SOWING SEEDS OF HOPE

SERVICE OF THE WORD

Opening Hymn LBW #527: All Creatures of Our God and King

P: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

P: We have gathered from across the land to celebrate the hope we have in Christ Jesus our Savior; to hear the Word and be nourished at his table; to learn from one another and to receive God's comfort and healing.

These are hard times for many people and yet God speaks to us a word of hope; hope for us all, for all people and for the world.

P: The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.

C: Hear us, God of Hope.

P: We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

C: Hear us, God of Hope.

P: We wait eagerly for our adoption as children.

C: For in this hope we are saved.

P: If God is for us, who can be against us?

C: God did not even spare his own son, but gives us all things.

P: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

C: Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or drought or flood or storms?

P: No. In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

C: In Christ we have hope and new life. Amen.

Hymn LBW #269: Awake My Soul, and with the Sun

Prayer of the Day

L: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

L: Let us pray:

Holy, mighty creator God, you reached into the depths of chaos and flung out the stars and planets. Working in the dirt and clay, you formed man and woman in your own image. You gave the stewardship and care of the wondrous earth and all it contains into the hands of humanity. When we failed, out of great love, you took your son and gave him to the world that all people may know Christ. Out of death, you have brought forth new life. Sow your seeds of hope deep in our hearts that we may be sent forth as witnesses in Jesus Christ to the power of your promise of new life.

C: Amen.

A Reading from the Old Testament: Jeremiah 31:7-14

(Silence for meditation)

Psalm 65 (Spoken responsively)

(stand)

A Reading from the Gospel: John 6:25-40

(sit)

Sermon

Hymn of the Day: LBW #235: My Life Flows On

The Nicene Creed (LBW p. 84)

Confession and Absolution

L: The almighty God, creator and sustainer of the universe and all who dwell within it, has called us to this place to be strengthened for service in our stewardship of the land. Recognizing our shortcomings and our failures, we come to God for forgiveness.

L: All too often, we have forgotten that this world belongs not to us but to God. For demanding cheap food, for the lack of support for those on the land and our lack of interest beyond ourselves,

C: Forgive us, Lord.

L: For times when out of ignorance or other concerns, we have used and abused the land and erosion has swept the good soil away,

C: Forgive us, Lord.

L: For soil that is burnt out by chemicals and overuse, for land that is now desert because of unwise irrigation, for the loss of needed ground cover in our search for more land,

C: Forgive us, Lord.

L: For our refusal to see the connections between our everyday life and the starvation of millions and for acceptance of hopelessness and lack of faith in you,

C: Forgive us, Lord.

L: For our waste of your precious gift of water, for the pollution and destruction of water, for allowing people to die for lack of clean water,

C: Forgive us, Lord.

For all our sins, those against you, O Lord, those against our neighbors, and those against the land,

C: Forgive us, Lord.

L: For the things we have not done and tasks not well done; our impatience towards you and the people around us; difficult and strained relationships with others; and our lack of faith, hope and trust in your grace and power,

C: Forgive us, Lord.

L: By the power of the Holy Spirit, wash us clean in your baptismal waters and grant us salvation.

C: Amen.

The Peace

L: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C: And also with you.

(Share a sign of Christ's peace with one another.)

Offering

Offertory WOV #732 Create in Me a Clean Heart

Prayers for the People of God

L: Let us pray for the people of God and for all those in need of God's help and comfort.

Holy and mighty God, you sent your Holy Spirit blowing across the dark waters of chaos and brought forth light, dry land and life. We pray for the care and preservation of your creation. Creator God:

C: Strengthen us for service.

L: You call us to be stewards of the earth and all it contains, and yet forests shrink, deserts grow and people die for lack of clean water and food. People who care for the land are not honored and we grow weary of seeking justice and healing. Creator God:

C: Strengthen us for service.

L: Many peoples have been brought to this land. We do not treat one another as we ought; fear and hatred divide us; we listen to myths and lies and not to one another. Give us the freedom of the Gospel and teach us to live as your children. Creator God:

C: Strengthen us for service.

L: We pray for those whose lives have suffered through storms of snow, ice, wind, rain; for those affected by drought and floods; for uncounted livestock lost, crops ruined, and fields unplanted; and for those whose lives depend on the soil. Creator God:

C: Comfort your people

(Other petitions may be added)

L: We put these needs and all others into your hand, O God, trusting in your grace and mercy; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

C: Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Benediction

L: Like a rock C: God is under our feet.

L: Like a roof C: God is over our heads.

L: Like the horizon C: God is beyond us.

L: Like water in a pitcher;

C: God is within us and in the pouring out of us.

L: Like a pebble in the sea,

C: We are in God.

L: God hold you fast, bless you for service, and strengthen your witness.

C: Amen.

Hymn WOV #781 My Life Flows On in Endless Song

Litany for Times of Drought

L: Let us pray to God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it.

C: We come to God in faith and ask for help: for the land and all that grows on it, for the animals of the field, and for ourselves.

L: Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.

C: The land around us is cracked; even the grass is sparse and brown. The wind blows dust like death and even our faith feels dry and brittle.

L: The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.

C: We wait for rain that doesn't come, for crops that do not grow and piles of bills that mount. It feels like all we can do is watch our future burn in the sun.

L: God gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.

C: How long must we wait? We pray for those who are tired and spent.

L: Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

C: We come again to hear the promise.

L: For the Lord will comfort Zion; God will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord.

C: We come again to hear the Word.

L: For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, shall my word be.

C: We ask forgiveness for the water we have wasted and abused; for using creation as our possession; and for our lack of care for those in need.

L: The Lord says, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off; do not fear for I am with you."

C: Help us to reach out beyond our need to forgive those around us; to be compassionate and generous.

L: When the poor and needy seek water and there is none, I will answer them and not forsake them.

L: Hear this promise:

The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.

C: Lord, give us this water.

L: Jesus said, "Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." Through the Spirit, you receive this gift of faith to life everlasting.

C: Thanks be to God.