Thursday, July 25, 2013

Cycle C Lectionary 18 Proper 13

8/4/2013 Confession (s)

Sunday Title: Stuff Sunday 
Sermon Title: “The Pursuit of….”

Previously:
Sunday Title: Wealth Sunday 
Sermon Title: “Last Words”
Sunday Title: Prosperity Sunday 
Sermon Title: "Wind Catching"

Scripture Cuttings:
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23 For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.
Psalm 49:1-12 Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, there is no price one can give to God for it. For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice, that one should live on forever and never see the grave.
Colossians 3:1-11 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above....
Luke 12:13-21 Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.

P:  In the Name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen
P:  Let us take this time to be honest with God. (pause)
  Gracious God,
C: It is in your image, according to your plan,
  that we are created.
You give us ability to be productive
  and fill us with skills and strength;
    but we turn away from your wisdom
      and use these gifts for personal accumulations.
You give us the inheritance of salvation;
  but we foolishly seek to make our lives focus
    on the abundance of possessions.
We pick and choose what will define our righteousness,
  we set our minds on things that are on earth,
    and even find vanity in our religious habits.
Forgive us Lord for the sins we know in our heart.
Save us Lord from the sins we hide.
    (pause for reflection and self-examination)
P:  For all these Lord we are deeply sorry.  
C: Amen
P:  Our Lord gives us hope. The hope of the Gospel. Christ secures our inheritance by his death on the cross. Our sins are forgiven. Through the Holy Spirit we may pass by whatever is earthly and rise with Christ and the work and worth of our lives may be revealed with Christ in glory. In the name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen -wjw
P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always!
C: And also with you!

-or-
P:  In the Name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen

P:  Before we come into God's presence
  let us reflect on the focus of our lives. (pause for self-examination)
P:  Almighty Lord...
C: We devote our strongest energy
 to things that will perish.
We spend the wages of our toil,
  on pleasure by the minute.
We find no joy in the labor in our back
  or the strain on our minds,
    but only celebrate narrow escapes on payday.
We think we can never catch up,
  because we are fooled by escalating prosperity.
And finally when we get ahead,
  we flaunt it:
    skillful, subtle vanity.
Your way eludes us even in years of self-reflection,
Never once in this race
  do we first seek your treasure.
The world has fooled us, save us Lord.
We are disloyal; we are sorry, forgive us Lord.
  (Pause for reflection)
P:  God knows us. We are dead in our sin. God saves us. God's son, our Lord Jesus Christ, comes and pays the price with his life. For Christ's sake our sins are forgiven. He is raised from the dead and if we, who believe, are raised with Christ, we shall seek the things that are from God. By the power of the Holy Spirit we may live in Christ and put away the things of this world. To the Glory of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit..
C: Amen. -wjw

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always!
C: And also with you!

Monday, July 22, 2013

Cycle C Lectionary 17 Proper 12

7/28/2013 Confession (s)

N.B. Sundays and Seasons 2013 has a Confession for the Summer Season that uses Colossians 2:13-14 in the Absolution
Sunday Title: Shameless Sunday
Sermon Title: Prayer integrity test: hallowed be your name thy kingdom come

Previously:
Sunday Title: Petition Sunday
Sermon Title: Of the same mind?
Sunday Title: Persistent Sunday
Sermon Title: “Trial Prayer”
Sunday Title: Listen Sunday
Sermon Title: "Hello - is anybody home?"

Scripture Cuttings:
Genesis 18:20-32 "Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."
Psalm 138 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me
Colossians 2:6-19 ...when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God.
Luke 11:1-13 ...one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray....'

