This series originated at First Christian Reformed Church of Barrie, Ontario, during the final weeks of the church year in 2023. Stephanie VanRooyen collaborated with Katie Roelofs to plan worship. Pastors Moses Kang, Nick Bowling, and Amy Bowling planned and preached the sermon series. Many of the included resources come from the Worship for Workers Project of Fuller Seminary. You can find more resources on work and worship at worshipforworkers.com.
The first two services appear in the print and digital issue; the full series can be found below and at https://tinyurl.com/RW152Series.
The Series
Week 1: Creation and Work, Genesis 1:24–2:3
Week 2: Work and Sin, Genesis 3:1–6
Week 3: Trusting God’s Work, Ephesians 2:8–10
Week 4: Jesus and Work, Mark 6:1–6
Week 5: Work and Firstfruits, Deuteronomy 26:1–13
Week 6: Bringing Work into Worship, Genesis 2:2–3
Week 7: The Gospel at Work, Hebrews 3:15–4:16
Creation and Work
We Gather to Worship
Prelude: “Your Labor Is Not in Vain” Kimbrough et al.
Welcome & Announcements
Gathering Song: “This Is My Father’s World” Babcock, LYUH 21, GtG 370, SSS 17
Call to Worship
Creator God,
For six days you labored in the work of creation,
bringing order to chaos,
speaking light into darkness,
creating rhythms and patterns, times and seasons,
and on the seventh day you rested.
For six days we have been colaborers,
gospel messengers bringing your words of life
to our homes, our schools, and our workplaces.
And now we come to the seventh day.
We carry into worship our experiences of the week.
We bring with us our joys, our frustrations, our laments, and our praise.
We come to worship
just as we are,
longing to connect our work and our week to your ongoing work in our world.
We come to reflect and to repent,
to be refreshed, to be reoriented.
Remind us of who we are;
remind us of whose we are.
Accept now the humble worship we offer
through the perfect work of your Son, Jesus, our Savior and our Lord. Amen.
God’s Greeting
We Greet Each Other with the Peace of Christ
Songs of Praise
“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” Neander, LUYH 575, GtG 35, SSS 453
“Great Are You, Lord” Ingram et al.
[Consider combining these songs by singing stanzas 1–3 of “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” followed by the verse and chorus of “Great Are You, Lord.” Then sing stanza 4 of “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” and end with the bridge and chorus of “Great Are You, Lord.” Repeat the various elements as desired.]
Series Introduction
[Introduce the sermon series using words such as those we provide here. Consider also including the introduction in the bulletin or projecting it at the beginning of worship each week of the series.]
This week we begin a series on work and worship. Think of where you spend the majority of your time during the week—at your job, at school, at home, at your volunteer occupation. This is your work. We are invited to bring our whole selves, including our work, into worship.
We have here five glass bowls. Each represents a different aspect of the work we bring into worship. Today we will illustrate how to use these bowls in the next weeks. Each time you come into worship, you are invited to pick up one or several marbles and say a silent but specific prayer as you drop a marble into each bowl that feels relevant that week. [Consider lifting each bowl as it is described.] One bowl will hold our prayers of praise for or about our work. The second will hold our confessions. The third will hold our laments, the fourth our prayers of offering, and the fifth our petitions and intercessions for our work and those we work with. [If the bowls will be located someplace other than the front of the worship space, include that information in this introduction.]
Work and Worship Altar Call Litany
Children of God,
bring it to the altar and come as you are.
Bring your whole selves, your whole week,
your sorrows and your joys.
Don’t hide that which preoccupies you.
Don’t ignore that which burdens.
Bring your whole self to the altar:
your work and your responsibilities,
your victories and your triumphs.
God desires that you enter here with fullness of heart.
Bring your stories of salvation and sadness.
Come and give them to the Lord.
—Katie Roelofs, Worship for Workers Project, Fuller Seminary © 2024 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Used by permission.
The First Bowl: Trumpets of Praise
[You may want to have five members of the congregation be the “leader” for each of the bowls making sure to include someone who goes to school, someone who works at home, and a retiree to indicate that all of us have work God calls us to do.]
Praiseworthy God,
we want to celebrate what you have done this week,
say thank you,
and bring you our praises.
We bring them to you.
There have been triumphs in our work,
both great and small.
We thank you.
We bring them to you.
