This sermon/worship series is found at https://sanctifiedart.org/ive-been-meaning-to-ask-worship-series. Please do not use these materials, which are based on their materials by Rev. Sarah Are, unless you have purchased the original material from them. You can buy just the Worship Words portion for a small fee.

FULL bulletin is at https://1drv.ms/w/s!AuB3z496aTHTgdp5vu-HQT_FctdBNw

SERMON is at https://1drv.ms/w/s!AuB3z496aTHTgdRT1li7u7o4K0BHYw

VIDEO of our service is at https://www.facebook.com/MakemieMemorial/videos/211300390824511

Hymns

Presbyterian Hymnal #306 Fairest Lord Jesus

PH #507 I Come with Joy

PH #288 I Sing the Mighty Power of God

Call to Worship[1]

We are from north and south.

We are from here and we have come here.

We are from the town and from the countryside.

We are from small apartments and expansive houses.

We are from big families and dinners made for one.

We are from stages of grief and stages of love.

We are from rainy days and sunny days.

We are from new places, new spaces, and the making of new memories.

We are from kitchens with passed down recipes, and front porches with old, familiar swings.

We are from the dust of the earth and the stars of the sky.

We are from a lot of places, but today we are here.

Today we are together.

ALL: HOLY GOD, GATHER US IN.

Call to Confession1

In this moment for truth telling, for reflection and honesty, to be honest about the places we want to grow and the way we need God’s help, let us pray together.

Prayer of Confession was taken directly from Worship Words from A Sanctified Art for this series

Assurance of Forgiveness1

If you ever ask yourself, “Can anything good come from this messy and human life of mine?” remember God always answers, “Yes.” You were created in the image of God. Your origin story is one of goodness and love from the very beginning. So hear and believe the good news of the gospel: God is here. God is at work among us. Thanks be to God for the Good News of God’s love:  In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

Prayer for Illumination1

O God, where we come from there are so many distractions. Where we come from there is so much noise. Where we come from there is too much silence. Where we come from there is too much emptiness. Find us. Hold us. Be in these words. Help us hear. Amen.

Old Testament Scripture: Genesis 2:4b-15

New Testament Scripture: John 1:35-51

COMMUNION1

INVITATION to THE LORD’S TABLE

The Creator of North, South, East, and West, invites us to come and see—

Come and see how much the Father loves us.

Come and see who Jesus is and who we are in him.

Come and be united by the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray…

THE GREAT THANKSGIVING

P:         The Lord be with you.             C:         And also with you.

P:         Lift up your hearts.                 C:         We lift them up to the Lord

P:         Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C:         It is right to give our thanks and praise.

O God, open our lips and fill our hearts to say thank you.

Thank you for scooping up the dirt and breathing life into it.

Thank you for forming this body and this life.

Thank you for creating this world and these people.

Thank you for drawing us in, for holding us up.

Weave us together with all people from all times and places

who forever sing the glory of your name

All:   Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might; heaven

and earth are full of Your glory.  Hosanna in the highest! 

Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord,  Hosanna in the highest!

When people ask, “Where are you from?” we speak of geography—

yet we must also always sing your name.

for you are our past, our present, and our future.

Great is this mystery of faith:

Christ has died; Christ has risen; Christ will come again.

As we lift this bread and cup before you, lift us up.

Scoop us up like you scooped up that dirt on that first day.

As you breathed life into the first human being,

breathe upon us and fill us with your Spirit.

Feed us that we may be full.

Nourish us as only you can

and make us at home in you.  Amen.

Confession of Faith  (adapted from the Heidelberg Catechism Questions 26-28 )

God created us good and in his own image. God created us in true righteousness and holiness. God created us that we might truly know God our creator. God created us to love God with all their heart. God created us to live with God in eternal happiness, and to praise and glorify God. God out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them. God still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence. God is my God and Father because of Christ the Son.

God will provide whatever I need for body and soul. God will turn to my good whatever adversity befalls me. God is able to do this because he is almighty God. God desires to do this because he is a faithful Father. We can be patient when things go against us. We can be thankful when things go well. We can have good confidence for the future that nothing in creation will separate us from his love. Thanks be to God.

Benediction1

Family of faith, God stir you up with the curiosity to counter assumptions. God beget in you the vulnerability to befriend. God excite in you the bravery to speak your truth. God develop in you the wisdom to listen. God engender in you the strength to ask for help. God give rise to the resiliency that makes you able to choose love. In the name of the One who made you, the One who redeems you, and the One who accompanies you. Amen.

[1] Adapted from a prayer by Rev. Sarah Are | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org