Washington, DC Christian Reformed Church presented a twelve-part fall worship series titled “Rooted and Established in Love.” Using a tree as a metaphor, the series led the congregation through the journey of God’s creation, the brokenness of humanity, redemption in Christ, and the call to mission. What follows are highlights of six services that can be used as is, shortened, or expanded to include one or more of the other weeks listed below.
Reformed Worship chose to publish this series because of its clear connection to faith practices, our focus for this issue. To help strengthen that connection, we have included a faith practice note for each service. We hope the notes will help inform the message, but they can also be adapted for bulletin notes, to prompt reflection time following the sermon, or for individuals, households, or small groups to discuss together.
Series Outline
Week 1: Genesis 2:4–25, “The Living Tree” (Formation)
Week 2: Genesis 3, “The Dying Tree” (Forgiveness and Grace)
Week 3: Exodus 3, “The Calling Tree” (Obedience and Discipleship)
Week 4: Judges 4, “The Justice Tree” (Community, Unity and Solidarity), World Communion Sunday
Week 5: Isaiah 55, “The Witness Tree” (Witness/Evangelism)
Week 6: Luke 13:1–9, 18–21, “The Patient Trees” (Patience)
Week 7: Luke 23:26–49, “The Saving Tree” (Sacrifice and Storytelling)
Week 8: Hebrews 11, “The Family Tree” (Spiritual friendship/Mentoring), All Saints / Reformation Sunday
Week 9: Psalm 1, “The Giving Tree” (Generosity)
Week 10: Galatians 5:16–26, “The Fruitful Tree” (Rule of Life)
Week 11: John 15, “The Abiding Tree” (Rootedness)
Week 12: Revelation 22:1–6, “The Healing Tree” (Hope), Christ the King Sunday
Visuals
Two artists from our congregation helped us envision ways to integrate visual components into this series. One taught a painting class during church school and used the tree theme to inspire students’ pieces. We hung the paintings on one wall of the sanctuary.
The other artist created a piece based on photographs of her “family tree.” This piece was also hung in the sanctuary, and the artist shared its story with us on All Saints / “Family Tree” Sunday.
The front of the sanctuary during this series featured greenery. a basket of leaves, and a thematic banner in addition to the usual liturgical furnishings.
Also appropriate would be an adaptation of the ideas for projection described in the sidebar to “Worshiping with the Psalms” that features an image of a tree (RW 120:10).
Week One: The Living Tree
Scripture: Genesis 2:4-25
Faith Practice: Formation
What does it mean that God breathed life into humanity and formed us? What does it mean to grow in the Lord, to be alive in God? How does that connect with our call to care for creation and to be creative, growing, and living children of God?
Call to Worship: Psalm 8
[Consider a dramatic reading of Psalm 8 involving intergenerational members of the congregation.]
Call to Confession
[Consider adapting paragraph 10 of Our World Belongs to God.]
Prayer of Confession
Creator God, we thank you for the beauty of your creation and for giving us the privilege of caring for it. We turn to you in prayer as the Maker, Creator, Author of all, acknowledging not only your sovereignty and lordship over all, but also praising you for your creativity, your providence, and your ongoing sustaining work in the creation.
God, you saw the mountain ranges, outlining the peaks and the valleys and dusting them with snow, before they came into existence. You imagined the bright colors of the fish in the ocean before the waters teemed with life. You knew the composition of a single human cell, the intricacies and delicate balance of our bodies before they were formed from the dust.
You knew each and every one of us long before we were conceived. You knew our thoughts and our actions, and you had a vision for how our lives would flourish and grow. We praise you as the one who is Lord over the big and the small, the vast expanses and the miniscule particles, the big picture and the daily details.
We confess that so often we lose sight of the myriad ways you created and continue to create: through scientific advancement, through minds enabled to think and reason, through ways to cultivate farmland to feed both human and animal, through the gifted minds and hands of those who have the ability to teach young and old alike. For the times we forget that your hand is at work in all these things, continuing your good work of creating, forgive us, Lord.
For the times we waste, destroy, or apathetically let go, we ask for forgiveness. You created all things and then pronounced them good. You created us from the dust, yet in your own image—your image that is beautiful and perfect and good. You desire flourishing for creation and for all humankind—but how often we fail, underestimating your plans. Instead of flourishing, we hide, we feel unworthy, we do not feel equipped enough or loved enough to do what you are calling us to do. Forgive us, Creator God.
