Sunday, September 22, 2019 – Fourth Sunday of Creation / Bible Adventures Kick-Off

Approach

Gathering Song – “All Praise to God”

Welcome, lighting the candle and announcements

Call to Worship

One: We invite the universe to worship with us.
All:   We invite glittering galaxies high in the sky to radiate the splendour of God’s presence.
One: We call distant domains of space to celebrate with us.
All:   We invite nebula, nova, and black holes to thank God for their fascinating formation.
One: We summon that piece of stardust called Earth,
All:   To pulse with the rhythm of God’s presence and celebrate God’s glory in this planet garden.
One: We invite millions of living species to dance with life,
All:   The turtle, the toad and the elephant, the earthworm, the ant and the dragonfly.
One: We invite every creature in the web of creation
All:   “Come connect” with others in this community called the cosmos.
One: Worship and dance, all of creation, worship and dance!
All:   Let all of God’s creation worship and dance this day and every day.

Opening Hymn – MV #43 “The Play of the Godhead”

Prayer of Approach and Confession

God, our Creator, as we reflect on the mysteries of the cosmos, we celebrate the wondrous design of the universe and the Wisdom that guides its course. Help us to discern how we are connected with living members of the cosmic community. Teach us to sense the presence of the cosmic Christ, whose presence fills and reconciles all forces in creation. We remember and confess that we have striven to discover other worlds, while polluting our own atmosphere and ignoring the needs of others with whom we are closely connected in that part of the web of creation called planet Earth. We are sorry. We have polluted Earth’s atmosphere and cut a hole in the ozone layer. We have turned our greed into global warming. We have ignored our crucial connection with those parts of creation where we live. We love progress more than the planet. We are sorry. Help us to always remember and celebrate Earth as our home, a precious piece in the web of creation. In the name of the Cosmic Christ we pray. Amen.

Words of Assurance

Passing the Peace

Time for All Ages

Hymn – “Wisdom”

The Word

Scripture Reading:

Proverbs 8:22-31
John 6:41-51

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church
Thanks be to God!

Meditation – “Christ and Creation”

Anthem – “The Earth is the Lord’s”

The Response

Offering / Response: “For the Gift of Creation” (VU #538)

For the gift of creation, the gift of your love,
And the gift of the Spirit by which we live,
We thank you and give you the fruit of our hands.
May your grace be proclaimed by the gifts that we give.

Prayers of the People

Closing Hymn – MV #53 “God Who Spread the Boundless Prairie”

Commissioning / Benediction

Response (VU #117)

Holy Spirit, teach us how to read the signs,
How to meet the challenge of our troubled times.
Love us into action, stir us into prayer,
Till we choose God’s life, and find our future there.