Responses to God’s Word in Scripture and Song
After song: 10,000 Reasons (p. 5)
Response: “Bless the Lord O My Soul”
“Bless the Lord O My Soul” is a prayer of yearning, of hope and of praise. It comes from a deep place within us, an echo of the first blessing you received, when God looked at you before you were even born, and called you, “Beloved.” God loves you. God loves us. May we bless the Lord together. Amen.
After Chancel choir “Lord Listen to Your Children Praying” ( p 6)
Response: A Prayer to the One who Listens
To the God who hears us: we give you thanks for listening to our heart's desires, our pain and sorrow, our hopes and dreams and even our petty grievances. Sometimes we pray it, sing it, shout it out loud and strong. Other times we whisper softly or dare not speak the words. And yet you hear us. You listen. And it makes a difference in us. For in our praying, when we stop to take a breath…or pause to listen… you transform our prayer from help to hope from scarcity to abundance from impossible to possibilities. Dear God, thanks for listening. Help us to listen too. Amen.
After Chancel Choir: Come unto Me (p. 6)
Response Beginning with Beloved A Blessing by Jan Richardson
Beloved.
Is there any other word
needs saying,
any other blessing
could compare
with this name,
this knowing?
Beloved.
Comes like a mercy
to the ear that has never
heard it.
Beloved.
Keep saying it
and though it may
sound strange at first,
watch how it becomes
part of you,
how it becomes you,
as if you never
could have known yourself
anything else,
as if you could ever
have been other
than this:
Beloved.
After Ladies Ensemble “In the Morning, In the Evening” (p.7)
Response: Living as Beloved
Beloved is where we began - and beloved is how God sees us still. Beloved. Full stop. You are God’s beloved. Know that. Believe it. And then… you are free to wonder: how can I respond to such wholehearted overwhelming love and grace? What is God calling me into? As God’s beloved, what is my vocation for this time in my life? As God’s people, what is our calling?
After Chancel Choir: Yet Not I, but through Christ in Me (p 8
Response: Christ Lives in Me.”
Yet not I, but through Christ in me.” When John the Baptist was asked if he was the Savior, he said “no” - and pointed to Jesus. May this be our posture too - let our lives point to Christ. Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, “Let your way be our way. Let your light shine in us. Let your love be reflected in our lives. This is true for us as a church, as the body of Christ. And may we pray this prayer for ourselves as well. Jesus: may you be reflected in my life, our lives, so that it is no longer I who live, it is not about us, but rather, it is all about Christ who lives in me. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.