Call To Worship: Angels Long To Look Into These Things (1 Peter 1:8-12)

Call To Worship: 1 Peter 1:8-12

L1: Even angels long to look into these things.

L2: The prophets searched intently and with the greatest care,

L1: To find out the time and circumstances of the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.

L2: It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you,

C: Though we have not seen him, we love him;

L1: And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him

L2: And are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

C: For we are receiving the end result of our faith, the salvation of our souls.

L1: In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

L1; This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

C: In all this we greatly rejoice, though now for a little while we may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

L1: Even angels long to look into these things.

L2: The prophets searched intently and with the greatest care,

Call to Worship: What More Could God Give? (Romans 8:31-37)

Call to Worship: What More Could God Give? 

L: What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

C: He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all

L: How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?

C: It is God who justifies.

L: Who then is the one who condemns?

C: No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

L: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

C: No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Call to Worship: The King of Glory (Psalm 24:1-2, 7-10)

Call to Worship: Psalm 24:1-2, 7-10

ALL: The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas. and established it upon the rivers.

L1: Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

L2: Who is this King of glory?

C: The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!

L1: Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

L2: Who is this King of glory?

C: The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!

Call to Worship: Resurrected Senses (1 Cor. 2:9-12)

Call to Worship: Listening in the Spirit

L: Lord, we come as your people this morning. You have created in us new life in your son, Jesus by the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.

C: Lord, we grew and matured, were taught and trained, to taste, smell, feel, see and hear to many wonderful things, but they were not you. It is our habit to notice these, so that when you speak now, in our new life, your words are easily overlooked and drowned out. Worse, we often desired it so. Forgive us.

L: We cannot express the connection we now have in you. "Taste and see that the Lord is good"? We lack the vocabulary.  “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. (1 Cor. 2: 9-10)

C: Lord, you have placed us in Christ--united with him and granted fellowship with the Father, Son and Spirit. "For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us." (1 Cor 2:11-12)

A: Lord, you have brought us back into life and communion with you. You deserve credit for it all as we see in the character, works and reputation of the Messiah, Jesus. Amen.

Call to Worship: God's Chosen People (Colossians 3:12-17)

Call to Worship: God's Chosen People

L1: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

L2: Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

C:  Over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

L1: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

L2: Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

C: Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Amen

Call to Worship: May None of God's Works Keep Silent

From a 3rd century Christian prayer found written on shards of pottery, discovered in Oxyrhynchus in Egypt:

May none of God's wonderful works keep silence, night or morning.
Bright stars, high mountains, the depths of the seas, sources of rushing rivers-
May all of these break into song as we sing to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
May all the angels in the heavens reply: Amen! Amen! Amen!
Power, praise, honor, eternal glory to God, the only Giver of grace.
Amen! Amen! Amen!

- A. Hamman, ed. Early Christian Prayers (Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1961), p. 69 as cited in M. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (Grand Rapids: Baker Academin, 2012), p. 39

Call to Worship: Shout for Joy (Psalm 66:1-9, 16-20)

Call to Worship (Psalm 66)

C: Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name

L: Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind! He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot—come, let us rejoice in him.

C: He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations—let not the rebellious rise up against him. Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.

L: Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart,  the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!