CRC Chaplains’ Closing Worship Saturday, May 30, 2015

Gathering Welcome/Salutation *Call to Worship L. Come! If you are weary and heavy laden, come. All you who are feeling hassled and harried, come. All you with shattered dreams and punctured hopes come. For here is the water of life and the springs of joy. P. We come as we are *The asterisk invites worshippers to stand.

L. Gather round. All you with lonely hearts and worried brows. All you fragile vessels bearing the hurt of the world, all you carrying the wounds of rejections, all you knowing the ambushes of life, come. For here is the love of a community gathered around a table. P. We come with our needs.

L. Come, here is a banquet for your soul, a vision of peace and harmony, a feast of hope and healing. Come. P. We come to be fed L. Come close; gather in. God is here. Christ is present. Hear the whispers of grace. Feel the warmth of love. Know the Healing of wounds. Sense the hope and embrace the joy. P. We come together. God’s love makes us one.

*Prayer (unison) God of light and grace, we praise you. By your Spirit, enliven our worship; By the grace of your Son, accept our gratitude; Lift our hearts and voices to give you all glory and honor, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. *The asterisk invites worshippers to stand.

*Opening Hymn I Come with Joy (LUYH 533:1,2) *The asterisk invites worshippers to stand.

PRAYER *Hymn 574: How Great Is Our God *The asterisk invites worshippers to stand.

Call to Confession From age to age is God’s faithfulness. From day to day is our striving. Let us confess to our faithful God our failure and our stress.

Prayer of Confession Persistent and loving God, you are forever seeking for your Will to be done on Earth. You yearn for all creation to live in harmony. Forgive us for growing weary of the struggle for peace and justice, and for courting despair. Loosen our need to see the full results and to feel hopeful.

Sustain us with an abundance of friends and a measure of faith. Give us the willingness to do the loving thing and to be faithful in the small acts of caring. God of the hidden seed and the promised resurrection, work your surprising and amazing grace in our lives and in our broken world. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon L. The good news is that Christ calls us to new life and enables us to begin again and again. P.In Christ we are forgiven. L. Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us (Romans 8.34) P. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

L. The good news in Christ is that when we face ourselves and God with the awareness of our need, we are given grace to grow, and courage to continue the journey. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel. P.In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

L. Jesus knows our every weakness, and loves us still. Awaken to the promise of God’s amazing grace. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel. P. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

L. The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. May the God of mercy, who forgives us all our sins, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. As Jesus healed the afflicted and restored those who have died, he also forgives our sins and gives us new life. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel. P. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

Hymn You Are My King

Scripture Revelation 2:1-7 Sermon “Staying right”

*Hymn May the Mind of Christ Our Savior

Prayers of the People

*Hymn Lift Up Your Hearts

Words of Institution

Communion Prayer (Unison parts in bold text.) L. The Lord be with you. P. And also with you. L. Lift up your hearts! P. We lift them up unto the Lord. L. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. P. It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Leader:...

Unison: 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!

Preparation of the Bread and Cup L: The bread that we break is a sharing in the body of Christ. We who are many are one body, for we all share the same loaf. L: The cup for which we give thanks is a sharing in the blood of Christ. The cup that we share is our participation in the blood of Christ.

Invitation to Communion

Walking up - I Come with Joy (533:3,4)

Sharing of Communion Prayer of Thanksgiving

*I Come with Joy (533:5) *The asterisk invites worshippers to stand.

*Benediction *The asterisk invites worshippers to stand.

* I Come with Joy (533:6) *The asterisk invites worshippers to stand.