God of Awe and Glory
Service Prayers for Transfiguration Sunday
Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Call to Worship (based on Exodus 24:12-18 and Psalm 99)

One:    Come! Says the Lord. Come up to the Holy Mountain!

Many: We hear you, Holy One, but we are afraid.

What will we find there?

Come! Says the Lord. Come up to the Holy Mountain!

We are assembled in this sanctuary, this holy place.

Let us meet together here,

away from the distractions of the world.

Come! Says the Lord. Come up to the Holy Mountain!

Mighty One, we know you are a lover of justice.

You have established equity.

Our knees, yes even our souls,

quake before you for we have not done what we ought to do.

Come! Says the Lord. Come up to the Holy Mountain!

You have shown yourself to be a forgiving God,

therefore we exalt your name.

Yes, O God, we will come with excitement,

trembling with anticipation, to your holy mountain!

Come! Receive instruction in holiness, righteousness, compassion,

and peace. Come! Regain sight to see the least among you,

those whose rights have been trampled upon.

Come! Let the anointing oil of my Spirit open your ears

to the sounds of weeping and the anguished cries for justice.

Come! says the Lord; receive wisdom and strength.

Open our eyes and our ears and our hearts

to receive your Word.

Anoint us as your priests to those who live on the margins –

the outcasts, the lonely, the ignored.

Anoint us as your holy people.

Come! Says the Lord. Come up to the Holy Mountain!

I am the Sovereign and Holy One. Do not be afraid.

Come! Let us worship God!

Invocation

Holy God, we extol and honor you for who you are.

We praise you for your faithfulness

and for your tender mercies that are renewed every morning.

We exalt you, Sovereign One,

for every blessing of yesterday,

the gift of this day,

and the promises of our tomorrows.

Grant us an enduring faith as we strive against oppression and despair.

Endow us with contagious joy that uplifts the downtrodden

and inspires hope in you.

Increase in us

the faith and courage of the prophets,

the love of Jesus, and

the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

In your majestic name we pray,             Amen.

Confession

God of Mercy and Grace,

you come to us in Jesus of Nazareth

to break down the dividing walls of hostility between us:

Yet we maintain walls that separate and isolate.

You give us the ministry of reconciliation:

Yet we nurse our wounds and withhold mercy and forgiveness.

You invite us to join with Peter, James, and John

on the mountain of Transfiguration:

Yet we deny the wonders you have worked in our own lives.

You ask us to acknowledge and share our wealth:

Yet we refuse to recognize and relieve the poverty around us.

You bless our lives with boundless love:

Yet we fail to witness to that love, and so keep others from knowing you.

Forgive our selfishness, we pray.

Transform us by your Spirit and your Word

into that which pleases you,

the image of Christ.   Amen.

Words of Assurance

Jesus admonished Peter, James, and John

not to tell of what they witnessed on the mountain until he was resurrected.

But we can tell what we have seen and heard of God’s glory!

Here is the good news: Jesus lives! He is raised! We are forgiven!

Go, share the vision! Tell of God’s love! In this God is well pleased!

Call to the Offering

In the same way that Miriam, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel

called on God’s name in their need,

so also do God’s beloved ones call on God today.

May the offerings received today serve as an example of God’s loving response.

Dedication

God of Awe and Glory,

receive these gifts as symbols of our trust in you.

Bless the givers and those who desired to give.

Multiply these offerings and the blessings they represent.

Guide the disbursement of them according to your will.

These things we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Benediction

The time has come to depart this holy place.

Be not afraid.

The Spirit of the Living God

goes ahead of you, with you, guiding you.

May God bless you and keep you

May God’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you

May God look kindly upon you and give you peace.

God of Awe and Glory:  Service Prayers for Transfiguration Sunday was written by the Rev. Renee C. Jackson, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, presently serving as Pastor and Teacher of the First Congregational UCC in Ypsilanti, Michigan, an Open and Affirming congregation where God is still speaking.

Copyright 2011 Local Church Ministries, Congregational Vitality and Discipleship Ministry Team, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH  44115-1100.  Permission granted to reproduce or adapt this material for use in services of worship or church education.  All publishing rights reserved.