Pentecost +19, Proper 21C
Sep. 25
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Scripture (from the Revised Common Lectionary, with links provided by TextWeek.com – a source for thoughtful worship and preaching throughout the year):
Click on Scripture Lessons below for study links and resources:
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 or Amos 6:1a, 4-7 Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16 or Psalm 146 1 Timothy 6:6-19 Luke 16:19-31
Suggested Hymns from Chalice Hymnal
The Oremus Hymnal offers many good choices for the lectionary (although this 2010 version will have incorrect calendar dates). Not all are available in Chalice Hymnal, but some may be helpful in congregations where there is not a Chalice Hymnal available. Visit the Oremus Hymnal.
715-Now thank we all our God
77-On Eagle’s Wings
404-A hymn of joy we sing
431-Go, my children, with my blessing
More hymn suggestions, as well as helpful references for use of the arts in worship, are available from the United Church of Christ website.
Dealing with the Psalm of the Day:
Since Chalice Hymnal does not provide a complete Psalter, there will be occasions when suggestions may be made for alternate Psalm use (or hymn equivalent). A metrical version of the Psalter, for those Psalms not provided in Chalice Hymnal, is being prepared by Rev. David Chafin. Where practical, these may be offered here as well. You may also want to visit http://lectionarypsalms.org/
This week: Psalm 91 is the basis of hymn #77 (On eagle’s wings). Psalm 146 is available on p. 766
Hymn of the Day from Rev. William Flewelling (© 2016, William Flewelling; All rights reserved)
On Luke 16:19-31
All for the sin of pure neglect,
here after years of walking past,
noticing never agonies
lying by the daily path:
all for the busyness of life,
the carriage over all the strife,
so now the glance across the gulf
observes an ease not nearly found.
A drip of water: let it come,
let it be brought on mercy’s tour.
But, no: the chasm must forbid
when only mercy found neglect.
A rising from the dead will prove
the message of right warning hour.
Yet Moses and the prophets tell
all there is of mercy’s notice.
LM Suggested tune: Deep Harmony
Note: Except where otherwise noted, items are created or adapted by the editor. If you are aware of source notations which are missing, please bring them to his attention. No copyright infringement is intended, but is sure to happen.
Words of Greeting/Call to Prayer
L: God who comes to us in Word and Spirit, calls us to a table set for all who hunger.
P: We hunger for grace and forgiveness; we hunger for justice and peace.
L: God knows and meets our deepest hungers with bread which always satisfies.
P: Thanks be to God who blesses and feeds all human yearnings, and who does this through our feeble, simple human hands.
Prayer of Approach
L: The Lord be with you.
P: And also with you.
L: Let us pray. Your love and grace are all sufficient, O God, for all the world’s deep needs. Open our minds and hearts this day to receive with gratitude the gifts you have given – gratitude enough to be compelled to live as your witnesses, your instruments for grace and forgiveness, for justice and peace in our world. This we pray through our Lord Jesus Christ (who taught us to pray, “Our Father…”). Amen.
Intercessions
Gracious and loving God, we come to you with hearts that need to be opened to your word and your love. There is so much around us that tears at us and causes us to tremble. Keep us ever mindful of your presence and the hope that you have given us in your Son Jesus Christ.
Guide us, we pray, as your church, struggling to spread the good news. Keep us focused on the mission and ministry to which you have called us and lead us forward. We know, Lord, that there will often be bumps and holes in the road along the way. Save us from dwelling on them and make us secure in the goals you have placed before us.
Hear our prayers for all who need your tender touch of healing in their lives—those we name before you each day, and those who are known only to you in the depths of our hearts. Be with those who mourn. May we all remember the love and grace that your faithful people have brought to our world.
We pray for all your creation, always at odds with one another. Guide our leaders and those of other nations that this world might truly be as you created it to be—a world of peace, hope and love.
These are our prayers, together with those that lie on the hearts of all your faithful people, which we offer to you in the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ who said “not my will, but thine be done.” Amen.