[Here the leaders can name specific experiences of work triumphs or blessings, perhaps something experienced communally.]
Lord, accept our prayers of praise.
We bring them to you.
The Second Bowl: Ashes of Repentance
God, this week we forgot you.
We disobeyed.
Please accept our confessions and forgive us.
We bring them to you.
Think back on your week of work and silently repent
for when you failed to do the work
God called you to do
or when you gave less than you should have.
Time of silent repentance
Lord, hear our prayers of repentance.
We bring them to you.
Song of Confession: “O Come to the Altar” Brown et al.
The Third Bowl: Tears of Lament
God, some of us don’t understand
what happened this week.
Please see us in our sadness and anger
and hear our laments.
We bring them to you.
We saw and experienced injustices
in our daily lives.
How long, O Lord?
We bring them to you.
[Here the leaders can name a specific community-wide experience to lament—something in the news or in the church community itself.]
Lord, hear the cries of our hearts.
We bring them to you.
Children’s Message
[To help worshipers expand and deepen their understanding of the offering, spend some time wondering with them during a children’s message using questions like the following:]
- Have you ever had someone do something really nice for you? How did that make you feel? Did you want to do something nice in return?
- So sometimes we do nice things because we are thankful. But sometimes we do something nice for someone just because we love them. Have you ever done something nice for someone because you loved them?
- Did you know that Jesus loved you so much that he died for you? I wonder how we might show Jesus that we are thankful for what he did?
- Did you know that God loved you even before you were born? I wonder how we might show God that we love God too?
- One way God invited God’s people to show they were thankful and loved him was to offer a part of the food they grew to God. Then it would be shared with people who needed it. It’s a lot of work to grow food! Not many of us spend all day growing food like farmers do, but everyone has something they can do, and everyone has something they can give back to God.
- I wonder what things you work hard at making that you can offer to God to say thank you for what God has done and because you love God?
- Let’s take some time to offer our work to God. Some of you brought [name various items] with you today. We are going to say a prayer, and then I’ll invite you to bring your work forward and place it [name designated area].
Liturgy for Children Offering Their Work
[Introduce the following liturgy by telling the children that together you will be saying two things to God and one thing to Jesus. After you speak to God, the children can add, “And we are made to be like you.” After you speak to Jesus, they can say, “And we made it for you!” Consider adding gestures to indicate whose turn it is to speak.
The children’s lines appear below in purple. Project or print the text for those children who can read. The liturgy will be repeated each week they bring their creative offerings.]
God, in the beginning, you created.
And we are made to be like you.
You are generous to give us all that you created.
And we are made to be like you.
Jesus, you welcome the work of our hands.
And we made it for you!
[Invite the children to place their creations in the designated area.]
Let’s continue our prayer.
Creator God,
Bless these gifts and all the work that we,
your children, do.
We offer it to you and thank you.
We ask that you bless our work and bless our hands
that we might continue to do
what you have called us to do.
Amen.
—Susan Goforth, Worship for Workers Project, Fuller Seminary. © 2024 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Used by permission.
Song: “We Are an Offering” Liles, LUYH 874, GtG 710
[After this song, children may return to their seats or go to children’s programming.]
The Fourth Bowl: Fruits of Offering
God, all that we are and all that we have
comes from you.
We offer our gifts to you.
We bring them to you.
Offering Our Gifts
We Hear God’s Word
Prayer for the Light of the Spirit
Scripture: Genesis 1:24–2:3
Sermon: “Creation and Work”
[Suggestions for the sermon can be found at ZeteoSearch.org (tinyurl.com/Creation-Work).]
We Respond in Prayer, Praise, and Service
Song of Response: “Your Labor Is Not in Vain” Kimbrough et al.
The Fifth Bowl: Petition and Intercession
God, we need you.
Please act in our workplaces, schools, and homes;
transform them and us.
We offer to you our prayers of petition
and intercession.
We bring them to you.
Hear our silent prayers for our work
in the week ahead:
Silent prayers
Lord, hear our prayers of petition and intercession.
We bring them to you.
Prayers of the People
Sending Words
[You may adjust the following sending to reflect your context.]
Friends, this is not the end of our worship, but its beginning.
We go now into [city] to continue lives of worship and service
in the marketplace and the storeroom,
in the medical facility and the classroom,
in the quietness of retirement and the hustle of household.
