Home Church 10th Sunday after Pentecost August 14, 2022 Rev. Karen Hollis

Home Church

10th Sunday after Pentecost

August 14, 2022

Rev. Karen Hollis

Musician: Dorothy Dittrich

We acknowledge these lands upon which we worship are the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey,

you are welcome here!

Preparing the Space Around Us

Welcome if you are gathering on zoom or if you are worshipping at home with the bulletin. We are one community and all part of the body of Christ. I invite you to prepare the space around you so that for the next hour you can be fully in this worship experience, not to keep out the realities of the world, rather to focus us in the midst of it all on God. 

Preparing the Space within Us

Let us prepare now the space within us for a time of worship. I invite you to sit quietly, perhaps with feet on the floor, taking a couple of deep breaths and bring yourself into this moment. Open yourself to the presence of God who is with us and within us . . . as you intentionally open yourself to God, open yourself also to what you need from this time of worship.

Introit: Behold, Behold! (2x through)                                           MV #115

Behold, behold, 

I make all things new, 

beginning with you 

and starting from today. 

Behold, behold, 

I make all things new, 

my promise is true, 

for I am Christ the way.

Gathering                                                                                    BAS, edited

One:  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, 

          and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

All:    And also with you.

Call to Worship

One:  Like a blazing fire,

          may the Holy One bring renewal.

All:    May we partner with everything that kindles justice.

One:  Let the Spirit turn embers of love into a holy blaze.

All:    May courage burn in the hearts of the faithful.

One:  Even through terrains of grief,

          and lands of despair,

          God calls us to us:

All:    Do not be afraid.

One:  What must die will come alive again,

          bearing fruits of peace

          and harvests that nourish.

All:    May the Spirit of this Holy Baptism, Come.

Opening Prayer                                                                             enfleshed

Holy One, through Christ, you have taught us to chase after love. May we not be discouraged by the obstacles we face like walls that barricade, unjust laws that harm, and unspoken barriers that threaten. Make us steadfast, O God, in our pursuit of all that is good - for our friends and neighbors, strangers and enemies. Amen.

Hymn: Come In & Sit Down  v. 1,2,3                                           VU #395

Refrain: Come in come in and sit down,
you are a part of the family.
We are lost and we are found,
and we are a part of the family.

1 You know the reason why you came,
yet no reason can explain,
so share in the laughter and cry in the pain,
for we are a part of the family. R

2 God is with us in this place,
like a mother's warm embrace.
We're all forgiven by God's grace,
for we are a part of the family. R

3 There's life to be shared 
in the bread and the wine, 
we are the branches Christ is the vine. 

This is God's temple, it's not yours or mine, 

but we are a part of the family. R

Prayer of Confession                                                       enfleshed, adapted

God of Justice,

God of Compassion,

God of Sacred and Scandalous ways,

We have so much still to learn.

By your grace, we have come to know love more deeply than once before –

its mess, its complexity, its stubborn and tender truths transform us more each day.

Through fires that refine and valleys of death, you have guided us.

You draw us into the heart of Wisdom,

Saving us from the lies of destruction.

Turning us towards hope that liberates.

But still, O God, we struggle to trust in you.

And so, when we are afraid. Or hurt. Or weary…

We betray the very One who brought us thus far.

Search our hearts, O God, and see if there is any fear within us.

Meet us there with your good news that sets the captives free.

Forgive us from the harm we have done as we seek to harm no more.

Silent prayer of confession

Assurance of Grace 

God’s love and grace is impossible for us to comprehend or understand . . . still it is a gift to us. It is a gift to you. Receive today the extravagance that is God’s grace poured out for you. Thanks be to God!

Peace of Christ 

Please unmute your microphones for the passing of the peace.

One:  Seeing as how we are reconciled with God, let us also be reconciled with one another, through the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding. 

          N-Z:   The Peace of Christ be with you!

          A-M:  And also with you!

First Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7 (JPS)                                         Reader: Angela Nutter

Let me sing for my beloved

A song of my lover about his vineyard

My beloved had a vineyard

On a fruitful hill.

He broke the ground, cleared it of stones,

And planted it with choice vines.

He built a watchtower inside it,

He even hewed a wine press in it; 

For he hoped it would yield grapes.

Instead it yielded wild grapes.

“Now, then,

Dwellers of Jerusalem

And men of Judah,

You be the judges

Between Me and My vineyard:

What more could have been done for My vineyard

What I failed to do in it?

Why, when I hoped it would yield grapes, 

Did it yield wild grapes?

“Now I am going to tell you

What I will do to My vineyard:

I will remove its hedge,

That it may be ravaged;

I will break down its wall,

That it may be trampled.

And I will make it a desolation;

It shall not be pruned or hoed,

And it shall be overgrown with briers and thistles.

And I will command the clouds 

To drop no rain on it.”

For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts

Is the House of Israel,

And the seedlings he lovingly tended

Are the men of Judah.

And He hoped for justice,

But behold, injustice;

For equity,

But behold, iniquity!

