MICAH 6.8

		The 13th Sunday In Ordinary Time The 3rd Sunday After Pentecost Proper 8 June 26, 2022 A Liturgy For Worship and Meditation "Into the Unknown"
		CENTERING IN PREPARATION Lead us, Holy Spirit. Guide us in the power of your ways, that we may grow in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. —Scifres, Mary; Beu, B. J.. The Abingdon Worship Annual 2022. Abingdon Press. OPENING WORDS The Spirit is here, inviting us to worship. The Spirit is here, in each of our lives. The Spirit is here, in our gathered community. The Spirit is here, guiding us together in love, peace, and patience. —Scifres, Mary; Beu, B. J.. The Abingdon Worship Annual 2022. Abingdon Press. PRAYER FOR WORSHIP God of each moment, we give to you this moment of prayer at the start of our service, We bring to you all that we are, All that we feel, All that we think. Move in our hearts and minds today. God of each hour, we give to you our time of worship this day. Use this space to fill us again with your love, That we might be champions of love in the world around us, And that we might sing your praises. Move in our hearts and minds today. God of each day, we give to you this day, The opportunities that will arise to share your good news with the people we meet, The failures we are already aware of, or live in fear of. Forgive us for our failings this day, Lord God, Move in our hearts and minds, by your grace. God of each year, we give to you this year, The days and weeks to come, The hopes and anxieties we hold in our hearts. Even as we thank you for all that we have received, We look to trust you for all that is to come. Be the way maker for us today, O God, And move in our hearts and minds, By your Spirit. Amen. INVITATION TO ACCOUNTABILITY as sure as our hearts long for God, we know that we are a broken people. We have not done all the good we could have. We have not kept from doing all the wrong we should have. We are harmed and we have harmed. So, let us now confess to God the ways we have individually and collectively are broken. PRAYER OF CONFESSION Spirit of love, you know the yearning for love that rests in each and every one of us. Help us love one another, even when hatred and anger well within us. Bring us peace and patience, even when restlessness and enmity fill our hearts. Inspire us to live with generosity of spirit when we are immersed in self-centered thoughts and selfish actions. Shower us with joy and hope when fear and despair are all around. Bear your fruit in our lives, through the power of your grace and forgiveness, that we may be children of your Spirit, living by your power and following where you lead. In gratitude and trust, we pray. Amen. —Scifres, Mary; Beu, B. J.. The Abingdon Worship Annual 2022. Abingdon Press. WORDS OF FORGIVENESS AND COMFORT God’s anger may last a moment, but God’s favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may last the night, but joy comes in the morning. Rejoice and be glad, for our names are written in heaven. PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION Speak to us, Spirit of wisdom and truth, as we worship this day. Bind us together into a community of love and peace. Live and move in our lives, that we may grow in your Spirit, deepen our faithfulness, and display the love, peace, patience, kindness, and generosity you have planted in our souls. —Scifres, Mary; Beu, B. J.. The Abingdon Worship Annual 2022. Abingdon Press. FIRST READING—2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 2:1 Now when God was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2:2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for God has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As God lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. 2:6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for God has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As God lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. 2:7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 2:8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground. 2:9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." 2:10 He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." 2:11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 2:12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 2:13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 2:14 He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, "Where is God, the God of Elijah?" When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. PSALMODY—Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 77:1 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that the Holy One may hear me. 77:2 In the day of my trouble I seek the God of Hosts; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. 77:11 I will call to mind the deeds of Glod Most High; I will remember your wonders of old. 77:12 I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your mighty deeds. 77:13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is so great as our God? 77:14 You are the God who works wonders; you have displayed your might among the peoples. 77:15 the descendants of Israel and their children’s children. 77:16 When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; the very deep trembled. 77:17 The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed on every side. 77:18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. 77:19 Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen. 77:20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Miriam and Aaron. SECOND READING—Galatians 5:1, 13-25 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 5:13 But be careful, or this freedom will provide an opening for self-indulgence. 