And we go to extend our worship into the world.
We go to extend these songs of grace and mercy to our coworkers and classmates.
We go to extend this table of hospitality to our neighbors and family members.
We go, trusting that God is at work in this world, using us and our gifts for his glory.
We go, equipped with the power and presence of the Spirit,
who goes out before us and lights our path so that we might love and serve.
—Katie Roelofs, Worship for Workers Project, Fuller Seminary. © 2024 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Used by permission.
Creating God, from the beginning you established rhythms of work and rest.
O Lord, bless the work of our hands.
What you made, you blessed and called good.
O Lord, bless the work of our hands.
You created us in your image and gave to us the task of tending creation.
O Lord, bless the work of our hands.
As stewards of all that you have given us,
we are called to service in the world.
O Lord, may our work be faithful.
Remind us, God, that our work is a gift—
in offices or the home, on delivery routes or in classrooms.
O Lord, may our work be faithful.
And in our work, may we discover you working through us
to partner with your kingdom vision.
O Lord, may our work be faithful.
May we rise each day ready to serve in our places of calling.
May your Spirit sustain us as we offer our work.
And may we find rest from our labors at the end of our days.
It is to you, Creator God, we offer this prayer.
Amen.
Sending Song: “Father, Let Your Kingdom Come” Cooper et al.
God’s Blessing
Postlude
Work and Sin
Marbles and Bowls
[As the congregation enters either the church or sanctuary, the bowls from last week should be visible with jars of marbles arranged around them. Members are invited to pick up one or several marbles as they feel led and to pray silently but specifically as they drop marble into each bowl that feels relevant for them that week.]
We Gather to Worship
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
Gathering Song: “Blessed Assurance” Crosby, LUYH 363, GtG 839, SSS 320
Call to Worship
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.
Let us give a loud shout to the Rock who saves us.
Let us come to him and give him thanks.
Let us praise him with music and song.
The Lord is the great God.
He is the greatest King.
He rules over all the gods.
Let us come to him and give him thanks.
Let us praise him with music and song.
He owns the deepest parts of the earth.
The mountain peaks belong to him.
The ocean is his, because he made it.
He formed the dry land with his hands.
Let us come to him and give him thanks.
Let us praise him with music and song.
Come, let us bow down and worship him.
Let us fall on our knees in front of the Lord our Maker.
He is our God. We are the sheep belonging to his flock.
We are the people he takes good care of.
Let us come to him and give him thanks.
Let us praise him with music and song.
—Adapted from Psalm 95 by Lindsey Goetz and Britta Wallbaum, Word & Wonder Creative, Worship for Workers Project, Fuller Seminary © 2024 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Used by permission.
A Welcoming Opening Prayer
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
We gather this morning from all over your city;
we gather from the places you’ve called us to serve.
We come with hearts, minds, and hands that are full, Lord,
full of stories to tell:
stories of praise and thanksgiving,
stories of sadness and confession.
Some of us carry urgent requests for you, Lord;
we need you to move quickly in our lives and our world.
We carry these things before you, Lord,
openly and honestly
as an act of love for you and our neighbor.
May all of our offerings
be a sacrifice of praise to you this day.
Gather our stories into your story,
gather our work into your work,
bring our lives into your life.
For you have called us here, Lord,
you have carried us,
and all these things, to you.
And so we gather, Lord, for worship,
not by our power, but by the power of your Spirit;
not in our name, but in the name of your Son.
May we, today, be a sacrifice of praise to you. Amen.
—Matthew Kaemingk, in Work and Worship: Reconnecting Our Labor and Liturgy, p. 216 © 2020 by Matthew Kaemingk and Cory B. Willson. Published by Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, www.bakerpublishinggroup.com. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
God’s Greeting
We Greet Each Other with the Peace of Christ
Song of Praise: “Our God” Tomlin et al., LUYH 580
Call to Confession
Into the darkness you shine, and out of the ashes we rise. We just declared in song that our God is greater and higher than any other and worthy of all our praise. There are seasons in our daily living when this is evident, and we raise our trumpets of praise. But there are also seasons when we dwell in the ashes of repentance and lament. Using the sung refrain “Lord, have mercy,” we turn to God in prayer.
