Calls To Worship
Protection
Leader: The Lord reigns forever, and rules the nations with fairness.
People: The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
Leader: Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem;
Tell the world about God’s unforgettable deeds.
People: The needy will not be ignored forever;
The hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.
All: Let us worship God!
Submitted by Chip Hardwick
Adapted from Psalm 9:1-2, 9-10
Pastor: I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
All: I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
Pastor: The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
All: And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Inspired by Psalm 23
Leader: Let us worship the God who satisfies our every need, the Good Shepherd who guides us to abundance and refreshment. Let us praise the God who specializes in the restoration of the soul, who navigates our perfect path, and is present with us in times of trouble. He is our Blessing and our Protector. God surrounds and nourishes us in the midst of the assailing forces that seek our destruction. Let us give thanks to our relentless God, the Hound of Heaven who pursues us with goodness and mercy all the days of our lives. Amen.
Scott Bullock
Adapted from Psalm 27
Leader: The Lord is our light and our salvation—
So why should we be afraid?
People: The Lord is our fortress, protecting us from danger,
So why should we tremble?
Leader: The one thing we ask of the Lord is to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of our lives.
People: Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
All: Let us worship God!
Submitted by Chip Hardwick
Adapted from Psalm 61:1-4
Leader: O God, listen to our cry! Hear our prayers!.
People: From the ends of the earth, we cry to you for help when our hearts are overwhelmed.
Leader: Lead us to the towering rock of safety, for you are our safe refuge.
People: Let us live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!
All: Let us worship God!
Submitted by Chip Hardwick
Psalm 84:1-2; 11-12
Leader: How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! Our [souls] long, yes, faint for the courts of the Lord; [our] hearts and flesh sing to the living God.
People: For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Leader: O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you
Submitted by Gabe Fung
Adapted from Psalm 121
Leader: I lift up my eyes to the hills,
Where does my help come from?
People: My help comes from the Lord,
The maker of heaven and earth.
Leader: He will not let your food slip,
He who watches over you will not sleep.
People: Indeed, he who watches over Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
Leader: The Lord watches over you,
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
People: The sun will not harm you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
Leader: The Lord will keep you from all harm,
He will watch over your life.
People: The Lord will watch over your coming and going,
Both now and forevermore.
Bud Thoreen
Adapted from Psalm 146
Leader: Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.
People: Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever.
Leader: The Lord sets the prisoners free, opens the eyes of the blind, and lifts up those who are bowed down. People: The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!
Leader: Let us worship God!
Adapted from Psalm 146:5-10
Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
The sea, and everything in them—
He remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
And gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
The Lord gives sight to the blind,
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
The Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the foreigner
And sustains the fatherless and the widow,
But he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
The Lord reigns forever.
So humble us, O Lord, we pray as we gather to worship you.
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Adapted from Isaiah 25:1, 3-4, 9
Pastor: O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
All: Therefore, strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
Pastor: For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
All: Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Adapted from Isaiah 49:8–16a
Sing for joy, heavens and earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
Our Creator has comforted the people
and will have compassion for the ones who are suffering.
Come out! The imprisoned shall have freedom. Show yourselves! Those who live in darkness will see the light of day.
God will feed you and protect you;
God will guide you and ease your way.
Glory be given to our Protector
because God will never forget us;
we are inscribed in the palm of God’s hands!
Sing for joy!
The Comforter has love and compassion for us.
Adapted from Psalm 31:20-2131:21 Ps. 31:3 Ps. 31:3,5,19
Friends in Christ, let us gather in the shelter of God’s presence.
Let us bless the Lord, for God has wondrously shown us steadfast love.
God is indeed our rock and our refuge.
God guides us and leads us.
Into God’s hands we commit our spirits, for God has redeemed us.
Abundant is the goodness that the Lord has stored up for those who gather to worship God!
Kimberly Bracken Long Ed., Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation.
A Prayer From Catherine of Siena
O Holy Spirit, come into my heart;
By your power draw it to yourself, God,
And give me charity with fear.
Guard me, Christ, from every evil thought,
And so warm and enflame me again
With your most gentle love
That every suffering may seem light to me.
My holy Father and my gentle Lord,
Help me in my every need.
Christ love! Christ love!
Adapted from Psalm 121
We lift up our eyes to the mountains.
Where does our help come from?
Our help comes from the Lord,
The maker of heaven and earth.
God will not let your foot slip,
The Lord will watch over our coming and our going,
Both now and forevermore.
Austin D. Hill
Adapted from Psalm 71:1-6
Leader: In you, O Lord, we take refuge. Let us never be put to shame. In your righteousness, deliver us and rescue us; incline your ear to us and save us.
People: Be to us a rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save us, for you are our rock and our fortress.
Leader: Rescue us, O our God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel. For you, O Lord, are our hope, our trust, O Lord, from our youth.
People: Upon you we have leaned from our birth; it was you who took us from our mother’s womb. Our praise is continually of you.
Leader: Let us worship the Lord with joy and gladness.
Scott Bullock
Psalm 82 and James 1:27
Our God is a righteous Judge who presides over all the earth. He defends the weak and the fatherless. He upholds the cause of the poor and the oppressed. He rescues the weak and the needy and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. He is the same God of whom James says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” The nations are His inheritance. Come, let us worship our Just and Righteous God.
Scott Bullock
Psalm 121
L: I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?
C: My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
L: He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
C: The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
L: The Lord will keep you from all harm
C: He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Adapted by Cody Sandahl
Adapted from Psalm 31:14-16
Leader: We trust in you, O Lord.
People: We say, you are our God.
Leader: Our times are in your hand.
People: Deliver us from the hands of our enemies and our persecutors.
Leader: Let your face shine upon your servants.
People: Save us in your steadfast love.
Hassell Bullock