Confession:
All may make the sign of the cross in remembrance of baptism
as the presiding minister begins:

P:  In the Name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen

P:  Listen, God is calling, we need to put aside our noise.
    (pause for self-examination)
P:  Almighty Lord...
C: we hold your judgment up to our sense of fairness,
  yet we do not to submit ourselves
    even to our own standards.
How quickly we write off a whole person,
  one of your children.
    or prejudice ourselves against a group,
      people of your choosing.
And when we pray
  we wish to speak to you as a peer,
    without seeking your wisdom,
      rather we intend to give you ours,
        and we remain distracted listeners.
Lord when we recognize our sin, forgive us.
  Teach us to look deeply so we may know your salvation.
        (Pause for reflection)
P:  God is good. And God's love rules. God sends his only son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and we come to fullness in him. For Christ's sake our sins are forgiven. Therefore as we receive Christ Jesus the Lord, we will continue to walk in him, rooted, built up, and established in faith, abounding in thanksgiving. To the glory of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen. -wjw

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always!
C: And also with you!

-or-
P:  In the Name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen

P:  Let us put down our defenses and be honest with God. (pause)
  Heavenly Father,
C: Your son taught us to pray to you as a loving parent.
We are wayward children.
  We trust in ourselves instead of asking for your Holy Spirit.
    We wait until we are in trouble before seeking you.
      We strike bargaining positions when we ask.
        We knock impatiently.
We use our petitions as if a formula to co-opt your will.
  We limit ourselves to our own abilities
    instead of your faithfulness.
Forgive us Lord for the sins we know in our heart.
Save us Lord from the sins we hide.
  (pause for reflection and self-examination)
P:  For all these Lord we are deeply sorry.
C: Amen
P:  We are rooted and built up in Christ Jesus the Lord. We have died to sin and been buried with Christ in our baptism. We are also raised with him through faith in the power of God. God makes us alive together with Christ, forgiving us our trespasses, erasing the record of our sins, setting aside our condemnation, by nailing them to the cross. In the name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always!
C: And also with you!

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Cycle C Lectionary 16 Proper 11

7/21/2013 Confession (s)

Sunday Title: BothAnd Sunday
Sermon Title: There is always more going on than it seems.

Previously:
Sunday Title: Better Sunday
Sermon Title: Do be do be do.
Sunday Title: Home Body 
Sermon Title: “Guess who’s coming for Dinner”
Sunday Title: Hospitality Sunday 
Sermon Title: "What home do you give to the Lord?"

Scripture Cuttings:
Genesis 18:1-10a The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre....
Psalm 15 Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart.
Colossians 1:15-28 …he has now reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him....
Luke 10:38-42 Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?  Tell her then to help me.

Confession:
All may make the sign of the cross in remembrance of baptism
as the presiding minister begins:
P:  In the Name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen

P:  Might we hope that God would listen to our confession? (pause)  
  Almighty God,
C: You come straight forward into our lives;
yet we distract ourselves with many things.
  You are our host in life
    and we do not show you the hospitality of our hearts.
We forget the spirit of service and giving,
  and expect our actions to justify rewards.
Forgive us Lord for the sins we know in our heart.
Save us Lord from the sins we hide.
(pause for reflection and self-examination)
P:  For all these Lord we are deeply sorry.
C: Amen.
P:  Our Lord gives us hope: the hope of the Gospel. Jesus Christ reconciles us to God, by the flesh of his own body through death, that we may be presented to God as holy and blameless. Because of Christ our sins are forgiven, our faith can be secured, and we may become again steadfast hosts of the hope of the Gospel. To the glory of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen. -wjw

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always!
C: And also with you!
-or-

P:  In the Name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen

P:  Surely the command to be loyal is not too hard for us.
Let us repent from our unfaithfulness. (pause for self-examination)
P:  Lord...
C: when have we seen you in the stranger?
  Do we devote ourselves in faithful service?
    Or humble ourselves before you?
We welcome relatives and the notable,
  but resist the unfamiliar.
We must succeed in our own ventures,
  before beginning your kingdom's work.
Happy in our self-sufficiency,
  we stand before you with our pride out in front.
Please Lord, forgive us for the sins we understand.
Please Lord, save us from our lack of insight.
   (Pause for reflection)
P:  God is pleased to reconcile all things through the blood of the cross. We are presented holy, blameless and irreproachable by Jesus Christ through the body of his flesh through death before God. Our sins are forgiven. In the power of the Holy Spirit we may continue, securely established in steadfast faith, in the hope promised by the good news of Jesus Christ. To the glory of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen. -wjw

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always!
C: And also with you!