Prayer of Confession with refrain “Lord, Have Mercy” Merkel, LUYH 639, GtG 551
I invite you to spend a few moments in silence, thinking about your work. For some of you, this is a job or volunteer role. For others, it is caring for children or aging parents or going to school to learn about God’s big world. Think about the work that God sends you to do each day. I invite you in these moments of silence to reflect on where you see brokenness and sin.
Silent Reflection followed by the sung refrain.
Sung refrain
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy on me.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy on me.
Where have you participated in that brokenness and sin?
Silent Reflection followed by the sung refrain.
Where do you long to see God’s kingdom come and God’s will done in your workplace as it is in heaven?
Silent Reflection followed by the sung refrain.
God, our Creator, Jesus, our Redeemer, Spirit, our Breath and Life, we offer up to you our ashes of repentance. Our daily work is hard and sometimes painful. We have moments when we feel despair, boredom, exhaustion, overwhelming stress, and fear. Our interactions with friends and colleagues can be hostile. Our responsibilities threaten to consume us. God, we lament all that is broken in our work and in your world. We confess our own participation in the brokenness. We long for your healing and work of shalom. As we offer these ashes of repentance, please be at work among us today. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Ashes form when something is burned. Scripture tells us that our Creator is at work in this world purifying the created order and us, God’s created beings, with a refiner’s fire. In these ashes of repentance, we can have confidence that God not only meets us and hears our prayers, but is at work in the dust.
As we stand to sing, I invite you to come forward and place a marble in the bowl of ashes. Be reminded once again of God’s love and presence even in the pain of your daily work.
Song: “Beautiful Things” Gungor and Gungor
Children’s Message
[Demonstrate how ashes, a symbol of death, can be made new again when mixed with life-giving water. The “ashes” can be premade by crushing dried reusable black clay; the water should be taken from the baptismal font. Mix the ashes and water (you may want to practice to get the right consistency), then mold the clay into a “tears of lament” bowl. You can let that bowl air-dry and display it at church next week.]
Song: “Spirit of the Living God” Iverson and Baughen, LUYH 749, GtG 288, SSS 555
[After this song, children may return to their seats or go to children’s programming.]
We Hear God’s Word
Prayer for the Light of the Spirit
Scripture: Genesis 3:1–6
Sermon: “Falling into Sin in Work”
[Suggestions for the sermon can be found on ZeteoSearch.org (tinyurl.com/Sin-Work).]
We Respond in Prayer, Praise, and Service
Song of Response: “Your Labor Is Not in Vain” Kimbrough et al.
Prayers of the People
The prophet Isaiah reminds us:
“But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
[Pour water from the baptismal pitcher into the bowl of lament.]
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.’”
—Isaiah 43:1–3
Offering up tears of lament can feel scary. Does God accept and hear our prayers even when we are angry? When we have questions? When we feel hopeless or apathetic? The waters of our baptism remind us that we are held safely and securely in the promises of the God who created us, formed us, and will be with us always. So we offer up these tears of lament that they might be met by the waters of our baptism. Friends, we never offer these prayers to God alone. Please pray with me.
[Continue with a prayer naming the laments and needs that fit your context, asking also for the intercession of God in that which is lamented.]
Offering Our Gifts
Sending Prayer: “This Time Tomorrow”
The prayer we are about to pray invites you to imagine where you will be this time tomorrow and to pray for yourself in that moment. We invite you to pray this prayer not only today, but tomorrow at this time. Look around yourself at this time tomorrow, and, if possible, snap a picture and email it to [church email]. We will compile these photos into a slide show for next Sunday’s worship service to remind us that God is with us in our daily work.
Picture with me
where you will be tomorrow,
what you will be doing,
and whom you will meet.
And pray with me
for the place you will be,
for the work you’ve been given to do,
and for the people you will serve.
Silent prayer
May you find God
there before you,
working alongside you,
blessing those around you.
And go in the name of
the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
—Uli Chi, Worship for Workers Project, Fuller Seminary © 2023 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Used by permission.
Sending Song: “Forth in Your Name, O Lord, I Go” Wesley, PsH 324
God’s Blessing
Postlude
Trusting God’s Work
We Gather to Worship
Prelude
Video: “This Time Tomorrow”
[Consider showing during the prelude or as a separate worship element the “This Time Tomorrow” images the congregation sent last week.]
