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I Trust You, Lord
A Liturgy of Trust
From the Gospel of Matthew
By
Bob Schaefer
THE INVOCATION
P: The grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.
C: And also with you.
THE ANNOUNCEMENTS
A RESPONSIVE READING
P: We come before the Lord troubled with doubt.
C: The questions of the day press heavily on our hearts.
P: In our minds we are preoccupied with our personal struggles.
C: And with the trials that assail our brothers and sisters throughout this
world.
P: In our own lives we search for meaning.
C: Meaning to give us direction.
P: Let us call upon the Lord in the midst of our uncertainty.
C: We will trust in his guidance.
P: Surely he will show us the way.
C: And he will lead us, hand in hand.
HYMN: I WAS THERE TO HEAR YOUR
BORNING CRY (John Ylvisaker)
A MOMENT OF CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
P: This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be
glad in it,
C: But it is hard to be glad sometimes, and there are times when doubt and
insecurity would overwhelm us.
P: Do you not know that a sparrow falls from his nest, nor a single hair from
your head, but that your God knows?
C: We know, and we confess our lack of trust before the Lord. Forgive us, Lord
God.
P: Indeed, Holy One of Israel, we have sinned against you by our lack of faith,
and in so many other ways this day. We open our hearts to you, and confess
our sins before you now.
(a moment of silent confession)
Our Father in Heaven has a plan for us, a great plan to prosper us, and not
to harm us. A plan to prosper us, and never to harm us. A plan that should
make us shout for joy with loud hope, and celebrate the future he has in store
for us, a future he gives to all his children in the forgiveness of sins. By
his authority I declare to you that forgiveness and proclaim that plan, through
Jesus Christ.
C: Amen.
THE FIRST LESSON: MATTHEW 1:18-21
P: Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way.When his
mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she
was found
to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
C: Her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to
public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.
P: But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the LORD appeared
to him in a dream and said,
C: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the
child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you
are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
HYMN: COME, LORD JESUS, verses 1 and 2 (Jim Strathdee)
THE SECOND LESSON: MATTHEW 2:9-12
P: When [the wise men] had heard the king, they set out; and
there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising,
until
it stopped over the place where the child was. And when they saw that
the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering
the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt
down and paid him homage. Then, opening their chests, they offered
him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned
in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country
by another road.
HYMN: COME, LORD JESUS, verse 3
THE GOSPEL: MATTHEW 2:13-15, 19-21
P: Now after [the wise men] had left, an angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
P&C: "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain
there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to
destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night,
and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was
to fulfill what had been spoken by the LORD through the prophet, "Out
of Egypt I have called my son."
P: When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in
a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said,
P&C: "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel,
for those who were seeking the child's life are dead." Then Joseph got
up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
HYMN: THE LORD IS MY DEFENSE (Kathie Duncan)
THE MESSAGE1
THE STATEMENT OF FAITH
P&C: We believe in God, our Creator and Sustainer. It is he who
made us, with a plan for our every day. He is the Composer and Conductor
of our lives,
writing each line with passionate inspiration and cuing in each trumpet fanfare
and lonely oboe solo at its proper time. Though the beat and the melody of
our lives is not always clear to us, we trust that in the fullness of time
he will bring his composition, his masterwork to a thrilling and brilliant
resolution.
We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High, who is the bridge to
God's glorious coda in our lives. We affirm his death on the tree so that we
may one day be with him in Heaven. His death paid the price, blazed the trail,
and still is the only way today.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who is the music of our lives, for the resurrection
of the dead, and make a wonderful, joyous noise to him on that day, and every
day till then. Amen.
THE BENEDICTION
P: And now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face to shine
upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord look on you with favor, and
keep you in his peace, now and forever.
C: Amen.
HYMN: I TRUST YOU, LORD (John Ylvisaker)
THE DISMISSAL
P: Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God!
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1The message should relate to God's direction and guidance as illustrated in
the scriptural passages. The Lord calmed Joseph in the midst of his pain and
confusion at his wife's seeming betrayal of him, and revealed to him part of
the wondrous plan God had in store for Joseph and his family. God guided the
Wise Men to Jesus, and warned them of Herod's malicious intentions. And he
again warned Joseph of the imminent danger, and led him and his family safely
away from it. Even as God guided these people, taking them in times of joy
and elation as well as in despair and depression, so he will take us, too,
and lead us despite our doubts, and despite our fears.
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