2nd Sunday after the Epiphany (Year C)
/Call to Worship
Come, God’s people, let us worship our Creator!
We are created for a purpose through the waters of our baptism.
Come, God’s people, let us worship our Redeemer!
We are redeemed and given the gift of new life.
Come, God’s people, let us worship our Sustainer!
We are sustained for the work that stands before us.
Come, let us worship the Triune God!
Prayer of the Day
God of all Mystery and Majesty,
we are gathered in your presence this day
to ponder the abundance to which you call us.
Renew and invigorate the barren parts of our lives
and welcome us into the abundant future that you have promised us. Amen.
Call to Confession
Come, friends, and let us confess our sins before God and one another,
trusting in the goodness of God’s mercy to save us from ourselves.
Confession
Merciful God,
we shudder to utter the sins we have committed.
Being your representatives in this world,
we have failed to live as the beloved family you call us to be.
When you call us into unity, we descend into petty fights.
When you call us to show hospitality, we turn people away.
When you call us to have compassion, we let selfishness settle in.
Through the waters of our baptism,
cleanse us of our sin and forgive us our trespasses.
This we pray in your holy and merciful name. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Psalm 36 reminds us that God’s steadfast love extends beyond the heavens Ps. 36:5-6
and is deeper than the far reaches of the oceans.
Friends, I announce to you, in the name of Jesus Christ,
our sins are forgiven. Alleluia! Amen.
Prayer for Illumination
Holy Spirit,
give us your wisdom and knowledge
as we gather before your word.
May it be as a lamp unto our feet
that we might follow the path you place before us. Amen.
Prayers of the People
Let us pray to God, saying:
God of Abundance, lead us out of scarcity.
Gracious God, you created the world with abundance
and charged us with the task of maintaining and sharing it.
However, we have failed to be the stewards of creation you call us to be.
Lead us from the scarcity that we bring upon ourselves
and show us the way to your intention for all of creation.
God of Abundance, lead us out of scarcity.
For the places in the world and in our very community
where your children experience homelessness and unemployment,
we pray that resources may be shared
so that those without can live happy, healthy lives in safety.
Help us not worship capitalism or any other form of economics,
but to worship you, the God who calls us to care for the poor and needy.
God of Abundance, lead us out of scarcity.
For the places in the world and in our very community
where your children suffer violence of many forms, we pray.
For violence in the streets and in the schools.
For violence in the homes and in places of worship.
For cycles of violence that seem never-ending.
Help us become obsessed with peace
and give us the courage to pursue it
and dismantle systems of violence and oppression.
God of Abundance, lead us out of scarcity.
For the places in the world and in our very community
where your children struggle with addictions of any form, we pray.
For those who come from families with patterns of addiction.
For those who becomes addicts after an injury.
For those who become addicts because of life-circumstances.
For those who have loved ones who struggle with addiction.
Help us show them love and give them the resources they need to heal.
God of Abundance, lead us out of scarcity.
For the people of this community, and those we love,
whom we lift up to you in silence now, we pray…
God of Abundance, lead us out of scarcity.
Hear us, Gracious God,
as we pray the prayer you taught us to pray, saying: Our Father…