We pray that in your creation and in our lives as those made in your image we would flourish and grow in the grace and knowledge of you, our Lord and Savior. May your Holy Spirit fill us so that we might serve you with our whole heart, mind and strength. May we with all creation submit to you as Lord of all.
—Kathryn Roelofs
Song: “Have Thine Own Way, Lord!” Pollard
Assurance of Pardon: Isaiah 51:1–3
Choral Anthem" “Grow Me, Lord” Schram
Children’s Message
[One of our members grew an avocado pit (tinyurl.com/8crc6dac) and brought pits for kids to grow during the series so they could watch the avocado put down roots.]
Week Two: The Dying Tree
Scripture: Genesis 3
Faith Practice: Forgiveness and Grace
What does it mean to live forgiven? How might that reality shape our living and our relationships with one another?
Call to Worship
On this Lord’s day, we, as beloved and chosen people of God,
are graciously called into this place for worship.
Christ, who is our Redeemer, our Savior, healer, and giver of life,
beckons our community of faith to come together
and lift our individual and corporate voices to our Lord.
It is by God’s gracious invitation that we are called to worship.
So, people of God,
we are invited to come to worship not because we ought to,
but because we may;
we come and worship not because we are righteous,
but because we acknowledge our own sinfulness;
we come and worship not because we are strong,
but because we are weak and in need of God’s grace;
we come and worship not because we are whole,
but because we are broken and long for Christ’s restoration.
—Kathryn Roelofs
Choral Anthem: “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree” Helvey
Prayer of Confession
Refrain: “Your Mercy Flows” Sutton (refrain only, repeating as indicated)
Hear our cry, O Lord, for we are a broken people desperately in need of your grace and mercy. We are a broken people whose sins overwhelm us like a flood—some sins blatant, and some so secret we dare not think about them or acknowledge them before you. Hear our cry, O Lord. Hear our silent prayers, our silent longings, our silent confessions before you, laying bare our guilt and sin.
We confess our personal sins, the ones we try so hard to hide from others but which are so known to you. We confess all the things that stand as a barrier between us and your gracious desire for our lives. Hear our prayers.
Refrain
We confess systemic sins, the troubles and the sufferings in this world that seem so vast and oftentimes so far removed from our daily lives. But we are guilty before you for the sins of this world. Hear our prayers.
Refrain
We confess the sins committed against us and our response to those sins. We lament the brokenness we share with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Hear our prayers.
Refrain
We call out to you as those who are broken by our own inability to fix our own problems and by our ever-present propensity to make a mess of the beautiful world you have so graciously given us. Take these broken pieces of our lives and our souls and restore them with your mercy.
—Kathryn Roelofs
Sermon Response
[During the sermon, Pastor Meg Jenista Kuykendall held up a large terra-cotta pot. She talked about how the previous Sunday was all about human flourishing in the garden and God’s good creation. Then she held the pot over her head and smashed it to the floor. This week was about brokenness and sin, and the destruction was a stunning visual and auditory representation of that. We “pre-broke” several other large pots and handed out rough-edged pieces of the terra-cotta for people to hold and feel during the sermon. During the response time after the sermon, people brought their pieces forward and placed them in a basket. The author reflected on this moment in the blog: “Broken Pieces, Henry, and the Holy Spirit”
The following Sunday, we had a repaired pot in front of the sanctuary, where it stayed for the rest of the series. We had very carefully broken a pot so the pieces could be glued back together. We tried kintsugi, the Japanese technique of using gold or silver resin both to repair and to highlight the cracks, but the substance didn’t stick well to terra-cotta.
See “From Brokenness to Beauty: The Parable of the Clay Pots” for another possibility.]
