Call to Worship Adapted from Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy

 

What does the Lord require of you?
To do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with our God.

 

What does God command of us?
To love God with all our heart,
and all our soul,
and all our mind,
and all our strength,
and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

 

God does not call us to ease or to comfort.
But to presence, and abundance,
and grace in our struggle.
Let us worship the God who believes in us,
and trusts in us, and abides with us.
Let us worship the God who will ask much of us,
but will be beside us every step of the way.

 

Scripture Reading – Matthew 6:28-34

 

 

Song – This is My Father’s World

 

Scripture Readings – Luke 12:48 and Isaiah 58:6-7

 

Luke 12:48

48 From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

 

Isaiah 58:6-7

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

 

Prayer of Confession Adapted form Richard J Einerson.

 

Our gracious, eternal God, we bow to you who are from everlasting to everlasting. We thank you for that seed of uneasiness which you have placed within us which causes us to hunger and thirst for an inner peace which endures. Yet we often wander on life’s journey and fail to find peace. And we know that our lack of peace is due to the many ways in which we misdirect our inner discontent.

 

• We set our sights on money and would figuratively build bigger and better barns.
• We keep our eye upon those who are more successful and we become consumed by envy.
• We carry resentment that someone else has more than we and we rail against life’s unfairness.
• We long for a security which money might bring but fail to see that there is no way money can cure our inner discontent.

 

Bend your ear to us this day. Provide your healing touch and help us to redirect our search for security and peace.
• Help us always to remember that it is you who lend us life and that life is a gift.
• Help us to remember that the purpose of life is always greater than knowing that we have enough for tomorrow.
• Help us to remember that our resources also are only a gift and that we are only caretakers with a responsibility for the well-being of our sisters and brothers.
• Help us to remember that true riches do not lie in abundance but in being rich toward you who alone offer a peace which passes all understanding.

 

O God, we ask that you would transform us and provide us victory over all greed and avarice. Forgive us Jesus, for we need your sustaining love. Amen.

 

Scripture Reading – James 5:1-6

 

Video Sermon

 

Prayer of Petition

 

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Some people, eager for money,
have wandered from the faith
and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

1 Timothy 6:10

Lord God,
Help us not to be driven by greed through seeking money, success and power above you. Teach us to seek your kingdom of justice and compassion and place the love of God and people above money. Amen.

 

Communion

 

 

When our congregation gathered for the sacrament of communion with all the saints from every time and place, we heard again the story of God’s mighty acts and the love shown us in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The holy meal of the Lord’s supper was shared in together.

 

Now we share this word of life, and this bread and cup of blessing, that we may share in these same gifts and be strengthened by the Christian community, even though we gather separately for now.

 

On the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.

 

Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me. For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

 

As you take the simple elements in your home, state, “The body of Christ” and “The Blood of Christ.” Know that God is with you, loves you, and is committed to you. Amen.

 

Song – So Will I (100 Billion X) Hillsong United

 

Benediction Adapted from Christine Longhurst

 

 

Questions for Reflection

 

Do you agree it’s hard to talk about money? What do you think are your own personal barriers to talking about your income and finances?

 

What are some things money symbolizes in your life? Security? Power? Independence? Worth as a human being? If you needed to ask a friend for money, how would that feel, and can this reaction inform you as to the role of money in your life?

 

Do you believe that all your money is actually Gods, and that you are a steward of it? Why or why not? If you do see yourself as a steward, what does that mean for how you allocate your finances? Are you being consistent with your beliefs?

 

If you count yourself among the rich, what steps can you take today to move toward equality with our brothers and sisters who are in need?