5:14 Rather, serve one another in works of love, since the whole of the Law is summarized in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 5:15 If you go on snapping at one another and tearing each other to pieces, be careful, or you may end up destroying the whole community. 5:16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 5:17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 5:21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 5:22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 5:23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. THURD READING—Luke 9:51-62 9:51 When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 9:52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 9:53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 9:54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Rabbi, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" 9:55 But he turned and rebuked them. 9:56 Then they went on to another village. 9:57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 9:58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Chosen One has nowhere to rest." 9:59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Ffirst let me go and bury my father." 9:60 But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the Kin-Dom of God." 9:61 Another said, "I’ll be your follower, Rabbi, but first let me say goodbye to my people at home.” 9:62 Jesus answered, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kin-Dom of God." PRAYER OF RESPONSE Holy and gracious God, you call us to ventures that cannot be foretold, to paths we do not know. Be our guide, through your word, and feed us with your assurance that your way is truly the path of love, joy, and peace. Amen. PRAYER OF INTERCESSION We pray now for the church, the world, and all who are in need, saying, ♦ Hear us, O God; your mercy is great. Holy God of healing and peace, we thank you for life and health; for morning and evening; for rain and sun; for all you give us to sustain life; and most of all for Jesus, who died and rose again to make real the promise of new life. ♦ Hear us, O God; your mercy is great. We ask, O God, for a church that ministers every day to bring people together in your name, for hearts that will not judge, for minds that recognize injustice and oppression in all its forms, for hands that are open to answer your call. ♦ Hear us, O God; your mercy is great. Merciful God, the nations you have called into being are many and full of marvels. We pray for their well-being; for leaders and workers; teachers and soldiers; scholars, artists, parents, and peacemakers; for nations and peoples in strife, especially for N.; that your way be known in all the lands and joy may reign. ♦ Hear us, O God; your mercy is great. Turn our hearts, Holy One, to respect and honor those who are not like us; let us see in peoples of every nation the majesty of your desire for richness and difference. ♦ Hear us, O God; your mercy is great. We pray for bodies and spirits healed, for those who are in pain, for those awaiting surgery, for those who are struggling with physical therapies, for those awaiting death, and for those we name now aloud or silently. . . ♦ Hear us, O God; your mercy is great. We ask your special blessing, O God, on the children in our communities, for their play and work in this summertime to give them strength and renewal; for an ever-increasing opening of their minds, new ways of seeing, new understandings of the gifts you call them to use; and for their happiness and health. ♦ Hear us, O God; your mercy is great. For the secret burdens we lift before you now, either silently or aloud. . . ♦ Hear us, O God; your mercy is great. We give you thanks for the saints who have taught us how to listen to your word, how to answer your desire for our lives, and how to teach and proclaim your love to others. ♦ Hear us, O God; your mercy is great. Into your hands we place our prayers and all whose welfare we entrust to your care. Bless them and all who have needs only you can know. In thanksgiving for all your gifts, we pray this in the name of the one God, Motherand Father of us all. Amen. —Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 2: Trinity Sunday through Reign of Christ. Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. THE PRAYER OF JESUS O God, like a Mother and a Father, your Name is most sacred, in heaven and on earth. Your children and servants, with the heavenly host, sing your praises. Your Realm come that justice and peace would be fulfilled here and now. Give to us what we need in this day. And forgive us for being with the integrity that is ours, as we forgive those who are disingenuous to us. Test not our trust in you, but free us from all evil. Blessed are You and blessed is your Kin-dom, in all power and glory, forevermore. Amen. PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION For the fruit of your Spirit, wherever it is shown, we give our grateful thanks. For kindness shown by stranger and faithfulness of friends, for patience and forbearance and peace that calms the soul, for love that sees beyond the face to the spirit deep within; for the fruit of your Spirit, wherever it is shown, we give our grateful thanks. —Birch, John. The Act of Prayer: Praying through the Lectionary . Bible Reading Fellowship. DISMISSAL WITH BLESSING There is a world out there, just waiting for the good news you carry. There are people out there, hoping for the kind of hope you have. There are lives out there, waiting to be shaped and changed by God’s love, through you. May you go out and seek to serve the God who loves you. Amen. GOING FORTH God keep you and blessed you in aqll things. Amen.