Song: “Amazing Grace” Newton
Assurance of Pardon: Psalm 103:8–14 followed by verses 1–4
Song: “And Can It Be” Wesley
Parting Blessing
Song: “To God Be the Glory” Crouch
Week 3: The Calling Tree
Scripture: Exodus 3
Faith Practice: Obedience and Discipleship
Call to Worship
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
—Exodus 3:1–5
Prayer of Confession
Almighty God, so often we, like Moses, fear what it means to be called by you. So many times we look at the risks, we look at our own inadequacies for the task, we look around and see so many other people who are better equipped to serve you, and we shy away or close our ears to hear your call. We ask, “Who am I to be used by you?” But God, you say to us again and again, “I will be with you.” You, God, will be with us because you are almighty, you are everlasting, and you are always faithful. Your grace is enough. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: “Your Grace Is Enough” Maher, LUYH 698
Guide to Grateful Living
Joining the mission of God,
the church is sent
with the gospel of the kingdom
to call everyone to know and follow Christ
and to proclaim to all
the assurance that in the name of Jesus
there is forgiveness of sin
and new life for all who repent and believe.
The Spirit calls all members
to embrace God’s mission
in their neighborhoods
and in the world:
To feed the hungry,
bring water to the thirsty,
welcome the stranger,
clothe the naked,
care for the sick,
and free the prisoner.
We repent of leaving this work to a few,
for this mission is central to our being.
—Our World Belongs to God, section 41
Parting Blessing: Hebrews 13:20–21
Song: “Thuma mina / Send Me, Lord” South African
Week 4: The Justice Tree (World Communion Sunday)
Scripture: Judges 4
Faith Practice: Community, Unity, and Solidarity
What does it mean to be united in Christ with people around the world whom you’ve never met? What does it mean to be united in Christ with people in your own community, some of whom you might not agree with? What does it mean to be united in Christ with people of different socioeconomic categories, cultural backgrounds, races, or genders?
Call to Confession
On this World Communion Sunday, we are cognizant that there are many around the world—many of our brothers and sisters in Christ—who are on the margins. They gather around the table to celebrate, but some do so in fear of persecution. Some do so with true physical hunger plaguing their bodies so their “feast at the table of the Lord” is only something that is hoped for and longed for. In our broken world, God gathers us all: the marginalized, the powerful, the weak, the strong, the broken, and those seemingly put together. God gathers us together as God’s one church, as brothers and sisters, which means that when they suffer, we suffer with them. So we turn to the Lord in prayer—for them, for us, for all—asking for forgiveness where it is needed and for grace that can always be found.
—Kathryn Roelofs
We grieve that the church,
which shares one Spirit, one faith, one hope,
and spans all time, place, race, and language,
has become a broken communion in a broken world.
When we struggle
for the truth of the gospel
and for the righteousness God demands,
we pray for wisdom and courage.
When our pride or blindness
hinders the unity of God’s household,
we seek forgiveness.
—Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 40
Let us pray for the world that God so dearly loves.
Let us pray for the troubles and the sufferings of the world.
Prayer of Confession
Sung Prayer: “Pelas dores deste mundo / For the Troubles” Neto
Spoken Prayer: Lord, we pray for your kingdom to come. While we see glimpses of that kingdom that is already before us, we long for the day when your kingdom and your reign will be complete and all will acknowledge your rule and praise your name.
Lord, we pray for your kingdom to come in areas of our world that so desperately need your grace. We pray for all who are on the margins: for those without adequate food and water; for those who have been affected by natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, and flooding.
Lord, we pray for your kingdom to come and your peace to reign in areas of conflict: for the fear of nuclear development in North Korea; for the ever present tensions in the Middle East; for terrorist attacks and constant clashes of power. We pray for all the people who live in the shadow of these conflicts, people whose very lives are destroyed because of them.
Lord, we pray for your kingdom to come to a world so rich in resources, yet so unfairly distributed; for a world so beautiful, yet cared for so poorly, with waste and little care for creation.
Lord, we pray for your kingdom to come to our country: to our government, to our leaders and local officials, to our schools, to our cities and our farmlands.
Lord, we pray for your kingdom to come to our city, a hub of political power where many important decisions are made daily that affect not only the city and the country, but the world; a city that struggles with inequality and poverty, a city that needs you.
Lord, we pray for your kingdom to come to our own lives, with whatever we face: financial struggle, illness, depression, lack of enthusiasm for our work, boredom, major life transitions, parenting, “adulting,” grieving.
For all these things and more, we pray for peace, the blessed peace that comes from seeking justice in your world for all the people you love so dearly.
