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Liturgical Resources for Theological Education Sunday • September
16, 2007
General (non-lectionary-based) Resources
Call to Worship / Opening Sentences
Make me to know your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation.
For you I wait all day long.
The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
by understanding God established the heavens.
By God’s knowledge the deeps broke open,
and the clouds drop down the dew.
Children, do not forget these things:
keep sound wisdom and prudence,
and they will be life for your soul.
Where shall wisdom be found,
and where is the place of understanding?
Mortals do not know the way to it,
and it is not found in the land of the living.
The deep says, “It is not in me,”
and the sea says, “It is not with me.”
It cannot be gotten for gold,
and its price cannot be paid in silver.
Where then does wisdom come from,
and where is the place of understanding?
God understands the way to it, and knows its place.
God looks to the ends of the earth,
and sees everything under the heavens.
Truly, reverence for the Lord is wisdom.
To depart from evil, and seek the good:
that is understanding.
Prayer of the Day / Invocation / Collect
Holy God,
you dwell in infinite mystery—
but we have come to know you truly
in Jesus Christ, your Word made flesh.
You move with wondrous power—
but we have come to sense your presence
in the Holy Spirit, Lord and giver of life.
Lead us in this service of worship
and in the service of our neighbors
that our hearts may be open to your truth
and that our lives may be reflections of your love;
through Christ our Savior.
Living God,
you have called us to worship you in spirit and in truth.
Guide us in this hour, by your Word and Spirit,
to seek your wisdom and your way,
and to receive the one who proclaims all things to us:
Jesus Christ, the risen Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Prayer of Confession
Consider leading the Prayer of Confession and Declaration
of Forgiveness (not included in these resources; see Book
of Common Worship,
56-57) from the baptismal font. This helps to illuminate the theological connections
between God’s
forgiveness and the new life we receive in baptism. You may lift water from the
font with your hands as the words of forgiveness are spoken.
Gracious God,
you have given us minds to know you,
hearts to love and worship you,
and strength to serve your people.
But we have often squandered your gifts
and neglected our calling—
turning our strength to violence,
our hearts to idle pleasures,
and our minds to a thousand distractions.
Redeem us by your saving power,
restore us to your beloved community,
and return us to the ways of truth and life.
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayers of the People
Consider leading the Prayers of the People and/or the
Offering (below) from the Lord’s table. This helps to demonstrate our calling — as
the body of Christ — to intercede for others and to offer our lives
in love for the world.
In faith and hope, let us call on the name
of the Holy One, saying:
God, in your wisdom, hear our prayer.
We pray for the church of Jesus Christ our Lord,
for its mission and ministry to a world in need.
Unite us as your people and fill us with your purpose.
God, in your wisdom ...
We pray for our theological seminaries
[Austin, Columbia, Dubuque, Louisville, McCormick, Pittsburgh,
Princeton, San Francisco, Johnson C. Smith, Union / PSCE, Auburn, and Evangelical
of Puerto Rico],
for the women and men who have answered your call to ministry
and for the professors and administrators who help to shape them for your service.
Challenge and nurture them with your Word.
Strengthen and stir them with your Spirit.
God, in your wisdom ...
We pray for the people of all nations and those who govern them,
for the wisdom to seek peace, and the will to do justice.
Heal our divisions, put an end to our violence,
and help us to build new relationships of compassion and understanding.
God, in your wisdom ...
We pray for the earth and its precious resources.
Restore the splendor of your good creation
and give us a common vision of this world as our home.
God, in your wisdom ...
We pray for this community of your people,
for discernment as we seek to be your disciples in this place.
Lead us toward the future you have prepared for us
and keep us faithful in our promises to you and to one another.
God, in your wisdom …
We pray for the poor and oppressed, and all who suffer,
for those in prison, and those who mourn.
Pour out your healing love on our broken world,
and equip us for ministries of healing and wholeness,
evangelism and outreach, peacemaking and reconciliation.
We remember with thanksgiving those who have died,
particularly those saints and sages who bore witness to your light,
opened our hearts to your Word, and helped us to discern your call.
Let our own lives give testimony to your love and grace,
as we seek to share your good news with all the world.
God, in your wisdom …
Loving God,
receive all the prayers of your people, spoken and silent,
and in your infinite wisdom,
use them for the fulfillment of your new creation;
through Jesus Christ, your Word and our way.
Offering
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,
by the mercies of God,
to present yourselves—
heart and soul, mind and strength—
as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual worship.
Pursue love, and strive for the spiritual gifts.
Strive to excel in them for building up the church.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
God of priests and prophets, of disciples and apostles,
we give thanks that, in this and every generation,
you call women and men to service and leadership in your name.
Continue to choose and to call us,
to support and sustain us,
so that we may bring challenge and comfort your people
and give honor and glory to your name
for generations to come;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
and in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Charge to the People
Go out into the world in peace.
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind;
and love your neighbor as yourself.
Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your minds,
so that you may discern what is the will of God—
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Hymns Related to Education and Ministry
Called as Partners in Christ’s
Service (PH 343)
Help Us Accept Each Other (PH 358)
Take My Life, and Let it Be (PH 391)
Take Thou Our Minds, Dear Lord (PH 392)
How Clear is Our Vocation, Lord (PH 419)
God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending (PH 422)
Lord, You Give the Great Commission (PH 429)
We Are Your People (PH 436)
Blessed Jesus, at Your Word (PH 454)
Earth and All Stars (PH 458)
Here I Am, Lord (PH 525)
Praise the Source of Faith and Learning (STF 2004)
At the Font We Start Our Journey (STF 2114)
The Summons (STF 2130)
Together We Serve (STF 2175)
The Spirit Sends Us Forth to Serve (2241)
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