Communion Liturgy: Discovering God

Communion Liturgy: Discovering God

Leader: The Lord is with you. 

All: And also with you. 

Leader: Lift up your hearts. 

All: We lift them up to the Lord. 

Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. 

All: It is right to give him thanks and praise. 

Leader 1: Father, Son and Spirit, who know the end from the beginning, thanks and praise are our free offering to you. Every day, like today, is a work of your ingenuity and skill, with an attention to detail that we are slow to grasp. Thousands of years have passed and though we have looked intently, we find we have barely glimpsed the intricacy and beauty of your design. It is good. It is very good. 

You say there is even more. We are eager to see what you have imagined, so we join our voices with the angels and all of creation and with all those you have redeemed from every time and place, who forever declare to the glory of your name:

All:

Holy, holy, holy, God of power and might,

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Faithful, Good and Worthy. Full of Grace and Truth.

Blessed be Your Name, Mighty God.

Leader 2: You are holy, O God of majesty and blessed is your son, Jesus Christ. At this table we recall the perfect gift of your son to this world. 

God, whose thoughts are high above ours, many sought to guess the nature of your magnificent gift, but no one was prepared for the genius of Emmanuel, God with us. In Jesus, we find the wisdom and goodness of God on full display. He is the word-made-flesh-in whom all the fulness of Deity lives. Even having found him, there is much more to be discovered as you reveal yourself to us. You are good. You are very good.

Leader 1: On the night he was betrayed, arrested and sentenced to death, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: "Take and eat; this is my body which is given for you."

Leader 2:When supper was over, he took the cup, and after giving thanks, gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take this and drink it; for this cup is the New Covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you and many, for the forgiveness of sins."  

As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup we do proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again. May our lives be resurrection-lives, always proclaiming the mystery of our faith:

All: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. 

Communion Liturgy: Rejoice

Communion Liturgy: Rejoice In The Lord

Leader: The Lord is with you. 

All: And also with you. 

Leader: Lift up your hearts. 

All: We lift them up to the Lord. 

Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. 

All: It is right to give him thanks and praise. 

Leader 1: Lord Almighty, our king and our God. Today, our souls yearn, even faint for your presence. And even if our lips will not form the words, our hearts and our flesh will cry out for the living God.  The trees of the field clap their hands to applaud you. The mountain and hills burst forth in song to praise you.  The flowers of the field raise their blossoms in exaltation. The birds of the field soar and dive in pure joy in your presence. Some days, we who are your people are strangely silent. But today is not that day. We will rejoice! Hallelujah.  

Lord, your life pours into us and overflows to us. Like rain in the summer heat, you refresh us for the journey-a journey with your presence as its destination. Your nearness is our good. We are blessed to come close to you. We will rejoice! Hallelujah!

Therefore, we join our voices with the angels and all of creation and with all those you have redeemed from every time and place, who forever sing to the glory of your name:

All:

Holy, holy, holy, God of power and might,

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Faithful, Good and Worthy. Full of Grace and Truth.

Blessed be Your Name, Mighty God.

Leader 2: You are holy, O God of majesty and blessed is Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.  At this table we celebrate that first Communion where Jesus said to his disciples, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”  Your eager desire for unhindered fellowship with your disciples, which Jesus demonstrated on the cross, is unchanged. We are handfuls among billions in your care, yet you are mindful of us. You did not spare your own Son, but gave him up for us all and, along with him, graciously give us all things!  How incredible to think that your love moves you so much! We rejoice. Hallelujah!

Leader 1: On the night Jesus was betrayed, arrested and sentenced to death, he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: "Take and eat; this is my body which is given for you."

Leader 2: When supper was over, he took the cup, and after giving thanks, gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take this and drink it; for this cup is the New Covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you and many, for the forgiveness of sins."  

As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we do proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again. May our lives be resurrection-lives, always proclaiming the mystery of our faith:

All: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. 

Leader 1: We rejoice. Hallelujah. Amen. 

Call to Worship: God is a Consuming Fire (Hebrews 12)

Leader: We have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them

Congregation #1: We have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.  We have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. 

Congregation #2: We have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Leader: See to it that we do not refuse him who speaks. 

All: Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire. Amen.

Call to Worship: Trees, Not Channels (Psalm 1)

Leader: Blessed is the one...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

Response: That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.[1]

Leader: The tree is no mere channel, piping water unchanged from one place to another, but a living organism which absorbs it, to produce in due course something new and delightful, proper to its kind and to its time.[1]

Response; Like water through the tree, God's grace does not retain the same form. It is expressed in as many unique ways as there are children of God. We are your children.

Leader: Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, on each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. 

Response: And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.[3] We are your people.

[1] Psalm 1:1a,2-3 (NIV)
[2]Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, vol. 15 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), p. 48 as cited by Tim Keller, Prayer (New York, NY: Dutton, 2014), p. 148

[3] Revelation 22:1a,2b (NIV)

1 John 4:20b: If Holy Is Other

For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. - 1 John 4:20b

Holy is set apart. They are kept apart, called other. The spiritual wallflowers of the gospel. Not seen. He is set apart, called holy. Not seen. Can only one be loved or is it all paper roses?

Benediction: Galatians 5:22-23

Three groups, group is determined by first letter of last name.

A-G: May the love of the Spirit that cares for the family, the neighbor, the stranger and the enemy be with you all. 

ALL: And also with you.

H-N: May the joy of the Spirit that brightens the darkest day and overflows the happiest moments be with you all.

ALL: And also with you.

O-Z: May the peace of the Spirit that flourishes in both chaotic and calm days be with you all.

ALL: And also with you.

A-G: May the patience of the Spirit that bears with uncertainty and pain be with you all. 

ALL: And also with you.

H-N: May the kindness of the Spirit that tempers every interaction with caring be with you all.

ALL: And also with you.

O-Z: May the goodness of the Spirit that stimulates the best in you and the best in those around you be with you all. 

ALL: And also with you.

A-G: May the faithfulness of the Spirit that persists with those in difficult times be with you all.

ALL: And also with you.

H-N: May the gentleness of the Spirit that upholds others in their fragility be with you all.

ALL: And also with you.

O-Z: May the self-control of the Spirit that conquers distractions to pursue God be with you all. 

Call to Worship: Psalm 121

LEADER: I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

GROUP 1: He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

GROUP 2: The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

GROUP 3: The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.