—Kathryn Roelofs
Sung Prayer: “Pelas dores deste mundo / For the Troubles” Neto
Assurance of Pardon: Poem: “And the Table Will Be Wide,” Jan Richardson (see RW 138:32)
Communion
Week Five: The Witness Tree
Scripture: Isaiah 55
Faith Practice: Witness/Evangelism
Call to Worship: “This Is My Father’s World” Babcock
Our World Belongs to God
As followers of Jesus Christ,
living in this world—
which some seek to control,
and others view with despair—
we declare with joy and trust:
Our world belongs to God!
From the beginning,
through all the crises of our times,
until the kingdom fully comes,
God keeps covenant forever:
Our world belongs to God!
God is King: Let the earth be glad!
Christ is victor: his rule has begun!
The Spirit is at work: creation is renewed!
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Jesus ascended in triumph,
raising our humanity to the heavenly throne.
All authority, glory, and sovereign power
are given to him.
There he hears our prayers
and pleads our cause before the Father.
Blessed are all
who take refuge in him.
Our hope for a new creation is not tied
to what humans can do,
for we believe that one day
every challenge to God’s rule will be crushed.
His kingdom will fully come,
and the Lord will rule.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.
—Our World Belongs to God, sections 1, 2, 27, 55
Song: “Rejoice, the Lord Is King” Wesley
Choral Anthem: “The Trees of the Field / Come to Me” arr. Larson
Week Six: Patient Trees
Scripture: Luke 13:1-9, 18-21
Faith Practice: Patience
Quote for Bulletin or Projection
“Teach me thy patience; still with thee
in closer, dearer company,
in work that keeps faith sweet and strong,
in trust that triumphs over wrong.”
—“O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee,” Gladden, P.D.
Call to Worship
Q. What do you believe when you say,
“I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth”?
A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who out of nothing created heaven and earth
and everything in them,
who still upholds and rules them
by his eternal counsel and providence,
is my God and Father
because of Christ the Son.
I trust God so much that I do not doubt
he will provide
whatever I need
for body and soul,
and will turn to my good
whatever adversity he sends upon me
in this sad world.
God is able to do this because he is almighty God
and desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.
—Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 26
Song of Response with Prayer of Confession: “Kindness” Tomlin
Assurance of Pardon: 2 Peter 3:9
Week Seven: The Saving Tree
Scripture: Luke 23:26-49
It may seem odd to preach the crucifixion in the fall, but every sermon is a proclamation of the gospel, and the crucifixion is central to that story. Indeed, this service was all about telling that story, and it was the turning point in our series.
Faith Practice: Sacrifice, Storytelling, and Testimonies
Do you know your spiritual story? We all have one. We sometimes think that the pinnacle of our testimony is the moment we declared we believed. The reality is that the climax of the story happened about 2,000 years ago, when our God sacrificed himself on a tree. It was that moment that made all salvation moments that followed possible.
Call to Worship: “The Story and the Song”
[We bookended the service with excerpts from The Jesus Storybook Bible read by our oldest member from a rocking chair up front.]
Scripture Reading: John 1:1–5, 14
Song: “The First Place” Westerholm
Greeting from God: Colossians 1:15–19
We Greet Each Other
Song: “Jesus Messiah” Tomlin
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 53:1–6
Song: “What Wondrous Love” Mead
Children’s Message
Offering
Prayer of Confession
Refrain: “Jesus, Remember Me” Taizé
Father of all creation, before the world began, you were there. Before there was time and before there was space, you—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—dwelled in perfect unity, in perfect harmony, in perfect knowledge of all that would be in this world and in the world to come. You called this world into being from nothing, filling the earth with the beautiful, the strange, and the unique, the cosmic and the particle. From the dust of the ground you formed us in your own image. Father of all creation, you knew us, you remembered us, you loved us from the very beginning.
Refrain
God our redeemer, in the garden, through Adam and Eve, sin entered our world. Your desire for human flourishing and delight was marred and destroyed by sin, and that sin continues in us today. We prove each day that we are guilty sinners through our actions, our inaction, our words, our thoughts, our motivations, and our very lives. Forgive us. Have mercy on us. Remember us.
