Standing on Holy Ground
Service Prayers for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
August 31, 2014

Exodus 3:1-15 and Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28 

Call 

One:	We who dwell in the shelter of the Most High
All:		Seek God here.  

One:	We who come to be inspired and changed
All:		Seek God’s Spirit here.  

One:	We who know how little we know
All:		Seek God’s Word here.  

Gathering Prayer

God, you are made known to us in the rustling wind that blows, 
in the blazing fire that does not consume, 
in the face of the good, 
in the deep of the unknown.  
We meet you here.  We accept your greeting.  We welcome your inspiration.  
We await the change you have in store for us.  
Draw us in to you.  Inhabit our spirits.  Focus our attention.  
Bring us to you – you who are already with us.  
Help us to be as you would have us be.  
Through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 
here and everywhere, now and always.  Amen.

Confession

(The leader should leave moments of silence between each question.)

As we prepare for confession, let us consider questions inspired by the apostle Paul.  

Is our love always genuine?  Silence
Do we resist the evil we see? Silence
Do we consistently seek to serve God? Silence
Are we hospitable to strangers? Silence
Do we offer blessings to our enemies? Do we even know what this means?  Silence
Do we have close relationships with people who are really different from us? Silence
Do we seek revenge on those who have wronged us? Silence

Good friends, we do these things.  
We do them often – maybe not all at once.  
But they are actions that are part of the human condition.  
They are also actions that turn us away from the love God always offers us.  

In this time of confession, God invites us to examine all this, and to repent – 
which really just means to turn back.  
Let us confess our sins and, as we do, let us turn back.  

God of mercy and forgiveness, we confess that: 
our love isn’t always genuine
we see evil and wring our hands instead of resisting it 
we forget to consider more ways to serve you
we turn our back on strangers who could benefit from our hospitality
we do not pray enough for our enemies
we associate with our own kind, fearing the “other”
we relish in fantasies of revenge.

For all this, and for all that burdens our heart today, O God, 
we seek your forgiveness.  
Have mercy on us and hear our prayers…

Silence

Assurance of Pardon

One:	God’s mercy extends beyond the bounds of even our collective imagination.
	God’s love seeps through any wall we could ever put up.  
	God’s goodness is holds more power than the sum of all sin.  

	It is because of that extensive, seeping, powerful and bold love 
I declare to you in the name of the blessed and holy Trinity:  
That God forgives us all our sins.

All:		Thanks be to God.

Invitation to Offering

(Many of us would acknowledge that the church is in the business of recognizing needs and meeting needs with the gifts offered.  In this offering, if your church doesn’t already have this practice, why not collect needs along with gifts?  This can be done by inviting prayer requests, or inviting people to write out their greatest need on a sheet of paper that they include in the offering basket.)

One:	Good folk: if we pay close enough attention, when we look around, 
all we can see is need.  But is that how you think God sees it?  
I think that as God looks around, God sees need, yes, but God also sees great abundance.  God sees all the gifts God has already given us, and God sees opportunity.  
As a church, we are invited to look around through the same lens – 
seeing opportunity, gifts, possibilities around us 
while acknowledging the deep needs that surround us.  

Each person here has something to give.  And, each person has a need.  
I invite you to prayerfully reach within yourself 
acknowledging a need you bring today 
recognizing that every person around you brings a need, as well.  
As a church, it is our job, our calling, to join together and meet those needs.  
Share them with us, and we will receive them prayerfully.  

And, as the offering is gathered, 
I invite you to acknowledge, in your giving, 
that you had a gift to share, too.  
And I invite you to share that gift generously, 
trusting that the people around you will do the same.  
Share your gifts with us, and we will receive them gratefully.  

Today’s offering of needs and gifts will now be received with gratitude.  

Dedication

In your Creation, O God, we stand on the holiest of ground.  
May these gifts be a blessing to all that you have made.  
May the church, organizations and people that receive them act as your hands.  
May needs be seen and met, and may the giving fit the need.  
Through Christ, who models infinite giving. Amen.

Benediction

The blessing of Almighty God:  
+ Source, Word and Spirit, One, 
be with us now and always.  Amen.

Written by the Rev. Kaji S. Douša, Senior Minister of The Table: La Mesa, United Church of Christ in San Diego County. 

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.