Worship, Witness, Word and Welcome
Online Worship with First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Berea, KY
May 30, 2021 (Sunday of Memorial Weekend)
Before we begin, gather a candle or small light, your Bible, a cross, a piece of bread and a cup of juice or water. Place them at the center of a calm area in your home and gather comfortable seating for all who will join you. Place your phone, tablet or computer where you can see and hear it. As we observe Memorial Day this weekend, remembering those who have died, especially those who have died in war service to country. You may want to add a picture of someone in your family who died in military servce to your worship center. You could also write the name of someone on a card and write your memories of them.
Worship
Invocation We begin with prayer.
Gracious God, God of all compassion and consolation,
your breath alone brings life to dry bones and weary souls.
Pour out your Spirit upon us, that we may live
with the hope of resurrection through Christ, our Lord.
Help us to dance with the Spirit, the breath of life,
which calls us out into your presence,
in this present moment of worship,
in our daily lives, in our hope of eternal life.
Amen.
~excerpted and adapted from a prayer posted on I’m Just Saying. http://thepostmodernpastor.com/
Lighting the Candles We light our candles or lights.
Call to Worship
Voice One: We light these candles today,
Voice Two: Because God is with us in this time and in all these places!
Voice One: Life-giving, life-restoring, life-fulfilling God;
Voice Two: May our whole lives be worship.
~ Final lines from a prayer posted on The Minor Keys. http://theminorkeys.blogspot.ca/
Witness
Interview: Today's guest disciple is
Prayer of Remembrance for Memorial Day:
Let us pray for all who suffer as a result of conflict,
and ask that God may give us peace:
for the service men and women
who have died in the violence of war,
each one remembered by and known to God.
May God give peace.
For those who love them in death as in life,
offering the distress of our grief
and the sadness of our loss;
May God give peace.
For all members of the armed forces
who are in danger this day,
remembering family, friends
and all who pray for their safe return;
May God give peace.
For civilian women, children and men
whose lives are disfigured by war or terror,
calling to mind in penitence
the anger and hatreds of humanity;
May God give peace.
For peacemakers and peacekeepers,
who seek to keep this world secure and free;
May God give peace.
For all who bear the burden and privilege of leadership,
political, military and religious;
asking for gifts of wisdom and resolve
in the search for reconciliation and peace;
May God give peace.
O God of truth and justice,
we hold before you those whose memory we cherish,
and those whose names we will never know.
Help us to lift our eyes above the torment of this broken world,
and grant us the grace to pray for those who wish us harm.
May God give peace.
As we honour the past,
may we put our faith in your future;
for you are the source of life and hope,
now and for ever.
May God give peace.
Amen.
~ adapted from a prayer posted on the Church of England website. https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/topical-prayers/remembranceday.aspx
Word
Scripture: Acts 2:1-21
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
-New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Meditation
Challenge for Discipleship
Welcome- The Lord's Supper
Invitation to the Table
All are welcome to partake in the bread and cup at the table of God's love. It is Christ who is our host. When you hear the Words of Institution, partake of the elements.
Prayer of Communion Elders this month are Gwynne Griffith and Kathy Sharp.
Words of Institution
Prayer of Response
We have heard about you, God of all power.
You made the world out of kindness,and
each one of us in your own image;
Your fingerprint is on every soul.
So we praise you.
We praise and worship you, God, our Creator.
We have heard about you, Jesus Christ:
the carpenter who left his tools and trade;
the healer who let himself be wounded;
the saviour who died and rose again.
So we praise you.
We praise and worship you, Christ our Savior.
We have heard about you, Holy Spirit.
You broke the bonds of every race and nation,
to let God speak in every tongue;
You showed how love made all things new
and opened the doors to change and freedom.
So we praise you.
We praise and worship you, Holy Spirit our Inspiration.
Holy God, Three in One, receive our worship as we pray together the prayer you gave us,
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
— adapted from a prayer in Bread of Tomorrow, ed. Janet Morley (1992). Posted on the Monthly Prayers page of the Christian Aid website. http://www.christianaid.org.uk/
Blessing We speak in unison.
The Light that was in one place and at one time, is now in all places and all times, for God has placed the light in us. And we abide in peace.
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