We are a community seeking to have open minds, open hearts, and open arms, building community in a fragmented world.
Prelude - “I Have Found a Friend in Jesus” [by J. R. Murray] - Sarah Park
Opening Scripture - 1 Chronicles 16:8-11
8 O give thanks to the Lord, call on God’s name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
9 Sing to the Lord, sing praises to God,
tell of all his wonderful works.
10 Glory in God’s holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
11 Seek the Lord and the Lord’s strength,
seek God’s presence continually.
*Response - Weave
Weave, weave, weave us together, Weave us together, in unity and love.
Weave, weave, weave us together, weave us together, together in love.
*Call to Worship - Jon Bozeka
ONE: Seeking One, you are the beginning and the end of our search.
ALL: Finding One, you are the alpha and omega of all discovery.
ONE: Asking One, you are the voice and the silence of our exploration.
ALL: Giving One, you are the fullness and the emptiness of all yearning.
ONE: Persistent One, you never abandon your search for us,
ALL: Receiving One, you endlessly welcome us home.
Let us Worship the Lord!
~Written by Anita Monro
*Opening Hymn - Blessed Assurance #543, v. 1
1 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
[Refrain:]
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
Invitation to Generosity
Invitation
Offertory - “Day by Day” [by Oscar Ahnfelt]
The Doxology #46
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below;
praise God above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Offering Prayer
Children’s Moment - Rev. Chad Delaney
Special Music - "The Lord's Prayer" - Jon Bozeka
Pastoral Prayer - Rev. Chad Delaney
A Collective Prayer based on the Lord’s Prayer by the Canadian Food Grain Bank
(Matthew 6: 9-13, Luke 11: 2-4)
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…
We approach your holiness with empty stomachs, opening our hearts to the people nearby and around the world who have this feeling every day.
May your kingdom come…
And unite us in faith. Turn the tables to inspire our imagination for change.
Reveal your truth to us, replacing our ignorance and greed with justice and mercy.
May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…
Let your love enter our hearts, our communities, our nation,
and give us joy in our work as we share the abundance of your creation.
Give each of us this day, our daily bread…
Nourish everyone, everywhere—in rural areas, in cities, towns, farms and reserves,
those who rely on food aid in refugee camps, in food banks or soup kitchens.
Forgive us our trespasses…
We lament our disconnectedness.
We tune out the injustice around us and forget the dispossessed,
those displaced by natural disaster, the hungry used as an instrument of war,
the fertile soil lost to pollution, landmines, flooding or drought,
the loss of indigenous knowledge and of species.
Just as we forgive those who trespass against us…
Teach us mercy. In a world where the rules benefit the rich
but create real suffering for the poor, teach us to be forgiving and compassionate
without losing our sense of urgency for change.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…
Guide those who set prices, regulate markets, and who control land at a time when competition for natural resources threatens the ethics of those who plant, process, transport, prepare and serve food in the world.
For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever…
We acknowledge you as the ultimate authority over leaders and citizens of all nations.
Instruct those who have earthly powers to submit to your will,
to do justly, and to love mercy.
Generous and holy God, inspire us with your love, challenge us with your truth, and empower us with your strength to build a world without hunger.
Amen
Communion
Meditation - Rev. Nancy Humes
Communion Hymn - “Let us Talents and Tongues” #422, v. 1-2
1 Let us talents and tongues employ,
reaching out with a shout of joy;
bread is broken, the wine is poured,
Christ is spoken and seen and heard.
[Refrain:]
Jesus lives again,
earth can breathe again,
pass the Word around:
loaves abound!
2 Christ is able to make us one.
At the table he sets the tone,
teaching people to live to bless,
love in word and in deed express. [Refrain]
Prayer & Lord’s Prayer - Rev. Nancy Humes
Words of Institution - Rev. Chad Delaney
Music: “I’d Rather Have Jesus” [by G. B. Shea]
Scripture - Luke 11:1-11
11Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ 2He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’
5 And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” 7And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” 8I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
9 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish?
Sermon - A Prayer of Boldness
2-week sermon mini-series on The Lord’s Prayer
Prayer:
O Lord, your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Give us grace to receive your Word in faith and love, and strength to follow on the path you set before us; through Jesus Christ, Amen.
