Sunday, September 7, 2025
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 14:25-33 | "Estimate the Cost"

Call to Worship (Inspired by Jeremiah 18 and Psalm 139)
One: 	We come into your house, Divine Potter. We are your clay. 
Many:	We praise you, O God. Wonderful are your works. Mold us again!
One: 	We bring our burdens and concerns, our hopes and dreams, our doubts and our delights.
Many:	We praise you, O God. Wonderful are your works. Hold us in your sure and righteous hand!
One: 	We seek your wisdom. Reveal your direction and our path. 
Many:	We praise you, O God. Wonderful are your works. Rebuild and replant us! 

Invocation
Sovereign God, you are the Potter who has fashioned us into being as a community. Dwell in our midst. Share your wisdom and open every point of receptivity within us. You are holy, gracious, and kind. As we gather, we recommit to accept the joys and the costs of discipleship. May you be glorified in our worship, and may we be transformed as we encounter you and your way anew this day. Amen.

Prayer for Transformation and New Life
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. We pray in the assurance that your mercy, O God, is available and near to us. And, we also pray in hope that your mercy will release us from inaction, apathy, and overwhelm so that we may be your instruments of redemption, reparation, and restoration in the world. Forgive us, perhaps most of all, for simply seeking your mercy for the ills of the world rather than your miraculous power to rise in us to overcome them. Grant us grace to pray boldly with our words and our actions in your name.

Words of Grace
Beloved, God's mercy is available and so is God's power at work in us. We do receive the grace of the Potter to be used to break down what needs to be deconstructed and reconstructed and to support what needs repair and restoration. A new world that reflects the realm of God is possible through us.

Invitation to Generosity
Discipleship importantly includes sharing of our financial resources in support of the ministry of the gospel. Let us share materially in meeting the obligations of this church community. 

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Dedication
Generous God, receive our offerings and magnify them to propel the ministry of this church. May the community and the world benefit from our generous giving. In gratitude, we pray with our contributions. Amen.

Benediction 
Go, ready and committed 
To accept the cost and joy of discipleship,
To be servants in the service of the whole human family
To proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil
To be the church in the world

Estimate the Cost: Service Prayers for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost was written by the Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology for the United Church of Christ.