Refrain
Emmanuel, God with us, you did not turn away from a world bent on destruction, but instead you turned toward it in love. You are the long-awaited Messiah, the Word that became flesh and dwelled among us in our brokenness and sin. On that night in Bethlehem, you entered in, you chose the path of love, you remembered us.
Refrain
Jesus, Emmanuel, you came into this world for us. You endured trials and temptations for us. You suffered and cried at the last, “It is finished!” for us. For us you rose to newness of life to prove that death no longer has the final word. For us you were victorious, you were obedient, and you are now crowned Lord of all, and now you stand before the Father interceding for us. In the midst of all these things, you remembered us—from death to life, you remembered us.
Refrain
Holy Spirit, Breath of God, given to us so that through true faith we may share in Christ and all his benefits: you are our comfort, and you promise your presence will be with us through our joys and our sorrows, our fears and our rejoicing. Forgive us for the times we doubt and lose sight of your presence working within us. Forgive us when we ignore your prompting, favoring our own competency and will. Like the wind, you blow through our hearts and our lives, unseen yet ever felt, ever moving, ever changing us, ever challenging us to trust and obey. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, God, you remember us and continue your ongoing work in our lives as we bring forth your kingdom here on earth.
Refrain
We praise you, God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—for the multitude of ways you remember us, from the beginning of time through your life, death, and resurrection. Thanks be to you, O God. Amen.
—Kathryn Roelofs
Responsive Reading
Is it significant that he was “crucified”
instead of dying some other way?
Yes.
By this I am convinced
that he shouldered the curse
which lay on me,
since death by crucifixion was cursed by God.
What further benefit do we receive
from Christ’s sacrifice and death on the cross?
By Christ’s power
our old selves are crucified, put to death, and buried with him,
so that the evil desires of the flesh
may no longer rule us,
but that instead we may offer ourselves
as a sacrifice of gratitude to him.
—Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 39, 43
Scripture Reading: Luke 23:26–49
Message: “The Saving Tree”
Song: “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” Wesley
Reading: “The Story and the Song” (see Call to Worship)
Song: “I Love to Tell the Story” Hankey
Week Eight: The Family Tree (All Saints Sunday)
Scripture: Hebrews 11
Faith Practice: Spiritual Friendship, Mentoring, and Faith Stories
Can you name the people who have impacted you spiritually? Whom do you have in your life who is helping you grow in the faith? Are there individuals whom you mentor, either formally or informally? Each of us needs people to accompany us on the journey of life, and we need to do the same for others. We are all members of the same tree.
[Since this service fell on All Saints Sunday, instead of a traditional service we invited several members of the congregation to share their faith stories around particular themes. You can find those themes interspersed throughout the service. Feel free to adapt the service to fit the stories from your community. Each story was three to five minutes.]
Introduction
[This service began with a short personal story about a tree. You are encouraged to begin by telling your own story in just a few sentences before moving on to the following text.]
...Every tree can tell a similar kind of tale if you look at the etchings in its bark or listen to the whisperings of its leaves. It belongs to generations of people, telling stories from decades of living, climbing, and tending. It might be yours for only a short period of time, but it doesn’t make it any less a part of your story, and you are not any less a part of its story.
This morning we turn our attention to our family tree—not your personal, great-grandparent/parent/sibling kind of family tree, but the broader family tree that is our community of branches rooted in Jesus Christ, ingrafted by our shared unity and faith in him, and called to spread wide our branches to grow God’s kingdom. In our worship this morning we will go back to our roots, remembering and celebrating where we began. We will take time to pray for and tend to the weaker branches of the tree. We will commit ourselves once again to being part of a community of believers, and finally we will gather together to share a meal where life-giving words are spoken, where we are fed, sustained, and nourished by the grace of God and called once again to go and live into the stories of our faith.
On this All Saints Sunday, it is so right and fitting that we celebrate our family tree, one made up of those on earth and in heaven who call this tree their own. These are the ones who cared for this tree, who handed it down to us in faith. And here’s the thing about this family tree: it is not so much a part of our individual story; rather, we have the unique and wonderful privilege for a short time to be a part of its story. Along with all of God’s people on earth, in heaven, and yet to come, we find ourselves in the branches of this tree, lifting our voices in praise to the heavenly realms. It is a tree that holds the whole of God’s beloved ones, from the fruit in Eden to the final springs of eternity in the New Jerusalem. It is the tree that holds the cloud of witnesses described for us in Hebrews 12:1–2: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
So together, we join our voices with saints of all times and all places to sing “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty.”
