Cycle B Advent 2

12/7/2014 Confession

Sunday Title: Ready Sunday

Sermon Title: Ready for God’s Victory?

Previously:

Sunday Title: Beginning Sunday

Sermon Title: When does this start?

Sunday Title: Peace Sunday

Sermon Title: “Words of Encouragement?”

Sunday Title: Peace Sunday

Sermon Title: "Where Does True Peace Come From?"

Scripture Cuttings:

Isaiah 40:1-11 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her

Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.

2 Peter 3:8-15a But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient on your account not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

Mark 1:1-8 I have baptized you in water; but he will baptize you with in the Holy Spirit.

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:  Let us approach the Lord in repentance,

seeking the forgiveness of our sins. (pause)

  O God,

C: we rely on our history and tradition

  to secure relationship with you.

We take lightly this act of confession,

  as if the depth of your mercy

    excludes the need for self-examination.

Our lists do not include you.

  We are too hurried

    and do not make a straight paths in our hearts,

      and we ignore your messenger.

We are not preparing ourselves to come into your presence.

Save us Lord from the sins we know.

Save us Lord from the sins we hide.

  (pause for reflection and self-examination)

P:  God is sending one who will baptize us with the Holy Spirit. It is God’s own Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Because of Christ, our sins are forgiven. But our baptism may count for even more than the forgiveness of sins. We may receive the power of the Holy Spirit and become the messengers crying out in our wilderness the hope of our coming Lord. In the name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen. -wjw

Cycle B Advent 1

11/30/2014 Confession

Sunday Title: Shine Sunday

Sermon Title: Ready

Previously:

Sunday Title: Waiting Sunday

Sermon Title: Stop watch waiting or in the time waiting?

Sunday Title: Peace Sunday

Sermon Title: “Happy ? New Year”

Sunday Title: Hope Sunday 

Sermon Title: “Happy ? New Year” 

Sunday Title: Hope Sunday 

Sermon Title: "Could be worse. How could it be worse? Could be raining!"

Scripture Cuttings:

Isaiah 64:1-9 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.

1 Corinthians 1:3-9 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Mark 13:24-37 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; and pray for you do not know when the time will come.

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:  We have all become like one who is unclean. (pause)

  O God,

C: do we concentrate to much on future signs

  instead of being prepared for your arrival? 

Have we distanced ourselves from you

  with our sin and iniquity? 

Have we forgotten we are your people

  and you are our God? 

Do we really believe we are the clay

  and you are the potter?

Save us Lord from the sins we know in our heart.

Save us Lord from the sins we hide.

  (pause for reflection and self-examination)

P:  The Lord is our heavenly Father. We are being redeemed by the work of God’s faithful hand through Jesus Christ. For Christ's sake our sins are forgiven. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we may be blessed with every spiritual gift and be continually strengthened in the fellowship of  God’s son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 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!

Cycle A Christ the King

11/23/2014 Confession 

Sunday Title: Christ the King Sunday 

Sermon Title: Relevant Lordship

Previously:

Sunday Title: Christ the King Sunday 

Sermon Title: Shepherd King

Sunday Title: Christ the King 

Sermon Title: “Hearing your Blessings”

Sunday Title: Christ the King Sunday -

Sermon Title: “What Crown? What King?”

Scripture Cuttings:

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak....

Psalm 95:1-7a Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

Ephesians 1:15-23 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you....

Matthew 25:31-46 Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.

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:  The Lord seeks the lost.

C: O God, we have strayed, and we call out to you. (pause)

P:  Heavenly Father hear us….

C: In the blessings you have given us

  we forget you are the champion of the weak, the injured, the lost.

We call ourselves your church

  but in our fellowship we look past the stranger,

    the hungry, the naked, the sick, those in prison.

We call Christ our King

  but we do not let your Son reign over our lives.

Save us Lord from the sins we know in our heart.

Save us Lord from the sins we hide.

  (pause for reflection and self-examination)

P:  Our Lord rescues us from all the places we scatter ourselves. In the working of God’s great power, Jesus Christ, God’s own Son is given for our sake. And our sins, which separates us from God, are forgiven. We may gather together in Christ name. Through the Holy Spirit we may receive the immeasurable greatness of his power. 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!

Cycle A Lectionary 33 Proper 28

11/16/2014 Confession

Sunday Title: Igneous Sunday

Sermon Title: “Abundance vs. Scarcity”

Previously:

Sunday Title: Veterans Sunday

Sermon Title: Loyalty to Go

Scripture Cuttings:

Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 Their wealth shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.

Psalm 90:1-12 So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.

Matthew 25:14-30  For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents,  to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

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

C: Amen

P:  Our iniquity is before the Lord, who sees even our secret sin. (pause)

  O Lord,

C: we are complacent and sedentary in our faith,

  it occupies little of our lives

    and is inconvenient against our desire for pleasure.

We seek security in the wrong places

  and think about judgment as a long, long time away.

We fail to use the gift you have given us in salvation

  and we hoard your grace and love in our tiny pieties.

Save us Lord from the sins we know in our heart.

Save us Lord from the sins we hide. (pause for reflection and self-examination)

P:  Even though we deserve it, God has not destined us for wrath, but rather for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our sins are forgiven. This forgiveness and restoration to a right relationship with God is not just a future event, but by the power of the Holy Spirit it is alive and active right now! We are called out of darkness and fearfulness to be awake in our faith, to live boldly as children of the light. 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!

Cycle A Lectionary 32 Proper 27

11/9/2014 Confession

Sunday Title: Veterans Sunday

Sermon Title: Ready

Previously:

Sunday Title: Light Sunday 

Sermon Title: "Job Descriptions"

Scripture Cuttings:

Amos 5:18-24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Psalm 70 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, "God is great!"

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Matthew 25:1-13 Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

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:  Why delay? Lets prepare to meet Jesus right now.

    (pause to think, when you meet Jesus, will it be in shame or with delight)

  Lord, Lord,

C: we know who you are,

  we know you bring in the kingdom of heaven.

But when you assign us the job of lighting the way,

  we barely announce your divine rule to ourselves

    let alone the ends of the earth.

Our worship hour has solemn times and festivals.

  And we celebrate your redemptive action in history

    with our calendar - Sundays, seasons, year after year.

Yet we become drowsy: unprepared,

  because we are not disciples each day, at all hours.

    Those times we live for ourselves.

We do not need you right now.

  So we do not want justice, unless we judge for ourselves,

    and self-righteousness is easier than right relationship.

Forgive us Lord the sins we can bear to name,

Save us Lord from the sins we will not speak.

    (pause for reflection and self-examination)

P:  God redeems. Our hope lives in the one we call Jesus the Christ. Time and again we go to this hope, ready or not. For Christ's sake our sins are forgiven. May the flood of God's love in Christ Jesus be poured out in our lives and cease not at this worship's end. 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!