Welcome & Announcements
Gathering Song: “Your Hand, O God, Has Guided” Plumptre, PsH 509
Call to Worship: Hebrews 12:1–2
God’s Greeting
We Greet Each Other with the Peace of Christ
Song of Praise: “In Christ Alone” Getty and Townend, LUYH 770, SSS 656
Call to Confession
This [Reformation] Sunday, we are reminded once again of our identity in Christ alone, the only source of our redemption and reconciliation. In gratitude and thanksgiving, we live out our calling to be the church: agents of renewal in the world around us—in our schools, our office buildings, our stations, and our homes. When we fall short, we confess our sins and once again find our foundation in Christ alone. Please pray with me.
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, you call us to be your church, your bride and your body here on earth. You call each of us to participate with the gifts and talents you have given us and to be united as we strive to serve you and be used to bring forth your kingdom here on earth. We confess that we hold back because we are busy, because the work seems too great, or because it’s easier to let others do the work. We confess that we leave the work to those who work in churches, in ministry roles, and on the mission field. We fail to see that your work in the world through your church is happening in us. When we care for patients, treat our employees fairly, do a good and honest day of work, and clean up one more spilled cup of milk, you are with us, guiding our hands and minds to work toward shalom. Piece by piece, you are building your church and building your kingdom through us, with us, and in us. Forgive us when we sin. Renew us and send us out once more. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: 1 Peter 2:1–10
1 Peter 2 tells us that Jesus Christ is our cornerstone. As we hear these words, be reminded once again of the faithfulness of the foundation upon which we offer our prayers and our praises and receive forgiveness.
Song of Response: “Cornerstone” Mote et al.
Alternative: “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less” Mote, LUYH 772, GtG 353, SSS 324
Children’s Message
[After the message, children may return to their seats or go to children’s programming.]
We Hear God’s Word
Prayer for the Light of the Spirit
Scripture: Ephesians 2:8–10
Sermon: “Created by Jesus to do Good Works”
[Suggestions for the sermon can be found at ZeteoSearch.org (tinyurl.com/Good-Works).]
We Respond in Prayer, Praise, and Service
Song of Response: “Your Labor Is Not in Vain” Kimbrough et al.
Prayers of the People
Our foundation and cornerstone is God, the one before all things. Thus, it is only in God and the power of the Holy Spirit that the work we do may be established. Our prayer this morning uses language from Psalm 90 to weave together the exultation of God as our foundation and our desire that God would establish the work we do in God’s name. I invite you to pray responsively with me.
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
—Psalm 90:1–2
God, our creator and sustainer, we recognize that in you and through you we have our being. We praise you for the security we have when we rest on you, our foundation and cornerstone. We pray this morning for places and people that may not feel security in their daily lives. [Name specific needs in your community and in the wider world.] Help all who experience insecurity to look to you, the solid rock on which we stand.
A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night. . . .
Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
—Psalm 90:4, 12
God, we look at our lives and see their fragility and the speed at which our days pass. We lift before you today those for whom the fragility of life is a lived reality. [Pray for specific persons in the community with health needs]. Teach all of us that it is in you, in your love for us, that our lives gain meaning. Help us to pattern and organize our time in ways that honor you.
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. . . .
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
—Psalm 90:14, 17
God, when we rise to start each new day this week, remind us of whom we depend on for the breath in our lungs. As we do the work of our daily lives, reveal to us that it is you who establishes and prospers that work to good ends. We pray this morning for those who lack work or who do not experience their work as meaningful and good. We grieve with them in these circumstances and pray that you would bring about change in their lives so that they can rejoice in meaningful labor.
All this and more we pray in the name of Jesus, our foundation and cornerstone. Amen.
—Bethany Besteman © 2024 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Used by permission.
Offering Our Gifts
Sending Prayer of Dedication and Blessing
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us
and prosper for us the work of our hands—
O prosper the work of our hands! (Psalm 90:17, NRSV)
In all the work that we do,
let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us!
In making breakfast, brushing children’s teeth, gathering backpacks,
prosper the work of our hands!
In replying to emails, running errands, reconciling siblings,
prosper the work of our hands!
In listening to the woes and wins of the day, washing laundry, helping with
algebra,
let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us!
Lord of our harvest, whatever our harvest may be, send your blessing upon it
that it may be beautiful in your eyes. And since we have received the good news of Jesus, may all of our work—from sowing to reaping—be rooted and built up in him and established in the faith. In the name of Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we pray to you, the triune God. Amen.