Prayers from Common Worship*
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God,
increase in us your gift of faith
that, forsaking what lies behind
and reaching out to that which is before,
we may run the way of your commandments
and win the crown of everlasting joy;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Post Communion
We praise and thank you, O Christ, for this sacred feast:
for here we receive you,
here the memory of your passion is renewed,
here our minds are filled with grace,
and here a pledge of future glory is given,
when we shall feast at that table where you reign
with all your saints for ever.
Additional Collect
God, our judge and saviour,
teach us to be open to your truth
and to trust in your love,
that we may live each day
with confidence in the salvation which is given
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Collect of the Day (from Book of Common Prayer, 1979**)
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing
mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we,
running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of
your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen.
Collect of the Day from Rev. William Flewelling (© 2016, William Flewelling; All rights reserved)
Luke 16:19-31
With absolute provision, Lord our God,
you measure out our dreams of grace.
You notice on the side the lean,
abiding loss we own by tact.
And in our end our inattention finds
the inattention of relief;
and in the dearest truth we know
your gracious word of hospitality
is ours to live as daily fare.
Service of Table
Preparation (Invitation to Stewardship)
All who hunger for God have been welcomed by Christ at a table spread with the fruits of mercy and peace. Here we find the Bread that satisfies; here we drink to never thirst again. As we prepare to receive the gifts of God, let us open our hearts to hear God’s promise of life eternal, open up our lives to give of ourselves as Christ has given sacrificially himself to us, and then come with grateful hearts to the Gospel Feast.
Offertory Prayer
Receive our lives, O God, which we offer in token to you through the offering of these gifts. May we, and may they, be used for the purposes to which you have called them, and to which you call your whole church, in the works of love and healing and justice shown in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Invitation to Commune
L: Let us come to Christ, the living Bread, who fills the hungry with good things.
P: We rejoice in God’s provisions, abundant and freely given!
L: Let us come to Christ, Fount of all mercy, who quenches our thirst for life eternal.
P: We celebrate God’s well-spring of grace and goodness, and come ready to drink to the fill!
Prayer of Thanksgiving
(The following may be offered as one prayer, or broken between two Elders, if that is the tradition to be followed)
- O God our Provider, we hunger for the bread which satisfies. All other sources have failed us, but you are ever faithful. As we bless your name and break this bread, may it be for us the body of Christ, that we might be his body in the world, confident of your gracious provision for living faithfully and serving freely all of your children.
- Send down your Holy Spirit, we pray, upon these gifts of bread and wine, mighty God. Be known in our midst as we receive from your hand, that as witnesses of your grace and mercy we might live graciously and mercifully as your children, in the spirit of Christ our Lord.
Conclusion: Through him, with him, and in him, in the power of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor be to you, O God, now and forever. Amen.
[if not previously offered: “And now with the confidence of your children, we offer the prayer our Savior taught us, ‘Our Father…’”]
MORE…
Resources from the Jubilee Fund: This stewardship ministry serving the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) offers weekly emails for each Sunday’s service. Visit http://www.thejubileefund.com/ to learn more.
Rev. Tim Graves offers Liturgy Bits with valuable, culturally sensitive and creatively contemplative works, well worth your time.
You may also want to visit Worship Connection at MinistryMatters.com, which offers numerous helps, including electronic versions of print resources for worship and preaching planning.
Intercessions and other helpful planning materials geared to the Lectionary (using Roman Catholic version, but normally quite useful for all traditions) for preaching and worship are supplied for several weeks in advance at The Sunday Website of St. Louis University.
Common Worship Almanac and Lectionary for the year beginning Advent Sunday 2015. Compiled by Simon Kershaw August 2015 from the Common Worship Calendar and Lectionaries using Almanac Maker; compilation © Simon Kershaw 2015; Almanac Maker © Simon Kershaw 2010. The Revised Common Lectionary is copyright © the Consultation on Common Texts 1992. The Daily Eucharistic Lectionary is adapted from the Ordo Lectionum Missae of the Roman Catholic Church reproduced by permission of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. Adaptations and additions to the RCL and the DEL, together with Second and Third Service lectionaries and the Weekday Lectionary for Morning and Evening Prayer are copyright © the Archbishops’ Council 1997-2010. http://almanac.oremus.org/lectionary
Book of Common Prayer (1979), Public domain.
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