Below are some worship resources which you are welcome to use at no charge. Please just use a copyright acknowledgment "Copyright Lisa Frenz. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission."
Order of Worship
Litanies written by Lisa Frenz 2000.
Service compiled by Lisa Frenz 2000.
Pre-service Music
Prelude & Lighting of the Candles
Stand
A: The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt - a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord.
C: Come Holy Spirit and lead us.
P: Lead us in the Way. The Way Christ walked:
C: The Way of change and testing, the Way of the desert and the wilderness.
A: But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
C: Come Holy Spirit and make us your own.
P: Lead us in the Way. The Way Christ walked:
C: The Way of new learning and questioning, the Way of the River Jordan and the Upper Room.
A: No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the Lord," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
C: Come Holy Spirit and shape us anew.
P: Lead us in the Way. The Way Christ walked:
C: The Way of joy in life and sacrifice, the Way of the Creation and the Cross.
Gathering Song: Shine, Jesus, Shine (With One Voice 651, Augsberg Fortress Press, Text & Music: Graham Kendrick, copyright Music Services, Inc.)
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray,
C: Almighty God, gracious Lord, pour out your Holy Spirit upon your faithful people. Keep them steadfast in your Word, protect and comfort them in all temptations, defend them against all their enemies, and bestow on the Church your saving peace; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Sit
Choir Anthem
L: Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For "no human being will be justified in his sight" by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.
Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. (Romans 3:19-28)
Psalm 46 (Text & Music: W. Michael Aguilar III, Shandy Music Industries, P.O. Box 10402, Portland, Oregon 97296)
Stand
P: The Gospel According to John 8:31-36
C: Glory to you, O Lord.
C: Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free'?"
Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:31-36)
P: The Word of the Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.
Sit
Choir Anthem
Voice 1: Christ is the Son and Christ makes me a free member of God's family. Free to follow a path of responsibility and service.
Voice 2: Do I do as Christ did? Do I dare? Can I become aware - so aware of the world around me that I hurt when someone else is hurt, that I cringe when someone else is belittled, that I cry when someone else is rejected? Can I reform myself to act, to defend and befriend the people around me, to become one with them?
C: Christ's Way is the Way of suffering and sacrifice, the Way of Prayer and Death so that others might live.
(Time for meditation and/or testimony)
Voice 1: The truth will make you free. Free to walk a path that leads to restlessness of spirit; a questioning of old values.
Voice 2: Do I do as Christ did? Do I dare? Can I turn look honestly at myself and see my own intolerance, my sins? Can I accept with a loving heart the people that confuse me, that make me nervous, that are different? Can I truly say with Christ these are my brothers and my sisters: the gay and lesbian, the Asian, the African American, the Hispanic, the Hindu, the Arab, the very wealthy and the poor. Can I love them as people, as individuals, not just as some amorphous "group", but as my neighbors, my friends, my family?
C: Christ's Way is the Way of turmoil and change, the Way of the Confession and Forgiveness.
(Time for meditation and/or testimony)
Voice 1: Christ is the truth and Christ makes me free. Free to take a path that leads to walking away from the familiar and seeking out the unfamiliar.
Voice 2: Do I do as Christ did? Do I dare? Can I turn my back on my comfortable points of reference, my "part of town", and walk the streets where needles lie and the smells are unclean? Can I eat with, put my arm around the prostitutes and the drug addict, the homeless and the unwanted, the thief and the murderer?
C: Christ's Way is the Way of questioning and new learning, the Way of the Baptism and Communion.
(Time for meditation and/or testimony)
P: Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we all be Christ's people, a reforming people, open to the immensity and compassion of God that we may be God's voice and eyes and hands in this world.
C: Amen.
Stand
Theme Song: Send Down the Fire (Text & Music: Marty Haugen, GIA Music)
C: We believe in one God, who is Creator, Ruler of the universe, maker of all we see and all we don't see: Source of all creation!
We believe in one God, who is Jesus Christ, God from God, Light from Light, true God and true human. He is one with the Creator; the Word made flesh, our Messiah: Savior of all creation!
We believe in one God, who is Holy Spirit, Breath of God moving among us. Who is one with the Creator; one with the Christ; our Comforter and our Guide: Mentor of all creation!
Prayers of the Church
P: Christ has made us new in him and has reconciled us with our Father. Let us rejoice and be glad and follow Christ's Way. Let us be reconciled with each other and share God's peace.
Share the Greeting of Peace
Sit
Offering
Stand
Offering Prayer
Offering Song: One Bread, One Body (With One Voice 710, Augsberg Fortress Press, TExt & Music: John Foley, SJ, b. 1939, Oregon Catholic Press (OCP) Publications)
Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
Sit
Distribution of Communion
Stand
P: Now may the reforming Spirit of Christ our Lord, keep you, renew you and give you peace. In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Community Announcements
Sending song: A Mighty Fortress (Lutheran Book of Worship 229, Augsberg Fortress Press)
All:
A mighty fortress is our God,
A sword and shield victorious;
He breaks the cruel opressor's rod
And wins salvation glorious.
The old satanic foe
Has sworn to work us woe!
With craft and dreadful might
He arms himself to fight.
On earth he has no equal.
All:
No strength of ours can match his might!
We would be lost, rejected.
But now a champion comes to fight
Whom God himself elected.
You ask who this may be?
The Lord of hosts is he!
Christ Jesus, mighty Lord,
God's only Son, adored.
He holds the field victorious.
Choir:
Though hordes of devils fill the land
All threat'ning to devour us.
We tremble not, unmoved we stand;
They cannot overpow'r us.
Let this world's tyrant rage;
In battle we'll engage!
His might is doomed to fail;
God's judgment must prevail!
One little word subdues him.
All:
God's Word forever shall abide,
No thanks to foes, who fear it;
For God himself fights by our side
With weapons of the Spirit.
Were they to take our house,
Goods, honor, child, or spouse,
Though life be wrenched away,
They cannot win the day.
The Kingdom's ours forever!
Text: Martin Luther, 1483-1546; tr. Frederick H. Hedge, 1805-1890
EIN FESTE BURG
A: Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God!
Postlude