—Katy Kroondyk, Worship for Workers Project, Fuller Seminary © 2023 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Used by permission.
Sending Song: “Before You I Kneel (A Worker’s Prayer)” Getty et al.
God’s Blessing
[End with “May God bless you and the work of your hands.”]
Postlude
Jesus and Work
We Gather to Worship
Prelude
Video: “This Time Tomorrow”
Welcome & Announcements
Gathering song: “I Will Sing of My Redeemer” Bliss, LUYH 568
Call to Worship
God’s Greeting
We Greet Each Other with the Peace of Christ
Song of Praise: “Come, People of the Risen King” Getty and Townend
Prayer of Confession
Assurance of Pardon
Song of response: “Before You I Kneel (A Worker’s Prayer)” Getty et al.
Children’s Message
Song: “Oh, qué bueno es Jesús / Oh, How Good is Christ the Lord” Puerto Rican folk hymn, LUYH 192, SSS 196 PsH 401
[After this song, children may return to their seats or go to children’s programming.]
We Hear God’s Word
Prayer for the Light of the Spirit
Scripture: Mark 6:1–6
Sermon: “Jesus, the Tekton”
[Suggestions for the sermon can be found at ZeteoSearch.org (tinyurl.com/Jesus-Tekton).]
We Respond in Prayer, Praise, and Service
Song of Response: “Your Labor Is Not in Vain” Kimbrough et al.
Prayers of the People
Offering Our Gifts
We Celebrate Communion
We Are Sent Out
Sending Prayer: “This Time Tomorrow”
[Remind the congregation to send in their images of Monday morning and recommend that they pray this prayer at this time tomorrow.]
God, be before me.
Work in and through me.
Bless those around me.
Send me in your name,
Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit.
Establish the work of my hands, O God.
Establish the work of my hands.
Amen.
Sending Song: “Forth in Your Name, O Lord, I Go” Wesley, PsH 324
God’s Blessing
Postlude
Work and Firstfruits
We Gather to Worship
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
Gathering Song: “Open the Eyes of My Heart” Baloche, LUYH 537, GtG 452, SSS 378
Call to Worship
God’s Greeting
We Greet Each Other with the Peace of Christ
Song: “The River” Doerksen et al.
Prayer of Confession
Assurance of Pardon
Children’s Message
Song: “He’s Got the Whole World” Traditional, LUYH 26
[After this song, children may return to their seats or go to children’s programming.]
We Hear God’s Word
Prayer for the Light of the Spirit
Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:1–13
Sermon: “Work and Firstfruits”
[Suggestions for the sermon can be found at ZeteoSearch.org (tinyurl.com/First-Fruits).]
We Respond in Prayer, Praise, and Service
Song of Response: “We Give You But Your Own” How, LUYH 877, GtG 708, SSS 643
Offering Our Gifts
Prayers of the People
[Invite people to come up during the song to offer prayers and place marbles in the bowl of supplication.]
“Jesus, Strong And Kind” Farren et al.
Sending Song: “My Friends, May You Grow in Grace” Meaney and Diamond, LUYH 938
God’s Blessing
Postlude
Bringing Work into Worship
We Gather to Worship
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
God Gathers Us and Invites Us to Sabbath
Call to Worship
God gathers us for worship with an invitation to come with everything we carry in our hearts. Maybe you are tired after a busy week. Maybe you had a fight with a friend, and you are worried about seeing them again at school tomorrow. Maybe you are excited about something that is coming up this week. God wants us to worship this morning bringing all these things to Jesus, who loves us, delights in us, and gathers us with these words:
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?
Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.
I’ll show you how to take a real rest.
Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it.
Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.
—Matthew 11:28–29 (The Message)
As we gather for worship, I invite you to a few moments of silence to meditate on these words. What do you bring in your hearts to worship? Hear Jesus’ words: “Come to me.” In the silence, Lord, hear our prayer.
Time of silence
Call to Gather
Children of God,
bring it to the altar and come as you are.
Bring your whole selves, your whole week,
your sorrows and your joys.
Don’t hide that which preoccupies you.
Don’t ignore that which burdens.
Bring your whole self to the altar:
your work and your responsibilities,
your victories and your triumphs.
God desires that you enter here with fullness of heart.
Bring your stories of salvation and sadness.
Come and give them to the Lord.
