Calls To Worship
Justice
Adapted from Genesis 1
Leader: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,
Darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
People: Centuries before Jesus walked among us,
The Spirit of God was promised to him, so that he would bring justice to the nations.
Leader: Jesus sent the Spirit of truth to teach us and give us peace.
People: At Pentecost the Spirit came, as the rush of violent wind and tongues of fire.
All: That same Spirit is among us now. Let us worship God!
Submitted by Chip Hardwick
Adapted from Exodus 3
The Lord says,
“I am the God of your ancestors.
I have indeed seen the misery of my people.
I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors.
So I have come down to rescue them.
And to bring them into a good and spacious land.”
Oh Lord Almighty,
We look to Zion, to your promise of restoration, of Shalom. Empower us to help bring about your kingdom here and now.
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Adapted from Isaiah 6:8-9
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here I am, send me!”
And he said, “Go…”
Lord of Hosts, you have sent us, we have said we’ll go. Please give us the courage to stand for you, to break the chains of injustice, and proclaim your Good News.
Austin D. Hill
Adapted from Psalm 98:1-6
Sing a new song to the Lord,
who has worked wonders,
whose right hand and holy arm have brought salvation.
The Lord has made known salvation;
has shown justice to the nations;
has remembered truth and love for the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
sing out your joy.
Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp,
with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
acclaim the King, the Lord.
Prayer for Each Day. Taizé. GIA Publications, Inc., and Cassell, 1997.
© 1997, 1998, Ateliers et Presses de Taizé, 71250 Taizé Community, France.
Adapted from Psalm 112
Leader: Praise the Lord! Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who greatly delight in his commands.
People: Their offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Leader: It is well with those who deal generously, who conduct their affairs with justice.
People: They have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever!
All: Let us worship God!
Submitted by Chip Hardwick (Ps 112:1-2, 5, 9, ESV, excerpted, pronouns changed, and adapted for corporate liturgical use)
Adapted from Psalm 147
Leader: How good it is to sing praises to our God!
People: Great are You, Lord and mighty in power. You understand everything about each one of us. You heal the brokenhearted and bind up our wounds. You sustain the humble and delight in those who hold You in awe and put their hope in Your endless love.
Leader: Blessed are those who rely on God, who hope in God alone,
People: You uphold the cause of the oppressed and give food to the hungry. You set prisoners free, You give sight to the blind. You lift up those who are bowed down and broken. You watch over the ones who are new among us and sustain the fatherless and the widow.
Leader: Lord, show us this morning Your sufficiency, Your abundance, Your outstretched arms and our deep need to be infused and enthused with your Holy Spirit.
People: Great are You, Lord and mighty in power. You understand everything about each one of us. You heal the brokenhearted and bind up our wounds. You sustain the humble and delight in those who hold You in awe and put their hope in Your endless love.
Leader: Blessed are those who rely on God, who hope in God alone,
People: You uphold the cause of the oppressed and give food to the hungry. You set prisoners free, You give sight to the blind. You lift up those who are bowed down and broken. You watch over the ones who are new among us and sustain the fatherless and the widow.
Leader: Lord, show us this morning Your sufficiency, Your abundance, Your outstretched arms and our deep need to be infused and enthused with your Holy Spirit.
Adapted from Isaiah 51:4-6
Pastor: Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
All: My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait.
Pastor: Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Adapted from Isaiah 56
Leader: Thus says the Lord: “Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon My salvation will come, and My deliverance will be revealed.
People: “To those who keep My sabbath, who choose the things that please Me and hold fast My covenant, I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.
Leader: “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to Me, to love the name of the Lord, and to be My servants…
People: “These I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Leader: “For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Let us now worship the God of all nations, the God of all people.
Adapted from Micah 6:6, 8
Leader: With what shall we come before the Holy One, and bow ourselves before God on high?
People: God has shown us what is good.
Leader: What does the Holy One require of us,
People: but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God?
Adapted from Micah 6:6, 8
With what shall we come before the Lord
And bow down before the exalted God?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require?
To act justly and love mercy
And to walk humbly with our God.
God of justice, give us the courage to live for you.
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
A Call to Worship For the Tragedy in Charleston
We declare together, oh Lord
With hearts breaking, eyes weeping and souls stirring
We will continue to stand and cry and weep with our brothers and sisters
We will continue to make a place of peace for even the enemies at our table
We will continue to open our doors and our hearts to those who enter them
We will continue to seek to forgive as we have been forgiven
We will continue to love in Jesus’ name because you taught us that love conquers all
God who hears our cries and is moved by our suffering,
Speak to us a word of comfort, challenge, co-mission.
Capture our attention and call us out of our routines,
That we might catch a vision of your deliverance,
finding our place in the movement of God’s justice
Be in our worship, Lord
Quiet our resistance,
Orient us to action,
And in all things, root us in your love.
Mandy England Cole
Adapted from Multiple Scriptures
Leader: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,
Darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
People: Centuries before Jesus walked among us,
The Spirit of God was promised to him, so that he would bring justice to the nations.
Leader: Jesus sent the Spirit of truth to teach us and give us peace.
People: At Pentecost the Spirit came, as the rush of violent wind and tongues of fire.
All: That same Spirit is among us now. Let us worship God!
Adapted from the Magnificat, Luke 1:46b-55 (NRSV)
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.
Adapted from Psalm 103
Leader: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
People: The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Leader: As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
People: The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children.
All: Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Darren Pollock
Micah 6:6-8
Leader: With what shall I come before the Lord
And bow down before the exalted God?
People: Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
Leader: Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams
With ten thousand rivers of oil?
People: Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
Leader: v8 He has showed you, O man, what is goodl
And what does the Lord require of you?
People: To act justly and to love mercy
And to walk humbly with your God.
Wonderful Counselor, open our ears
So we may hear your song
God is with us, God is near
Mighty God, open our eyes
So we may see you at work
For goodness, truth, and justice
Everlasting Father, open our hearts
So we may release our worry,
Our loneliness, and our striving
Prince of Peace, open our hands
So we may take yours and each other’s
And walk together the path of grace
Amen
Opening Prayer based on Isaiah 9:6 by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia © 2022, www.revlisad.com
The Way of Peace
Based on Isaiah 59:8, NRSV
The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths.
Their roads they have made crooked; no one who walks in them knows peace.
You
You are the Way
Your way is Peace
An unbent highway of new life
Truth, Dignity, Empowerment
We will know you
We will walk in your ways
You
You are the Way
Your way is Peace
A shining path of justice
Integrity, Impartiality, Redeeming Love
We will know you
We will walk in your ways
You
You are the Way
Your way is Peace
An unbroken road of refuge
Safety, Belonging, Becoming
We will know you
We will walk in your ways
The Way of Peace © 2018, updated 2023 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com