SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2019

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Words of Greeting

One: People of God, who do you come to worship?

All: We come to worship the one true God.

One: How will you worship?

All: Not with words alone, but by living lives of justice and love.

One: Come, you who belong to God. Come, you who are foolish in the eyes of the world.

All: Come and abide in God’s tent and in God’s heart, now and forever.

Prayer of Confession (based on the beatitudes in Matthew 5)

One: God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the kingdom of heaven is given to them.

All: But we have been proud in spirit, inflated with pride in our own self-sufficiency. We have forgotten how needy we are.

One: God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

All: But we have not mourned over our sins, instead we have insulated ourselves from those around us, from their pain, needs, loneliness, and suffering. We have even hardened ourselves so that we are unaware that our own lives cause grief to the Lord.

One: God blesses those who are gentle and lowly, for the whole earth will be their inheritance.

All: But we have valued toughness over gentleness. We have too often chosen to be concerned with ourselves rather than with our brothers and sisters and neighbors.

One: God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for they will receive it in full.

All: But we have hungered after the pleasures, prestige, and possessions of this temporal world. We have despised our heavenly inheritance by choosing to satisfy our immediate desires.

One: God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

All: But we have often presided as harsh judges over the lives of others. We have been quick to place blame on anything or anyone but ourselves. We have avoided obligations to care for or to help people in need.

One: God blesses those who hearts are pure, for they will see God.

All: But we have defiled our hearts with idols of our own choosing, doubting that God will keep his Word and his promises. We continually compromise the truth by trying to find meaning and security in our jobs, our friends, our pleasures, our projects – but not in God.

One: God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

All: But we are often at war with one another. In a thousand little ways we demand to be catered to. We seldom esteem others as more important than ourselves. We often create strife by demanding our way rather than by walking in God’s Spirit.

One: God blesses those who are persecuted because they live for God, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

All: But we have too often retreated from the disapproval of others. We’ve sought to please the world rather than risking the disapproval of those who need Christ. We regard rejection for righteousness as a burden to be borne, rather than an honor to be humbly received.

One: Lord, please show us your mercy.

All: Lord, have mercy upon us in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Silent Prayer and Reflection)

Assurance of Pardon: Psalm 136:3-4

One: "If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared." Friends, believe the good news of the Gospel!

All: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

Scripture Readings                                                       Obadiah 1:1-14

                                                                                   Obadiah 1:15-21

The Minor Prophets: OBADIAH           "Am I My Brother’s Keeper?"