Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Leader: We gather in a world full of voices. Voices that promise meaning, purpose, and life.
People: Yet we come seeking the One who gives true life.
Leader: The God who made heaven and earth is not far from us.
People: In God, we live and move and have our being.
Leader: This God calls us out of confusion and into clarity.
People: We come to worship the One who is known in Jesus Christ.
Opening Hymn
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing UMH 57
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, You have made us for yourself, yet we confess how often we turn elsewhere. We build our lives on things that cannot hold us— on success, on control, on approval, on certainty. We give our hearts to what is familiar, rather than what is faithful.
We confess that when we see a world that feels far from you, we are quick to withdraw, or quick to judge, but slow to listen,and slow to love.
Forgive us for the ways we have settled for lesser things. Forgive us for the times we have remained silent when we were called to bear witness. Forgive us for forgetting that you are already at work in the lives of those around us.
We ask that you hear the silent confessions of our heart as we seek your mercy and a new start.
(Silence is kept)
Restore us, O God. Recenter us in your truth. And lead us again into the life you have made for us. Amen.
Words of Assurance
Leader: The God who created all things is not far from each one of us. In Jesus Christ, God has drawn near, not to condemn, but to restore, not to reject, but to redeem.
People: In Christ, we are forgiven, restored, and made new. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Passing of the Peace
First Reading:
Acts 17:16-31
Sermon:
Engaging Your Athens by Pastor Kevin Rutledge
Hymn of Response
He Reigns
Tithes and Offerings
Offertory Response
Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow UMH 95
Offertory Prayer
Generous God, you are the giver of every good gift and the source of life, breath, and all that we have. Receive these offerings as signs of our gratitude and as acts of trust in your provision. Use them to build bridges where there is division, to bring hope where there is searching, and to make your love known in places that feel far from you.
Shape not only these gifts, but our lives, that we may be people who reflect your grace in every place you send us. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Pastoral Prayer and Lord's Prayer
The Great Thanksgiving
Communion
Announcements
Closing Hymn
Graves Into Gardens
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