SUNDAY—July 3, 2022

		Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Proper 9 Fourth Sunday after Pentecost A Liturgy For Worship and Meditation Sunday, July 3, 2022 Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things
		CENTERING IN PREPARATION I come with little, O God, but the seeds you have given me to sow. Let them be sown in the Spirit. Let them produce a harvest of peace and goodness, to be gathered in for the good of all. —Slemmons, Timothy Matthew. The Joyful Feast: Liturgical Elements for Reformed Worship, Year C. OPENING WORDS In the meeting of our lives be the unity that binds us. In the opening of our hearts be the mercy that forgives us. In the speaking of our prayers be the comfort that restores us. In the singing of our hymns be the joy we share between us. In the journey of our lives be the guiding light beside us. —Birch, John. The Act of Prayer: Praying through the Lectionary. PRAYER FOR WORSHIP God of fresh beginnings, you make all things new in the wisdom of your Beloved and Chosen One, Jesus Christ. Make us agents of your transforming power proclaiming in word and actions your reign of justice and peace, that all may share in the healing your Christ brings. Amen. CALL TO HEALING AND RECONCILIATION Bring to God your brokenness and pain, your failings and sorrows, your despair and dismay. God is gracious, and will exchange for them healing, joy, and peace. Let us humbly submit ourselves to God for healing and reconciliation. —adapted from: Slemmons, Timothy Matthew. The Joyful Feast: Liturgical Elements for Reformed Worship, Year C. PRAYER OF BROKENNESS Holy One, we confess that our trust is often misguided, placed in institutions and worldly leaders rather than in You. We put our trust in the stock market, the quarterly projections, the poll numbers. We look to the signs for wealth and prosperity instead of the signs of Your work around us, often on the margins, among those with the most need. We search for assurance among those who say what we want to hear, rather than listening to the cries for justice that make us uncomfortable. Forgive us for placing our trust in the world we created, rather than in You, the Creator of heaven and earth. Call us to repent, to turn back to You. Open our hearts to discern Your voice, and to place our trust in You, our Maker, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen. WORDS OF ASSURANCE Gracious God, mend our brokenness and our sadness. Give us spirits of joy and enthusiasm for service to you by serving others. Lift us and place us on your pathways of peace and hope, that with our lives we will witness to your redeeming love. God has freed us from oppression and fear! You have been made whole in God’s eternal love. PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION O God, who is still speaking, open our hearts and minds to hear anew the Word you share this day. May your message fill us to overflowing that your Word will be lived by us and shared openly with all. FIRST READING—Reconciled To a God Who Cares For Us Like A Mother For Her Child Isaiah 66:10-14 66:10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her, all you who love her; Exult, exult with her, all you who were mourning over her! 66:11 Oh, that you may suckle fully of the milk of her comfort, that you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts!” 66:12 For thus says God: “I will spread peace over her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent. 66:13 As nurslings, you will be carried in her arms, and fondled in her lap; as a mother comforts her child so will I comfort you; in Jerusalem you will find your comfort.” 66:14 When you see this, your heart will rejoice, and your bodies will flourish like the grass. God’s faithful ones will see the power of God, but God’s enemies will know heaven’s wrath. —Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward. PSALMODY—The God Who Is Our Creator Is the Keeper Of Our Lives Psalm 66:1-9 66:1 Shout to God, all the earth! 66:2 Sing the glory of God’s Name—give glorious praise! 66:3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Your enemies cower before your great strength! 66:4 The whole earth worships you and sings praises to you—all creation praises your Name!” 66:5 Come and see the works of God—God’s deeds on our behalf are wondrous. 66:6 God turned the sea into dry land; and people passed through the river on foot. 66:7 There we rejoiced in God, whose reign of power lasts forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations so that the rebellious don’t exalt themselves before God. 66:8 Bless God, all you peoples, let the sound of God’s praise be heard! 66:9 God has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip. —Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward. SECOND READING—The God Who Creates and Redeems Calls Us To Take Care Each Other Galatians 6:1-16 6:1 My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 6:3 For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. 6:4 All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor's work, will become a cause for pride. 6:5 For all must carry their own loads. 6:6 Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. 6:7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. 6:8 If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 6:9 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up. 6:10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. 6:11 See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! 6:12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised—only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 6:13 Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. 6:14 May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Redeemer Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 6:15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! 6:16 As for those who will follow this rule—peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. THIRD READING—God Sends Us To Care For Others With the Gifts Of Healing Peace Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 10:1 After this, Jesus appointed seventy-two others, and sent them on ahead in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. 10:2 He said to them, “The harvest is rich, but the workers are few; therefore, ask the overseer to send workers to the harvest. 10:3 “Be on your way, and remember: I am sending you as lambs in the midst of wolves. 10:4 Don’t carry a walking stick or knapsack; wear no sandals and greet no one along the way. 10:5 And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be upon this house!’ 10:6 If the people live peaceably there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will come back to you. 10:7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you, for the laborer is worth a wage. Don’t keep moving from house to house. 