Category: call to worship

Stand still for a moment


Namaqualand daisies, West Coast National Park, South Africa
 

Call to Worship

based on Micah 6:1-8

Children of God,
it’s time to take off your shoes,
step out of your comfort zone, and
wade with trust into the stream of God’s mercy.
Stand still for a moment, barefoot, on holy ground.
Let the healing waters wash your feet.
Take a deep breath as Love soaks into your soul.
Be silent and listen for God’s word to us today.

 
Read Micah 6:6-8:

With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

 
 
How shall we worship our God?
We have heard what the Lord requires of us.
Leave empty talk and pride behind.
We must walk the walk.
Prepare to step out in faith, even into troubled waters.
Only God knows where we might need to go.
Don’t be afraid.
Jesus will guide our steps along the way,
teaching us to walk humbly,
to love boldly,
to serve God with body, soul, mind, and strength.
Let us pray for the humility and courage
to follow where the Spirit leads.

 
~ written by Mary Jo Bowman, posted on re:worship
 

From the blog
Say grace
3 Prayers for courage
In the school of prayer with the Celtic Saints
 

Where we stand is holy


Where we stand – or fall – the ground is holy

Call to Worship

based on Exodus 3:5

Come take off your shoes
For where we stand is holy ground

Come love your neighbour and do good to all around you
For where we stand is holy ground

Come and respect the planet
For where we stand is holy ground

Love all that God gave us,
for we are all standing on holy ground

 
sourced from the Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren website
posted on re:worship

From the blog
Perfect balance of grace and truth
Inspired by trees
mud mud mud
 

Gathered from far

Call to Worship

inspired by Jeremiah 31:7-9

Sing aloud with gladness:
    God is gathering the people!
From the farthest parts of the earth we come:
    All who struggle; all who labor with new life!
Those who are weeping, God will console;
    Those who get lost find a clear path home.
Let us worship the God who gathers us!

Prayer of Invocation

Ever-calling God,
We give thanks that you have gathered us into your church
    and graced us with your faithful presence.
We ponder our history, ancient and still developing,
    and marvel at the many expressions of your church.
Grant us the vision to be a part of a new reformation for the Church
    that will bring ever more joy and justice to the world.
Continue to gather us, the diverse lot of us,
    into Jesus’ vision and dream
    that your faithful people may be one in you.
Amen

 
~ written by the Rev. Bonnie Tarwater, and posted on the United Church of Christ’s Worship Ways website.

From the blog
Seed
Do this remembering
Baby steps
 

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.