Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Leader: Children of God, you are welcome here. All of who you are—even your regrets and failings— are welcome here.
People: We come to tell the truth about who we are in relationship with God.
Leader: Many of us find it easy to recognize our goodness and difficult to notice our sins.
People: We come to tell the truth about who we are in relationship with God.
Leader: Others of us live under a shroud of guilt and shame, believing we can never be good enough to receive the fullness of God’s love.
People: We come to tell the truth about who we are in relationship with God.
Leader: However you enter this place, know this: you are loved, accepted, and called. May God’s love draw us to honest confession; God’s acceptance assures us of the work of grace in our lives, and God’s call compels us to live in grace.
People: We come to tell the truth about who we are in relationship with God who loves us, accepts us, and calls us. Amen.
Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, May 2024.
Opening Hymn
Come Back Quickly to the Lord UMH 343
Prayer of Confession
Gracious and loving God, open our hearts so that we are able to admit to you the fullness of our lives. We confess that we do not follow Jesus in all that we do. We love with condition. We judge and condemn. We cast the first stone, and keep the logs in our own eyes. We do not turn to You as the source of our healing.
Forgive us, we pray. Forgive our sin, and empower us to be imitators of Christ in love and service. Amen.
Words of Assurance
Leader: Through the power of the Holy Spirit within us, God is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine. So, hear and believe the good news that in Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Passing of the Peace
First Reading:
2 Samuel 11:1-15
Sermon:
Call to Confession by Pastor Kevin Rutledge
Hymn of Response
It's Me, It's Me, O Lord UMH 352
Tithes and Offerings
Offertory Response
Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow UMH 95
Offertory Prayer
Loving God, in this sacred moment of offering, we come before you with humble hearts, recognizing your unwavering mercy and boundless compassion. As we present our gifts, may we also lay bare our shortcomings and seek your forgiveness and guidance. Grant us the courage to confront our humanity and the strength to strive for righteousness in all our endeavors. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer and Lord's Prayer
Closing Hymn
Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service UMH 581
Announcements
Benediction
Said Each Week as A Communal Prayer:
Send to us all the people who feel unwanted and unloved in other places, and if they can't come to us, send us to them.
Postlude