CALL TO WORSHIP
Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
—Psalm 47:1-2, 5-6, NRSV—
Invocation: In the midst of the congregation I will praise you. Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to God’s holy name! I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; God’s greatness is unsearchable.
CONFESSION OF SIN
Lord, you come to us, but we do not recognize you; you call, but we do not follow; you command, but we do not obey, you bless us, but we do not thank you. Please forgive and help us. Lord, you accept us, but we do not accept others; you forgive us, but we do not forgive those who wrong us; you love us, but we do not love our neighbors. Please forgive and help us. Lord, you showed us how to carry out your mission, but we still insist on our own; you identified yourself with outcasts, the needy, and the poor, but we do not bother to find out what is happening to them; you suffered and died for the sake of all, but we do not give up our comfortable lives. Please forgive and help us, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
—Isaiah 1:18, NRSV—
Memorial Day Prayer
Eternal God, from whom all life comes, to whom all life returns, we remember all who served our country in the military. We remember and we give thanks. We give thanks for sacrifices made and losses endured. We give thanks for acts of courage, grace and hope. We give thanks for our brothers and sisters who gave the full measure of devotion. We give thanks for those we knew well and those we never met. For the life, goodness, faith, courage, and love that was in each one, we give thanks. We pray for our brothers and sisters who are recovering from wounds in body, mind, spirit, or soul. Work healing in them in all the forms that healing takes. We pray for those who provide care to them. Show us ways that we can extend care and support. We pray for families and friends and all who grieve for loved ones who have died. Meet them in the valley of death's shadow. Embrace them in the healing warmth of your comfort, grace and love. Grant them and all of us the assurance that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whose name we pray. May the day soon come when swords are beaten into plowshares, war is studied no more, and all peoples and your world will know peace. May we work for that day. We pray through Jesus Christ. Amen. (Mark Koenig)
SONGS
Come Christians Join To Sing
There Is A Fountain
Your Grace Is Enough