Psalm 80 (Christine Robinson)                                                     Reader: Angela Nutter

Hear me, O God, for I am missing you

Restore in me the light of your Presence.

Hear my prayers. Heed the cry of my open heart.

You nourished a seed growing there—

   prepared the ground and planted it.

It grew large enough to fill the whole landscape!

But now—the busy boar has ravaged it

The beasts of doubt have fed on it.

The slings and arrows are outrageous.

Look upon your servant, O God—

  Help me tend and preserve my ravaged heart.

  Let your hand be on me—whom you

     once called to you and made strong.

  Give my faith life again, so I can

Call on your name with a whole heart.

Hear my prayers—heed the cry of my open heart.

Gospel Reading                                                             Reader: Angela Nutter

One:  God be with you.            

All:    And also with you.

One:  The Good News of Jesus Christ according to Luke;

All:    Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 12:49-56 (N.T. Wright, edited) 

       ‘I came to throw fire upon the earth,’ Jesus continued, ‘and I wish it were already alight! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and I am under huge pressure until it’s happened!

       ‘Do you suppose I’ve come to give peace to the earth? No, let me tell you, but rather division. From now on, you see, families will be split down the middle: three against two in a family of five, and two against three, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.

       ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west,’ he said to the crowds, ‘you say at once, “It’s going to rain,” and rain it does. When you see the south wind getting up, you say, “It’s going to be very hot,” and that’s what happens. You impostors! You know how to work out what the earth and the sky are telling you; why can’t you work out what’s going on at this very moment?’

One: This is the Gospel of Christ; 

All:   Praise be to Jesus Christ

Reflection                

Silent Reflection

Hymn: My Soul Cries Out v. 1,2                                                 MV #120

1 My soul cries out with a joyful shout

that the God of my heart is great,

And my spirit sings of the wondrous things

that you bring to the ones who wait.

You fixed your sight on your servant's plight,

and my weakness you did not spurn,

so from east to west shall my name be blest.

Could the world be about to turn?

Refrain: My heart shall sing of the day you bring.

Let the fires of your justice burn.

Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near,

and the world is about to turn!

2 Though I am small, my God, my all,

you work great things in me,

and your mercy will last from the depths of the past

to the end of the age to be.

Your very name puts the proud to shame,

and to those who would for you yearn,

you will show your might, put the strong to flight,

for the world is about to turn. R

Affirmation of Faith 

Let us affirm our faith . . . 

You are the new song.

You are the next beat in my heart.

You are the praise and possibility. 

You are the present and the future.

I believe the Light of the World has come this day. 

I see it now in all days. 

Those gone and those to come aflame in love.

Your love wrapped in human form,

Your love learned in justice and in mercy,

Your love risen over death.

I believe love has come on this day.

I believe love has and will always come.                                             

Prayers of the People                                                                     Rev. Karen Hollis

One:  Source of Life

All:    Hear Our Prayer

Lord’s Prayer (sung)                                                                    VU #959

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours

now and for ever. Amen.

Offering                                                                               enfleshed, adapted

The Holy One never leaves us figure out these lives of ours alone. We need each other. And we depend on the guidance of the Spirit to navigate the inevitable complexities and struggles of this shared life together. In gratitude for a God who meets us in the midst, let us take a moment in silence to acknowledge our gifts and offerings of thanks.

Offering Prayer                                                                              enfleshed

Christ, who births in us new life, we give you thanks. By your love, we have been transformed! We have tasted anew the possibilities of life and received your grace that restores. Bless our offerings of gratitude and make us brave in our discipleship, trusting in the Way only you can lead us. Amen.

Hymn: We Shall Go Out                                                               VU #586 

1 We shall go out with hope of resurrection;

we shall go out, from strength to strength go on;

we shall go out and tell our stories boldly;

tales of a love that will not let us go.

We'll sing our songs of wrongs that can be righted;

we'll dream our dream of hurts that can be healed;

we'll weave a cloth of all the world united

within the vision of new life who sets us free.

2 We'll give a voice to those who have not spoken;

we'll find the words for those whose lips are sealed;

we'll make the tunes for those who sing no longer,

expressive love alive in every heart.

We'll share our joy with those who are still weeping,

raise hymns of strength for hearts that break in grief,

we'll leap and dance the resurrection story

including all in circles of our love.

 

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to God from generation to generation, in the Church and in Christ Jesus, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Blessing                                                                                 Iona Community

If you are with another person, you’re invited to bless each other, taking every other line.

One:  The Creator’s blessing be yours on your road, on your journey,           guiding you, cherishing you.

N-Z:   The Son’s blessing be yours, wine and water, bread and stories,            feeding you, challenging you.

A-M:  The Spirit’s blessing be yours, wind and fire, joy and wisdom,           comforting you, disturbing you.

All:    The Angel’s blessing be yours, on your house, on your  living, guarding you, encouraging you. Let us walk together, a community on a journey, sustained in God’s blessing. Amen!

One:  Let us go now in peace to love and serve the Lord.

All:    Thanks be to God! Alleluia!