What? Sunday is coming again? Didn’t we just have one?
Yes, we who wear the yoke of Christ and pull alongside him find ourselves facing another set of worship services that require our attention, devotion, and inspiration.
Maybe you’ve got all that in spades. That’s great! Maybe you’re feeling like a dried out spring. That’s not great, but we’re here for you.
Here are a few worship ideas to help you on your way as you prepare to lead God’s people. Our Worship Words are most often centered around the Revised Common Lectionary, but occasionally they come from other inspirational arenas. These words are given as gifts to be used as they have been written, or to prime the pump of your own creativity as you prepare for worship. Please give credit in print and video descriptions, but verbal attribution is not necessary. If you have prepared worship words for next week that you are willing to share with your internet friends, we’d love to share them. Submit them by Monday of the week for which they have been written to revgalblogpals (at) gmail (dot) com.
All of today’s offerings are by Pastor Julia Seymour (ELCA).
Opening Litany based on Psalm 146
God alone is worthy of our highest praise and allegiance.
Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.
The God of our ancestors, Rebekah and Sarah, accompanies us through our lives.
Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.
The God of our ancestors, Isaac and Jacob, receives us into the peace to come.
Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.
God our provider has made enough for all people.
Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.
God our healer mends our brokenness and offers wholeness to an aching creation.
Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.
God seeks to work justice, provide mercy, and brings peace through people, including us.
Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.
The stranger, the grieving, the lonely, the imprisoned, the struggling- Christ is present in them all.
Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.
We praise God and reveal the Divine presence with our words and deeds.
Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.
Confession and Forgiveness based on James 2
Let us tell the truth to ourselves, before on another, and to God, to whom all hearts are open and from whom no secrets are hidden.
Silence for reflection
Gracious source of all holy justice and mercy,
We are loathe to admit that we have favored
The rich, the proud, and the loud
with our attention in words and deeds.
We have given scraps of time and resources to
The poor, the orphaned, and the grieving.
Our faith has not shown forth in our deeds.
We repent of this.
We regret where we have fallen short and
With our whole hearts, we wish to turn toward
A full and embodied faith that works
In accordance with your will.
The Lord says to those with humbled hearts,
“Be strong and do not fear.”
You are children of the living God,
beloved and never abandoned.
Your sins are forgiven and
The Holy Spirit’s presence is at hand to
Strengthen your faith, lived out in all you do.
Amen.
Prayer for Illumination
God of love, we give thanks for your written word, which strengthens our trust in the Divine will and mercy. Guide our meditation today that we will be open to the truth you are still speaking. As we are reminded of blooms in the desert, the deeds of faith, and the humility of Jesus, may your Spirit draw us more fully into being the people you have made and called us to be. Amen.
Post- Communion Prayer
Creator of all, at this table
You have fed our faith and given us a foretaste of the feast to come.
Send us out, renewed, into your world
That we may carry the good news of Christ’s love
And do the good work of his compassionate healing
Wherever the Spirit leads us. Amen.
Blessing
Go forth, children of God,
To speak for justice, to pursue peace, to bear witness to the grace that is within you.
May God, Holy Mystery, Holy Redemption, and Holy Provision,
Guide your all your ways and bless you now and forever.
Amen.
The videos below are shared for your inspiration. If you use them, please go to the origin post on YouTube and credit the original artists.
RevGalBlogPals encourages you to share our blog posts via email or social media. (We do not grant permission to cut-and-paste prayers and articles without a link back to the specific post. For permission to use material in paper publications, please email revgalblogpals at gmail dot com.) For Worship Words, you may use or adapt what you find here, but please credit the author in printed orders of service/web publications and in public video descriptions if possible. If you have written words for worship in this strange new world that you are willing to share, please send us an email: revgalblogpals at gmail dot com. Material is due by Monday for the upcoming Sunday
RevGalBlogPals 
Thank you Julia, very helpful.
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