Category: call to worship

Joyful response

Call to Worship

(inspired by Psalm 40: 1-11)

O God, you called us by name to come,
and we respond with delight and gladness.
In joyful obedience,
we come to worship our God.

Rising out of the depths of despair,
we gratefully gather for worship.
In joyful hope,
we come to worship our loving God.

Our God had given us a new song
of praise to sing to our Awesome God!
In joyful trust,
we come to worship our God. Amen.
 

~ written by Joan Stott, and posted on re:worship
 

From the blog
Hear and answer
In the school of prayer with Angela Ashwin
Theme: Do not lose heart   [prayer sheet]
 

Blossom and flourish

Call to Worship

 
We’ve come to worship God,
who makes streams flow from rock,
who turns the parched earth into springs of water,
who sends the rain from heaven
and makes the wilderness blossom and flourish.
As the deer thirsts for flowing streams,
so we thirst for You, O God.
Come, let’s worship our life-giving God,
who pours out living water on all who thirst.
 

~ by Christine Longhurst, posted on re:worship

From the blog
Germinate and grow
Big strong tree
Wilderness encouragement
 

Company on the road

 

Emmaus Road Call to Worship

We need your presence on the long road, Lord.
The road between fear and hope,
the road between the place where all is lost
and the place of resurrection.
Like the disciples walking the road to Emmaus,
we are in need of your company!
Jesus, stand among us, in your risen power,
let this time of worship, be a hallowed hour.

 
~ written by Carol Penner, and posted on Leading in Worship

From the blog
On pilgrimage
To Emmaus and back
Walk the walk
 

What we know


 
 

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you. (1 Thessalonians 1:4)

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

 

Intergenerational Call to Worship

(based on Psalm 13)

We’ve come to worship,
to sing and pray and hear God’s Word, because:
God’s love lasts forever!

Even when God seems far away, we know:
God’s love lasts forever!

Even when nothing is going right,
and we’re ready to give up, we know:
God’s love lasts forever!

When people treat us badly, we know:
God’s love lasts forever!

When we’re all alone,
and we feel like no one loves us, we know:
God’s love lasts forever!

Let’s worship God together!

 
~ Christine Longhurst, re:Worship
 

Fire praise


Whitby sunset  (Photo: Irene Bom)

Call to Worship

(based on Psalm 148:1, 7-11, 13)

Praise the Lord!
You creatures of the ocean depths,
fire and hail, snow and storm,
wind and weather that obey him,
mountains and all cedars,
wild animals and all livestock,
reptiles and birds,
kings of the earth and all people!
Let them all praise the name of the Lord.
For his name is very great;
his glory towers over the earth and heaven!

~ from re:worship
 

Go. Speak. Love. Forgive. Receive.


Bird hovering over Wilhelminapier, Rotterdam (Photo: Ina de Visser)

Call to Worship

(inspired by Jonah 3-4)

The word of God came to Jonah.
The word of God comes to us.

Go
despite your fears.

Speak
the truth of God.

Love
your neighbour and your enemy.

Forgive
as you have been forgiven.

Receive
grace upon grace
overflowing from the fullness of God.

 
~ written by Joanna Harader and posted on Spacious Faith.
 

 
From the blog
Theme: Ever sustaining   [prayer sheet]
A very present help in trouble
A prayer to the God of summer
 

Continually curious

 

A quote by poet and scientist, Lewis Thomas, to inspire us, and a call to worship to further focus our thoughts and prayers.

 

… the loveliest thing about being human

Reality’s ability to continually baffle us with what we don’t yet know, and our willingness to continually plumb the unknown for new truth and beauty, even as it baffles and terrifies us, is the loveliest thing about being alive. Being alive together, as members of this boundlessly inquisitive and imaginative species, is the loveliest thing about being human.

 

 

Call to Worship

We worship the God who inhabits our world
and indwells our lives.
We need not look up to find God,
we need only to look around:
      within ourselves,
      beyond ourselves,
      into the eyes of another.
We need not listen for a distant thunder to find God,
we need only listen to the music of life,
      the words of children,
      the questions of the curious,
      the rhythm of a heartbeat.
We worship the God who inhabits our world
and who indwells our lives.

~ posted on the Presbyterian Church USA website.
 

Fulfil / Fill my longing


Three’s company  (Photo: Irene Bom)

 
As a songwriter, it’s such a privilege to write songs inspired by our shared faith in Jesus. And it’s such a joy to share my songs in my local church and beyond, also on this platform.

For a few seasons now I have taken part in the 12-song challenge organised by resoundworship.org. It has kept me writing songs on a regular basis, even when I barely had the time or energy.

This month’s challenge was to write a Taizé type song. My song is based on two lines from the Call to Worship from our Advent service on “Longing”. Here is a recording I made yesterday, with some harmonies and counter melodies to give it something extra. Enjoy.

 
My soul thirsts
by Irene Bom


My soul thirsts for the Living God
Come, Lord, fill my longing
Living God, come fill my soul.
 

Call to worship

inspired by Psalm 42

As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Come to us, Lord, and fill our longing.

from re:worship  (adapted)
 

From the blog
When hot and bothered
3 Prayers for wayfarers
Theme: Sharing in Jesus’ ministry [prayer sheet]
 

Amazing to consider

 
Those who were at the October 2021 Presbytery meeting might recognize this verse from Isaiah 40:26, which I posted in the chat to encourage us.
 

Call to Worship

(inspired by Psalm 147)

Celebrate God’s grace!
How comforting it is to know God always accompanies us.
Approach God in awe!
How amazing it is to consider that God has created each of us
      and each star in the heavens.
Praise the living God!
How good it is to sing praises together.

~ written by Ana Gobledale, and posted on Worship Words.
 

 
The story behind the card

I made this card towards the end of a two-week stay at Dutch L’Abri, returning home in time for our October 2021 Presbytery meeting (via zoom). This card is one of a whole pile of cards I made on my last full day at L’Abri, to give away to the staff and guests. I took photographs of all the cards I made, but I only kept this one, and happened to have it on me during our Presbytery meeting, tucked into a notebook.

In our discussions around the future of our Presbytery and the different charges, it seemed a timely reminder, worth sharing: If not one of the stars is missing because of God’s great power and mighty strength, surely we can trust ourselves and our congregations to God’s care and sovereignty too.
 

Fools for Christ


Spotted on a canal tour in Paris  (Photo: Irene Bom)
 

Call to Worship

We come into the presence of a God
we can neither see nor touch,
yet a God we can sense.
We are fools for Christ’s sake.

We come in the name of Jesus,
whose beauty we cannot explain or capture,
but know intimately.
We are fools for Christ’s sake.

We come to hear from a book,
words and stories that are ancient, and yet ever new.
We are fools for Christ’s sake.

We live in a world whose economy is based on keeping,
yet in this place we are invited to give.
We are fools for Christ’s sake.

We come, leaving behind all the business of our lives—.
all the other important things we could be doing.
We come here to worship.
We are fools for Christ’s sake.

 
~ from the United Church of Canada’s Bay of Quinte Conference website,
posted on re:worship