Heart-Full Knowledge
Service Prayers for the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 24 (Semicontinuous)

Jeremiah 31:27-34 and Psalm 119:97-104 with
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 and Luke 18:1-8

Call to Worship

One:                Some of us wonder what this faith is all about,

All:                  And come hoping to learn things useful and heart-full.

One:                Some of us are confident in

                         “what we have learned and what we have believed.”

All:                  And come longing to share our heart-full knowledge.

One:                We have all come to learn from each other and from the words of scripture:

All:                  You write your sacred texts, O God,

                        in scripture and on our hearts; 

                        you welcome us into depths of understanding.

Meet us here and lead us deeper into you;

equip us for every good work.

Join our desire to learn

with your willingness to teach us

your ways of justice and joy. 

For this purpose we gather, O Holy One.                Amen.

Invocation

Divine One,

from whom we seek a way to live that honors you,

come and remind us of the law

you have written on our hearts. 

God of our being,

enter us by your Spirit

and show us how sweet Your words are. 

Holy One of our yearning,

bring your comfort and strength to this gathering

that we may all partake of  your wondrous love

and welcome you to our lives.                                                Amen. 

Prayer of Confession

            You offer us covenant and write your word on our hearts. 

Together we are the body of Christ,

and each one of us has the responsibility, the desire, 

to respond to you in word and deed and love.

Yet, although you are beside us, within us, above us, all around us

we still manage to ignore you. 

We are pleased to be in your family,

but when it is time to do chores in your household

we are busy with other things! 

We are satisfied to receive your gifts

but when it comes to passing on your abundance

and saying where we got it

we hesitate. 

We are happy to say an occasional prayer to you who are always with us,

but when it comes to actually spending time with you,

we are already scheduled up!

Help us to be your people as you are our God—always and forever.

Silent confession.....

Assurance of Pardon

The God of Covenant, who names each of us as one of the chosen people,

continues to supply our needs and be our constant companion. 

Though we struggle, in the words of Luke, “to pray always,”

we need not lose heart. 

The Holy One will not abandon:

the Beloved is our grace, the healer of our lives. 

Though we sometimes grow weary, take heart,

for our God is with us always to forgive us and remember our sin no more,

to grant justice and to offer love.

Offering Invitation

Children of the Covenanting God, let us give generously today that God’s work may be made manifest among the peoples.  Please prepare your tithes and offerings.

Dedication

God of our hearts, accept our offering and bless these gifts to your use in the name of Jesus, our Savior and our brother.

Benediction

We leave today, meditating on God’s decree

given in scripture and on our hearts.

Let us find the Holy One day by day in “heart-full” knowledge

as a covenanting God who calls us to keep our part of the bargain. 

Let us go forth certain of the presence of our good God. 

Heart-Full Knowledge: Service Prayers for the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost was written by The Rev. Catherine Rolling, of Portland, OR and Greenville, WV, a United Church of Christ minister and a spiritual director, currently discerning/seeking a call.

Copyright 2010 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. 

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