—Kathryn Roelofs
Song: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” Heber
Gree;ting from God
Song: “O Christ, the Great Foundation” Lew
Choral Anthem: “Psalm 28” Ivory
Scripture Reading: Psalm 46
Song: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” Luther
Declaration of Faith
Here, we worship God as one Church:
The Church Reformed and always Reforming.
Here, the Holy Spirit pours over us:
Reforming us into the Body of Christ.
Here, we return to our roots:
Seeking the beginnings, middles, and ends of our faith.
—Rev. Lucus Levy Keppel 2013 © Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Rev. Keppel is currently serving Trinity Presbyterian Church in Bixby, OK. (From LiturgyLink.net). Used by permission.
Faith Story: “Rooted”
Offering and Offertory Prayer
[We adapted a prayer from a previous issue of Reformed Worship (“I Was Hungry: A Litany of Remembrance and Confession,” RW 75:21). During the prayer we paused for several seconds of silence as facts about poverty in our community, state, nation, and world were projected.]
Faith Story: “Nourished”
Morning Prayer
[Consider using a prayer based on the Beatitudes such as the one found at tinyurl.com/RW-140-Beatitudes-Prayer.]
Responsive Reading
What do you believe concerning “the holy catholic church”?
I believe that the Son of God through his Spirit and Word,
out of the entire human race,
from the beginning of the world to its end,
gathers, protects, and preserves for himself
a community chosen for eternal life and united in true faith.
And of this community I am and always will be a living member.
—Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 54
Faith Story: “Communal”
Song: “Beneath the Cross” Getty (vs. 1, 2)
Prayer of Confession
We stand beneath the cross, confident that God hears our prayers and has already accomplished the great work of redemption for us. But as we look up at the cross and remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we acknowledge the sin and brokenness in our world and in our own lives. Please pray with me.
Life-giving God, Creator of all things good, Redeemer of the cosmos, breath of life for all living things, we praise you for the many ways you are at work in this world. At your word, creation came to life—vast oceans with unfathomable depths, mountain peaks reaching up to the heavens, golden prairies that reach as far as the eye can see, trees of every variety and size providing us with shade, air to breathe, colors to stand in awe of. You, O Lord, have also created us in your image and called us to be good stewards of your creation. You call us to tend the earth, to bring forth your kingdom through our vocations, to be your body here on earth, united with your church in doing your will. We confess that in so many ways we fall short of these mandates. Instead of seeking unity, we seek conflict. Instead of seeking community, we choose to isolate. Instead of seeking peace, we tolerate dysfunction. You do not call us to a life of relying on our own selfish pride and independence; you call us to be your body: joined together, working together, seeking you together. Forgive us when our own actions have a negative impact on your world—creation and people alike. May we and all your children strive to bring you all the honor and glory and praise you deserve, until we as your people are united with each other and all the world in singing an unending hymn of praise to you, our Creator, Redeemer, and Lord. Amen.
—Kathryn Roelofs
Song: “Beneath the Cross” Getty (v. 3)
Assurance of Pardon
Hear these words of assurance from Ephesians 2:19–22: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
We Greet Each Other
Thanks be to God that God forgives our sins and calls us to unity with Christ and all God’s people. In response and in gratitude we greet one another in peace and love.
Song: “Koinonia” McKay
Faith Story: “Whole”
[Annie Kotowicz, the creator of the image at the top of the article, shared the story of the painting.]
Song: “One Bread, One Body” Foley (vs. 2, 3)
Communion Celebration
Week Nine: The Giving Tree
Scripture: Psalm 1
Faith Practice: Generosity
Prayer
Refrain: “Take, O Take Me As I Am” Bell
Creator God, loving Father, Redeemer Son, Holy Spirit, living breath of God:
In the waters of baptism you claimed us and marked us as your own. From before time began you hovered over the waters, you called us by name, and you made known your promises of faithfulness and love. It is in these waters that we find our roots. It is water that is life-giving and nourishing, helping us to grow wide our faith and grow out with our love for the good creation you have put around us. In these waters, we see life. In these waters, we dwell with you just as we are meant to be.