A Prayer of Boldness
There are two main places in the New Testament where Jesus teaches his Disciples to pray--one in Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount and one here in the Gospel of Luke. Different spots in the narrative, but the location doesn’t matter as much as the message and who was hearing it.
In Matthew’s Gospel the audience would have been Jewish,and so the learning curve on prayer and this understanding of God would not have been steep.
In the Gospel of Luke, however, most of the listeners were new Gentile believers hailing from a Greco-Roman culture with a much different understanding of the nature of God and the world around them.
So Jesus, in his prayer we read today and recite every Sunday…offers an image that would challenge the common view…the image of God as a Papa. This is an intimate description of God more unfamiliar in the Greco-Roman pantheon. Jesus offers an image of a loving Parent who provides daily bread, offers forgiveness, and gives good gifts…rather than an angry God with lightning bolts at his fingertips. Jesus shares with us a vision of a God not to be feared, but one we might even WANT to come into our lives.
The second line, however, expresses a deeper confrontation of the Greco-Roman worldview …Jesus prays, YOUR Kingdom Come!
See, Jesus playing with fire because clearly this is a commentary on the way things are now. Are you saying Caesar’s Reign isn’t good enough? He DARES to pray for something different? This is absurd, because this is all the Disciples and everyone else would have ever known.
Does Jesus know Caesar is in charge of the Empire? Yes
Does he know that Roman military guards are watching every word? Yes
Does he know that all of that changing in the moment of that prayer is absurd? Yes
Yet, Jesus prays for it anyways. This is a Prayer of Boldness!
So in one sense Jesus is sticking it to the powers that be…but more so, I believe, Jesus is also sending a message to the Disciples and all the people. A message of encouragement and hope. People of God, the way things are don’t always have to be that way. BE BOLD. Dream and Pray BIG!
Jesus prays for God’s Kingdom to come. God’s Reign to come. Not to improve things slightly and make things a bit more tolerable, instead Jesus ask for the impossible. He doesn’t skimp on the ask. He lays it all out there.
Have we forgotten how to pray like that? As God’s Holy Child….looking at your life right now…what are you dreaming of?
Maybe it’s something small or big? Maybe it's emotional or painful to bring up? Maybe selfish or altruistic? What is on your mind and heart?
Have you prayed that REST might come?
A job might come?
A spouse might come?
A friend might come?
Belief might come?
Justice might come?
Reconciliation might come?
Peace on Earth might come?
God’s Kingdom might come??
And why not pray for such things?
Jesus reminds the Disciples and us, teaches us that Prayer is the perfect time to let those loose and to give them to God. To dream big and bold. And no he is not saying God is the Giant Vending Machine in the sky…put your prayer quarters in and press B7. Jesus simply reminds us that we are praying to Papa. A parent who loves them. Jesus prays as God’s child--As a son with a deep longing. A ridiculous dream. An unreasonable expectation. An outrageous hope.
So Church family, what child-like absurdity have you, have I, given up on? Have we stopped hoping for? Have we stopped dreaming about? For ourselves, for our family, for our church?
Friends in Christ, may the Lord’s Prayer never be just a prayer to drone on with in worship. Instead, within it may we hear a call to renew in all our prayers and life…our urgency, our deepest desires, our hope against hope to share them with God, trusting God will walk beside us as we strive for them.
Jesus asked for God’s Kingdom to come…what are we asking for? “For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
*Closing Hymn - Seek Ye First #354, v. 1 & 2
1 Seek ye first the kingdom of God
and God’s righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you.
Allelu, Alleluia
2 Ask and it shall be given unto you
Seek and ye shall find
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Allelu, Alleluia
Benediction - Rev. Chad Delaney
Go now and live proclaiming the Gospel
Let us take Christ’s teachings to heart
and commit ourselves to honoring God in everything we do.
May we ask fearlessly, hope audaciously, and pray boldly
May God’s mothering strength keep you;
God’s fathering love surround you
And Christ’s unending presence sustain you now and always. Amen.
Postlude - “I Have Found Sweet Rest” [by L. N. Morris] - Sarah Park