Sunday, June 22, 2025
Second Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 8:26-39 | "From the Tombs"

Call to Worship (Inspired by Psalms 42 and 43)
One: 	As a deer longs for flowing streams, so we long for you, O God.
	As the plants turn toward the sun, so we turn to you, O God.
	As the tide ebbs and flows, so we move with you, O God.
Many:  Hope in God! Again, we worship the Holy One, our help and our God.
One: 	When tears are our constant companion, when our souls become weary, when we feel forgotten or alone, we may ask the question, "Where is God?"
Many:  Trust in God! Again, we honor the Present One, our strength and our God.
One: 	Deep calls to deep. The steadfast love of God surrounds us. The Spirit of Truth leads us to everlasting joy.
Many: 	Rejoice in God. Again, we praise the Living One, our source and our God.

Invocation
God in whom we take refuge, we seek you as the calm in the storm, the path in the wilderness, and the order in the chaos. Renew our strength with a vision of your kindom made real and expanding before us. Encourage us with a word of possibility and an encounter with your presence. Enliven us as we pray, sing, laugh, cry, witness, listen, ponder, and imagine in your midst and in our own way. We come to you with our full selves knowing you offer us the fullness of your being. May we find hope and challenge, joy and rest, peace and power as we immerse ourselves in you and glorify your name. Amen.

Prayer  for Transformation and New Life
Holy One, as we experience difficult moments, we so often fail to recognize your abiding presence. We question if you exist or if you are with us when things do not go our way or when it seems that you have not kept promises we've manufactured from our wishes and dreams—and that you've never pledged to keep. Help us to turn to you in trust even when the present troubles us and the future seems bleak. Guide us into a prophetic imagination that realizes that your covenant is everlasting. Sustain us by faith for transformation an new life. Amen.  

Words of Grace
Beloved, the grace of God meets us even when we question, "Where is our God?" God is near, with us, behind us, and before us. Sometimes, the answers we seek come slowly in silence. Sometimes, God charges us to become the solution we need for one another. Whatever and however God replies to our cries, we may be assured that God's peace, justice, and righteousness are central to the response. Receive the gift of new and renewing life in Christ.  
 
Invitation to Generosity
May we honor and worship the Provider of all good and perfect gifts through our acts of generosity, our sharing of resources, and our trust in the abundance of God's creation.

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Dedication
Generous God, through our giving, we acknowledge the role you have delegated to us in meeting our collective needs and allocating our resources of time, talent, and treasure for the good of all. May these offerings nurture ministry, further community engagement, and bring glory to your name. Amen.

Benediction
We depart from this time of worship but let us not leave it behind. 
Let our worship inform your attitudes and dispositions, 
our choices and our actions, 
our words and our witness. 
Let our lives be a living proclamation
of what God has done, is doing, and will do.
Go in the peace of God for the glory of God. Thanks be to God!

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