Refrain
But Lord, how often and how quickly the chaos disrupts us, uproots us, holds back nourishment from the fruit we are called to bear. The way of the wicked seems to flourish and we are unable to find ways to resist it. We know from your Word and we know in our heads that the wicked will not prosper, but how hard it is to remember that when our hearts ache, our eyes see the unimaginable, our minds cannot comprehend. We see wicked prospering all over your world, the world you love so dearly. We see it in the marring and destruction of creation, lives lost in natural disasters and epidemics. We see it in the unfair distribution of goods and wealth leading to poverty, hunger, and a lack of dignity for some and wealth for others. We see it in the seemingly neverending conflicts between nations. We see it in abuse—of power, of substances, of other human beings. We see it in our cities, our classrooms, the conference rooms we sit in, and, when we are honest, our own selves. Everywhere around us we see it. And everything inside of us cannot comprehend it. So we sit baffled, stunned, apathetic, and helpless to change the course. So take us as we are, O God. Summon out what we will be.
Refrain
God, where we lack wisdom, where we sit baffled and stunned, apathetic and helpless to change course, you remind us that you entered into this mess we have made of your good world and you whisper reminders from the waters that you will be with us. For you are always at work in us, prompting us and leading us by your Holy Spirit, opening opportunities for us to be righteous in our lives because you were already righteous on our behalf. In your uncommon wisdom, you chose us. You work through us. You love us. You use us to do your work here on earth. Open wide our eyes to see you. Open wide our hands to share and serve. Open wide our mouths to declare your praise. Open wide our imaginations to dream, create, and catch a glimpse of your uncommon wisdom. Open wide our hearts to be used by you. Take us just as we are, O God, and live in us.
Refrain
Call us back to the waters of baptism to again hear your promises—promises that are sure and eternal—and a wisdom that is far beyond our comprehension. Then send us forth, renewed and planted deeply in your streams of water to bear fruit and grow in your grace.
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?’ For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen (Romans 11:33–36).
Response Time—Remembering Your Baptism
Friends, we are baptized people. God has chosen and named us, and we respond with the faith he alone gives. But we respond. We have to do something. We have to get out of the boat if we want to walk on water. We have to live lives worthy of the grace we’ve been given. So let’s together affirm what God makes possible. I’ll ask a series of questions, and you’ll answer all together with a collective “I do!”
[Leader asks a series of questions that resonate with themes that may be present in the sermon. Supplement this list with your own questions.]
Do you trust in God’s gracious promises, signed and sealed to you in your baptism?
Do you believe that God, who always makes the first step toward us in love, has planted you by streams of water and calls you to bear fruit?
Do you turn your back on evil and turn toward God and God’s law as a gracious guide for your life?
Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, as the one who watches over us and continually calls us back to the living waters?
Finally, have you decided, by God’s grace, to choose the path of righteousness, turning away from all the wicked things that lead to destruction?
Song of Response: “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” Anonymous
Parting Blessing
Song: “We Will Extol You, God and King” Scheer (vs. 1, 4)
Week Ten: The Fruitful Tree
Scripture: Galatians 5:16-26
Faith Practice: Rule of Life
What is your “rule of life”—the particular habits, rhythms, and commitments that God has put on your heart? Just 300 years after Christ’s death there were communities that were intentional about how they wanted to live, what their values were, and what habits they needed to put into practice in order to be true to those values. If you haven’t already written a rule of life, the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is a great place to begin your discernment process.
Choral Call to Worship: “I Shall Not Be Moved” arr. Parker
Responsive Reading
God calls us to be like trees, planted by the streams of living waters,
a river that flows eternally with cool, sweet water.
Drink in the Word of God and live joyfully in the light of the Holy One.
We let go of the evil that corrupts, and cling to the good that nourishes us.
Then, when the time is right, the fruit of the Spirit will be with us,
and we praise God for the ripeness of life. Amen!
Prayer of Confession: “Gracious Spirit, Heed Our Pleading” Niwaglia (vs. 1–3)
Galatians 5 calls us to confess our sins: So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.
