Sunday Worship Service
May 9, 2021
We are RECEIVED as the Beloved of God
The actual worship service begins 15 minutes into the recordings.
SONG – Savior Like a Shepherd
WELCOME
OPENING PRAYER
Our heavenly Mama, we come to you this morning recognizing that you are so much more than a mother or a father. God, we confess that you are the one who gave birth to all of creation. You created everything that ever existed from the very beginning to this very moment. Your DNA is implanted in each rock, each tree, each drop of water, in every human heart and all of creation. Mama God, that DNA is a piece of your love that you gave to all things.
This morning as we gather to worship you together, stir in our hearts a deeper understanding that we are one, united by your love and that you will not leave us alone. Mama God, it feels like our world is experiencing significant labor pains. May your uniting love bring us together to hold a candle of trust for one another and for the world, believing that during this time, you are creating and recreating something beautiful. Please show us how to be a part of your ministry. We are your church and we want to let your light shine for all the world to see. We beg of you to help us to see, to help us trust, to help us love and to help us to act in the transformation of your Kingdom.
Amen
SONG – Mothering God, You Gave Me Birth (Faith We Sing # 2050)
CHILDREN’S TIME
SONG – Mother’s Prayer
We are TRANSFORMED by the Word of God
Isaiah 49:15
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
1 Corinthians 14:33b-34
As in all the congregations of the saints, women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says.
GOOD NEWS – Mothering God, Mothering Church
The Bible is full of male-centered languages. And the Church has developed male-supremacy in human history by using the Bible. Was male-supremacy what God intended to give us through the Bible? If yes, what about the human equality and dignity God speaks through the entire Bible? If no, why was the Bible written in the male-centered language? We are going to learn what the Bible has to say about God’s mothering nature and what God wants us to do with it as God’s church.
SONG – They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love (Faith We Sing #2223)
RESPONSE TO GOD’S GRACE (OFFERING)
Pastor: God wants our love more than God wants our offerings; God cares about our hearts not the amounts of our offerings. (Hosea 6:6).
All: As we count all the blessings God has already given to us, we cheerfully give our offerings to God, the Provider, with grateful hearts. Amen! (2 Corinthians 9:7).
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
THE LORD’S PRAYER
GOODBYE MESSAGE AND BLESSINGS
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
We are SENT in the Power of God
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BLESSING AND SENDING
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you, my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.
CLOSING SONG – A Place at the Table (Green book #3149)