Surely God is in This Place!
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
July 20, 2014

Genesis 28:10-19a
Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43
Romans 8:12-25
Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24

Call to Worship

We come to celebrate God’s blessings to us.
Surely God is in this place!
We come to open ourselves to God’s guidance and love.
Surely God is in this place!
We come to see more clearly God’s presence in our lives.
Surely God is in this place!
We come to see God in this community of seekers.
Surely God is in this place!
We come to pray, praise, and offer ourselves to God.
Surely God is in this place! Let us worship!

Invocation

Holy One, you know us already. 
Help us to know you better. 
Let us see you both in front of us and behind us. 
Infuse our worship with your Spirit 
so that we may learn to recognize your presence in all places. Amen.

Call to Confession

We confess our sins to God, not because God needs to be told of our shortcomings. 
We confess in order to clear away the regrets and the errors 
that would choke out our nourishing connection with God. 
Let us pray.

Prayer of Confession

Gracious God, 
in the fields of our lives, we strive to be fruitful, but we fall short.  
We get so comfortable that we sleep when we need to be vigilant 
about the errors in our own lives and the injustices around us. 
We are so casual about wrongdoing that it creeps into our lives 
and threatens to overwhelm the good we do. 
Forgive us. 
Keep us awake so that we can produce the lives you call us to live. Amen.
Assurance

You are not God’s tenants or employees; 
you are God’s precious family. 
In the words of the apostle Paul, 
“You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, 
but you have received a spirit of adoption.” 
As God’s children, in God’s embrace, you are forgiven and free. 

Call for the Offering

What we have received comes from seed sown in us by Jesus Christ.
Having received the blessings of the harvest begun in us, 
let us return to God fruits of the blessings we have received. 

Prayer of Dedication

Loving God, we offer back to you what we have been given: 
our treasure, our time, and our lives. 
Bless our gifts and multiply them for your purposes. Amen.

Benediction

God’s spirit is always with you. 
Who can flee from the presence of God?
If you ascend to heaven,
God is there.
If you settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
God is there.
In all places, God holds you fast.
May you know deeply the presence of God: 
Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit.
Go with God. 

Written by the Rev. Ruth Garwood,  Interim Pastor at First Congregational UCC in Elyria, Ohio. Rev. Garwood is a certified leader of InterPlay, a system of forms in movement, story-telling and vocalizing that brings body and soul together, and brings communities together.  She teaches suicide first aid via Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training.  

Copyright 2014 Local Church Ministries, Faith Formation Ministry Team, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH  44115-1100.  Permission granted to reproduce or adapt this material for use in services of worship or church education.  All publishing rights reserved.