t like?

We have to learn how to read other people’s behaviors and our own behaviors so that we can help each other live the very best lives of love and kindness.

If we see a big fire, we have been trained to call 911 and call for the fire department.

Jesus said that we need to learn to read everything that we do in our lives so that we can live healthy, loving and safe lives.

Jesus taught us that reading is not just about looking at words on a page; reading is also about reading the events of our lives and making the right choices to do the right things.

Sermon:

  This week many of you will go to school.  How many of you will be going to school? 

  How many of you know how to read?  How many of you want to learn how to read?

  I think most every one, even little babies know how to read.  Why?  Because in life we have to learn how to read more than words.  We have to learn how to read the things that happen in life.

  Let me test your reading ability.  If you see some very dark clouds in the sky, what do you read?  What do you predict?

  If you see smoke in the air, what you read?  You say,   “There must be a fire.” 

  Even a baby can read?  When a baby keeps dropping a spoon from the high chair and he knows that mom or dad is going to keep picking it up?  How does he know that?  He already understands gravity and he understands how he can get mom and dad to do things for him.  So even a baby knows how to read the things that are happening in life.

  If I hit my hand hard against this chair, what will happen?  It will hurt my hand?  How do you know this?

  How do we come to know things?

  We read.  We interpret.  We learn.

  To read the things that happen to us means that we are learning more than written words in our life.  How do we learn?  We learn by trying and making some mistakes and having some success.

  The better that we are at learning, the more successful we will be in our lives.

  Jesus encouraged his disciple to learn how to read the things that were happening in their lives.  That means learning what is happening right now and making the best decision in our lives.

  Are you too young to read the events of your life?

  No, many important things are happening for you, so it is very important that you learn.

  What you learn now will help you for the rest of your lives.

  What should you learn now?

  1-Learn the commandments. Learn the rules.  If you learn the rules then you can avoid lots of mistakes.

 2-Make friends who are going to help you and friends that you will help.  Your family can help you and you can help your family.  Your church can help you and you can help your church.  It’s important in good times and difficult times to have the support of your family and church.

  3-Trust in God.  God has lived before us and God lives after us and it is only God who is great enough to take care of our lives forever.

  As young people let us learn to understand what is happening in our lives now, and learn how to make the right decision, for our own success, to please and help our friends and family, but most of all, to please God.  Amen.

An inter generational Eucharist  which is accessible to children
August 18, 2019: The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: O Come, Let Us Adore Him;  Hosanna; Wait for the Lord; The King of Glory

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: O Come, Let Us Adore Him,  (Renew!, # 1)

1-O come, let us adore him; O come, let us adore him; O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

2-We’ll give him all the glory.  We’ll give him all the glory.  We’ll give him all the glory, Christ the Lord.

3-For he alone is worthy.  For he alone is worthy.  For he alone is worthy.  Christ the Lord

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Liturgy Leader: In our prayers we first praise God, chanting the praise word: Alleluia

Litany of Praise: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 80

Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, * the son of man you have made so strong for yourself. 

And so will we never turn away from you; * give us life, that we may call upon your Name. 

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; * show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

. 

 Liturgist: Before we offer our thanksgiving, is there anything special you are thankful about today?

As we thank God, let us chant, “Thanks be to God.”

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! 

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, `It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, `There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon:

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and 

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is 

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Liturgist: As we offer our prayers for people in need, let us chant: “Christ, have mercy.”

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. 

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:                        And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Offertory Song:           My Jesus, I Love Thee, (Renew!  # 275)

My Jesus I love thee, I know thou art mine.  For thee all the follies of sin I resign.  My gracious redeemer, my savior art thou.  If ever I loved thee, my Jesus tis now.

I love thee because thou has first loved me.  And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;  I love thee for wearing the thorn on thy brow, if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ. 

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory. 

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

Liturgist continues:

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat 

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as   

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

The Prayer continues with these words

And so, Father, when we will bring you the gifts of bread and wine. We will ask you to bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing, 

(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)  

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Let All That Is Within Me, (Renew! # 269)

1-Let all that is within cry holy.  Let all that is within me cry holy.  Holy, holy, holy is the Lamb that was slain.

2-Glory   3-Jesus

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: Lord, Bid Your Servant Go In Peace, (Renew! # 295)

1-Lord bid your servant go in peace; your word is now fulfilled.  These eyes have seen salvation’s dawn, this child so long foretold.

2-This is the Savior of the world, the Gentiles’ promised light, God’s glory dwelling in our midst, the joy of Israel.

Dismissal:    

Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ. 

People: Thanks be to God!