Liturgy, Saturday, January 23, 2021

January 23rd, 2021 | April Karli

What Wondrous Love Is This

What wondrous love is this,
O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse
For my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb,
I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb
Who is the great I Am;
While millions join the theme,
I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free,
I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free,
I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free,
I’ll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on.

Call to Worship

Welcome to the liturgy of Austin Mustard Seed. The word liturgy means the work of the people. If you are new to our liturgy, we welcome you to be a full participant or a thoughtful observer. 

Whether friend or stranger, Passionate believer or Hopeful skeptic,
We gather today as participants and hosts to celebrate the light of Christ among us. 

Let’s pause together for a moment of silence to still ourselves, and be reminded that we are always in God’s presence (pause)

Jesus calls us
to praise and prayer,
to song and silence;
Jesus calls us to worship.

Jesus calls us
to hearing and healing,
to service and solidarity;
Jesus calls us to love.

Jesus calls us
to advocacy and action,
to protest and provision;
Jesus calls us to justice.
Let us heed the call of Christ.
Let us worship together with joy.

Arise, Shine, For Your Light Has Come

Arise shine for your light has come and the glory of God is on you
Rise see though the earth grows dark that the Lord will arise upon you
The Lord will arise upon you

Nations will come to your light
lift up your eyes and see
We’ll gather together and all come to you
And your love will be all that we know
Your love will be all that we know

Arise come to the open gates
for the Lord is welcoming you
Fear not for the Lord brings peace
and redemption to all who believe

The sun will not shine
cause you’ll be all the light that we need
and violence will end
all the wars that we wage will cease
Oh the sun will not shine
cause you’ll be all the light that we need
and violence will end
all the wars that we wage will cease
We will glorify your name (4x)

God of the Dead

God of the dead, God of the dead
God of the breathing again
God of the earth, God of the grave
God of the rising and the raised

Open your mouth (3x)
Open your mouth and
breathe our new name

God of the fallen, God of the flood
God of the bleeding and the blood
Hold up the wretched, lower the proud
Lead us with your fire and your cloud

Prayer of Confession 

Confession allows us to honestly reveal our hopes and pain. Let us cry out to God as a community. If you are following along online, our response will highlighted in bold:

O Lord,
forgive us when we fail to respond to your call with faith.
Through your Spirit
we stand in the assurance of your acceptance.

Forgive us when we are shackled
by our narrow understandings of discipleship
and our clouded sense of purpose.
Through your Spirit
we are drawn into the illumination of your empowering love.

Forgive us when we are frightened of the future
or pull back from the demand of your calling.
Forgive us when we fail to sense your presence in our past,
to acknowledge your grace in the present moment,
and to trust you for our future.

Through your Spirit we offer ourselves in discipleship.
We stand together as your disciples.
We seek renewed and renewing faith.
Touch us now with your Spirit, Lord.

Friends, hear the good news:
If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
All this is from God, with whom we are reconciled through Christ. 
Thanks be to God!
Amen.

Scripture

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen.  And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.  As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
-Mark 1:14-20

Prayers of the People

We now invite you into a time of prayer. This is an opportunity for us to support one another and participate by sharing our prayer requests. 

We have limited time and many may need to share. Please keep your prayers to a sentence or two so that others will have a chance to share as well. 

We welcome the guests among us and join together to pay attention to the needs of others. This way, you can continue to pray with them after Liturgy and throughout the week.

Begin by getting my attention from where you are, speaking up, and introducing yourself. 

If you have something you’re thankful for, end your prayer with…”Let us bless the Lord” 

If you have something you’d like prayer for, end your prayer with…”Let us pray to the Lord”  

I will briefly repeat your prayer in the mic so that all of us can hear.

(Then start off with a brief prayer of your own as an example out loud.)

“With the prayers that have been spoken, and those that are unspoken,

Let us finish by praying the Lord’s prayer together…”

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.  Amen.

Eucharist

(We now come to the center of our Liturgy, the Eucharist.
So please examine your hearts and pray this prayer with me.
Our responses will be highlighted in bold .)

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our Lord thanks and praise.

Everlasting God, the radiance of faithful souls:
We celebrate your gift of creation.
We rejoice that you have formed us in your image and called us to dwell in your infinite love.

You brought the nations into your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.
You sent your Son, the bright morning star, to illuminate our darkness and to lead us into harmony and peace.
Through the Holy Spirit, you have brought good news into our hearts.
Day by day you call us to feed the hungry, heal the sick, deliver the oppressed, and to wait and watch for your kingdom.

For this, we give you thanks.

Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who forever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name: 

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest. 

(On the night Jesus was betrayed, the nation of Israel was celebrating their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. In the midst of the meal, Jesus took the symbols of this feast and gave them new meaning. 

He took the bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you.  Do this for the remembrance of Me.” 

Later, Jesus took the wine. Again, He gave thanks, gave it to them, and said, “Drink this, all of you. This is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you.  Do this for the remembrance of Me.” )

Now come together to the table, passionate believers and hopeful skeptics alike.  Come because the Lord invites us to this remembrance of Jesus’ death, broken sinners in a disrupted world made right through the cross. Come as a people who expect that the Spirit who raised Jesus from that death is bringing new life.

Come and proclaim together that God’s work is not done. 

We invite one adult member of each household to come up and receive the elements for your group. The elements are gluten and alcohol free so that all may participate. The table is now open.

 –(Communion is served:  come back to end Eucharist in prayer)—

After Eucharist

Let us finish our time of communion together by reading aloud this prayer. 

Generous God,
in word and eucharist we have proclaimed
the mystery of your love:
help us so to live out our days
that we may be signs of your wonders in the world;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour

Together let us proclaim the Great mystery of faith:
Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

Offering

We now come to the time where we remember that nothing in this life is truly ours, but that all is a gift from God. 

We understand that many are struggling under financial strain and we trust you to participate at a level that is meaningful and sustainable to you now. If you are able we encourage you to celebrate God’s generosity and to give back as God has given to us by donating online at- austinmustardseed.org/giving). We also have placed a basket on the table if you prefer to give that way today. If you are new or visiting for the first time, please be our guest this morning. This time is now yours, and we invite you to participate in worship. 

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost

Praise God for whom all Saints proclaim
Praise Him with honor due his name
Praise Him who gave his son to save
Praise God above the heavens reign

Amen.

Benediction

Austin Mustard Seed:

Go now, follow where Christ calls you
and proclaim the message God gives you.
Wait in hope for God.
Avoid become bound up in the business of the world,
but live in readiness for the inbreaking of the Kingdom.

And may God be your haven and your glory;
May Christ Jesus give you courage for his mission;
And may the Spirit embrace your soul in God’s silence.

Go in Peace,
Live the Church,
See you throughout the week.
Please stick around and say hello!