Gracious Spirit, you desire good: good in the world and good in our lives. You have given us ways to know you and ways to know what your will is for us. But we confess that our wants and our desires cause us to turn away, to choose our own will and our own way. We think it will lead us to where we want to be, but God, we know that your way is the way of life eternal. So we pray for your Holy Spirit to work within us, to guide and lead us, to help us bear fruit, to grow and cultivate in us the way of life. Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Peace of Christ
Assurance of Pardon
Dedication / Guide to Grateful Living
We believe that true faith,
produced in us by the hearing of God’s Word
and by the work of the Holy Spirit,
regenerates us and makes us new creatures,
causing us to live a new life
and freeing us from the slavery of sin.
It is impossible
for this true faith to be unfruitful in a human being,
seeing that we do not speak of an empty faith
but of what Scripture calls
“faith working through love,”
which moves people to do themselves
the works that God has commanded
in the Word.
These works,
proceeding from the good root of faith,
are good and acceptable to God,
since they are all sanctified by God’s grace.
But they do not count toward our justification—
for by faith in Christ we are justified,
even before we do good works.
Otherwise they could not be good,
any more than the fruit of a tree could be good
if the tree is not good in the first place.
So we do good works,
but not for merit—
for what would we merit?
Rather, we are indebted to God for the good works we do,
and not God to us,
since God “is at work in [us], enabling [us] both
to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
—Adapted from Belgic Confession 24
Song: “For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free” Dunstan, LUYH 679
Week Eleven: The Abiding Tree
Scripture: John 15
Faith Practice: Rootedness
Quote for the Bulletin or Projection
“Now how does a branch bear fruit? Not by incessant effort for sunshine and air; not by vain struggles for those vivifying influences which give beauty to the blossom, and verdure to the leaf;—it simply abides in the vine, in silent and undisturbed union; and the fruit and blossoms appear as of spontaneous growth.
“How, then, shall a Christian bear fruit? By efforts and struggles to obtain that which is freely given; by meditations on watchfulness, on prayer, on action, on temptation, and on dangers? No, there must be a full concentration of the thoughts and affections on Christ; a complete surrender of the whole being to him; a constant looking to him for grace.”
—Harriet Beecher Stowe, introduction to Religion As It Should Be, or, The Remarkable Experience and Triumphant Death of Ann Thane Peck, by Christopher C. Dean, 2nd ed. (Boston: Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, 1851), xi.
Week Twelve: The Healing Tree (Christ the King Sunday)
Scripture: Revelation 22:1-6
Faith Practice: Hope
When we know our roots, find ourselves firmly established in God’s story of redemption, and declare Christ as King and Lord of all, then we also know the rest of the story. Wherever we find ourselves, even in the midst of the darkest valley, we can take the long view, knowing that there will be a day when all will be well. We have hope because one day there will be a tree of life once again, “and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2).
Call to Confession
We come before God to confess our lack of trust. We sing “Jesus is Lord” and declare him King of kings over all creation, but too often we act as though he is powerless in the face of the events in our world today. Our broken world and our broken lives are in need of Christ our King. The war-torn countries and poverty-stricken cities are in need of Christ our King. Our groaning planets and our aching hearts are in need of Christ our King. In this silent time of confession, let us acknowledge this need.
Prayer of Confession
Mighty and tender God, voice of the voiceless, power of the powerless, we praise you for your vision of a community of wholeness, a realm of peace in which all hunger and thirst are nourished, in which the stranger is welcomed, the hurting are healed, and the captive is set free. Guide us by your truth and love until we and all your people make manifest your reign of justice and compassion. Open our minds and our imaginations to see and participate in your kingdom already at work in this world, and help us to dream and continue to long for a kingdom yet to come. We pray in the name of your anointed one, our King and our Savior, to whom, with you and the Spirit, be honor, glory, and blessing, this day and forever. Amen.
—Kathryn Roelofs
Assurance
[Consider creating a responsive reading from Our World Belongs to God, paragraphs 1, 2, 27, and 55.]
Song: “Rejoice, the Lord Is King” Wesley (vs. 1, 2, 4)
Sermon Response
[After the sermon we prayed for the “healing of the nations.” People came forward to put leaves on the countries of the world where prayer was needed (see picture below). During this prayer time we sang “Pelas dores deste mundo / For the Troubles” Neto and “Salaam/Peace.” Samir]