10:8 “And whatever city you enter, after they welcome you, eat what they set before you and heal those who are sick in that town. 10:9 Say to them, ‘The reign of God has drawn near to you.’ 10:10 If the people of any town you enter don’t welcome you, go into its streets and say, 10:11 ‘We shake the dust of this town from our feet as testimony against you. But know that the reign of God has drawn near.’ 10:16 “Anyone who listens to you, listens to me. Anyone who rejects you, rejects me; and those who reject me, reject the One who sent me.” 10:17 The seventy-two disciples returned with joy, saying, “Rabbi, even the demons obey us in your name!” 10:18 Jesus replied, “I watched Satan fall from the sky like lightning. 10:19 Look: I’ve given you the power to tread on snakes and scorpions—even all the forces of the enemy—and nothing will ever injure you. 10:20 Nevertheless, don’t rejoice in the fact that the spirits obey you so much as that your names are inscribed in heaven.” —Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward. SCRIPTURE PRAYER God of all nations and peoples, your Son commanded his disciples to preach and heal throughout the world. Grant us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the zeal to proclaim the good news of peace and justice, and gather all humanity into life with you. Amen. PRAYER OF INTERCESSION Friends in Christ, God invites us to hold the needs of our sisters and brothers as dear to us as our own needs. Loving our neighbors as ourselves, we offer our thanksgivings and our petitions on behalf of the church and the world. —————— ◙ For your community of faith, people of all religions, that we may freely share the gifts that God has given us, be open to receive the gifts that others have, and trust that God will sustain us each day... ◙ For the grace to embrace not only success, but also failings, that we may accept the sufferings of life and allow them to transform us into new creations who are better for the journey through times of challenge... ◙ For recognition and affirmation of giftedness that the Spirit will show us the God-given skills and abilities that are present in one another and give us wisdom in calling these forth into the service of God’s Realm of justice and peace... ◙ For wisdom that is discerning and leading up into truth and the pathway of your ministry and mission. May we recognize the personal, communal, and cultural “wolves” that distract us from following faithfully and be open to God’s inspiration and guidance... ◙ For deeper trust that we may rely more fully on your providence and less on our possessions and status... ◙ For courage that we may never be entrapped by our possessions but remain free to use them in our service of God and neighbor... ◙ For those in the mission field where relief is so needed, that workers will know God's will and the renewing of their spirits, give them courage, and enable them to travel forward in the service of others... ◙ For all who strive to hand on the faith that God will inspire parents, teachers, family, friends, and and even strangers to share the love of God effectively and dynamically with all whom they encounter... ◙ For all people who have assumed leadership of the church’s ministry and mission that the Spirit will guide them in continuing the work of Jesus in service, education, healthcare, or social service, and in bringing forth the reign of God today... ◙ For each of us that we may hear God’s call and share in the work of the church by bringing hope, relieving burdens, and offering compassionate understanding to all who touch our lives... ◙ For times of transition when parents are preparing to send a child out on their own that God will help them to trust in God's love and care and process through the change. For their child and that the Spirit will help these young people to remember the values that they have learned... ◙ For all cities burdened by violence and destruction that God's compassionate care will inspire people to work for the restoration of neighborhoods and communities and restore hope to all who are struggling against crime and poverty... ◙ For all who long for freedom that God will open a way for those with addictions, held unjustly, fleeing violence, or entrapped by poverty or illiteracy and help them to begin a new life... ◙ For all who are suffering that God will open new paths for dialogue between conflicting parties, speed food to those who face famine, guide and strengthen those who experience an unexpected pregnancy, and give peace to those who are grieving... ◙ For all youth that God will protect them from danger and harm during these weeks of summer recreation and activities. May God help them develop their skills and talents... ◙ For our nation that God will guide us in living the values which we proclaim so that all may experience life, liberty, and justice. For a keen sense of balancing our faith with our political life and support those leaders who are striving for justice and peace... —————— We bow our hearts and heads with sadness for the many loved ones who have died from or because of Covid-19, those who are the victims of violence and warfare, and all who struggle without the daily necessities. Tears fall with the memories of absence, of too many final moments spent apart. God of all comfort, bring peace. THE PRAYER OF JESUS Loving God, in whom is heaven, may Your name be honored everywhere. May Your Kin-Dom come. May the desire of Your heart for the world be done, in us, by us and through us. Give us the bread we need for each day. Forgive us. Enable us to forgive others. Keep us from all anxiety and fear. For You reign in the power that comes from love which is Your glory forever and ever. Amen. —anonymous PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION In your Kin-Dom there are no favorites, for all are equal in your eyes, marked with the image of the one who formed creation, molded from the clay from which all things are made. In your Kin-Dom of equality you offer mercy to all who, in humility, come searching for your grace. Such love, beyond our imagining. Such love, that could die for us. Such love, sown into our hearts, that we might display its beauty through lives and words. Thank you, O God. —Birch, John. The Act of Prayer: Praying through the Lectionary. SENDING FORTH Do not grow weary in doing what is right, for you will reap a great harvest if you do not give up. Sow in the Spirit and reap the blessings of God. Go in peace. GOING FORTH O God, as we go from this place, surround us with your peace and love, that we make take healing and hope to others in your holy Name.