—Katie Roelofs, Worship for Workers Project, Fuller Seminary © 2024 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Used by permission.
Gathering Song: “Jesus, Take All of Me (Just as I Am)” Brown and Elliot
God’s Greeting
We Greet Each Other with the Peace of Christ
Song of Praise: “Everlasting God” Brown and Riley
Prayer of Confession
Our invitation to worship included words from Matthew 11: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). In our series on work and worship, as we talk this morning about Sabbath, it is easy to think of Sabbath as only a time to stop our work and focus on God, as a prohibition of certain activities. But the Sabbath is not just a law. It is a gift, one given to us for our flourishing and for God’s glory. Mindful of this, we confess before God the many ways we have failed to delight in God’s Sabbath. Let us pray.
Gracious and loving God,
The psalms remind us that the law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing our souls. Your statutes are trustworthy, right, radiant, and pure. We confess that so often we think of your law as constricting and mean-spirited. We push back and look for ways to test the limits, thinking that you are a God whose call to obedience is unkind. God, your law is a gift—a perfect gift that has been given to us by the one who loves us and desires that we dwell deeply with him. Your law of Sabbath is a gift. We have been created to delight in you and in all that you have made. We have been created to rest, in our bodies and our souls, and to trust in your design for our humanity. Forgive us when we fail to delight and for when we fail to rest. Gift us once again with reminders of your work in this world and your call for us to colabor with you according to your will. We pray all these things in the name of Jesus, our Lord, amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Delighting in Sabbath is a form of trust. We trust that God’s presence and action in our world continues when we are at rest. We trust that God’s work in us and through us comes from God’s gracious hand and not through anything we have earned on our own. Our God is fully trustworthy, eternal and faithful, forever the same. Our sins are forgiven, and we are met once again with the faithful presence of the God who reminds us: “I will be there.” Let’s join our voices in song.
Song of Response: “Ik zal er zijn / I Will Be There” Maat and Field, selah.nl
Children’s Message
[For this children’s message, consider using a gift box with a lid (and perhaps a bow) to illustrate the idea that Sabbath is a gift. Have the children take turns opening the box. Inside are pieces of paper that say “Sabbath.” Discuss how Sabbath is a gift for everyone.]
Song: “God Is So Good” Traditional, LUYH 777, GtG 658, SSS 461
[After this song, children may return to their seats or go to children’s programming.]
We Hear God’s Word
Prayer for the Light of the Spirit
Scripture: Genesis 2:2–3
Sermon: “Sabbath and Work (Bringing Work into Worship)”
[Suggestions for the sermon can be found on ZeteoSearch.org (tinyurl.com/Sabbath-Work).]
We Respond in Prayer, Praise and Service
Song of response: “Before You I Kneel (A Worker's Prayer)” Getty et al.
Prayers of the People
Offering Our Gifts
Sending: “This Time Tomorrow”
At this time tomorrow, I encourage you to have an intentional Sabbath moment. Set aside time to rest in God’s presence. Take a few deep breaths, observe and give thanks for what around you that is good and beautiful, and pray for what weighs heavy on your heart. Maybe turn this moment into an intentional prayer walk.
Sending Song: “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” Wesley, LUYH 351, GtG 366, SSS 353–54
God Blesses Us and Sends Us Forth as Sabbath People
How we spend our days is ultimately how we spend our lives.
So take your everyday, ordinary life—
your sleeping, eating, making the bed, going-to-school, and walking-around life—
and place it before God as an offering.
May your habits and rituals of daily worship, offered daily to God,
continue to shape you and form you as followers of Christ.
—Adapted from Romans 12:1–2 (The Message)
Postlude
The Gospel at Work
We Gather to Worship
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
Gathering Song: “Crown Him with Many Crowns” Bridge and Thring, LUYH 223, GtG 268, SSS 208
Call to Worship
God’s Greeting
We Greet Each Other with the Peace of Christ
Song of praise: “Mighty to Save” Fielding and Morgan, LUYH 611
[This Sunday was a special Sunday for our church. We witnessed the profession of faith of three members and the baptism of three members. We also installed officebearers. In response to these events, we sang this song:]
Song of Response: “Not in a Hurry” Ketterer and Reagan
Children’s Message
Song: “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” Founds, LUYH 610, SSS 205
[After this song, children may return to their seats or go to children’s programming.]
We Hear God’s Word
Prayer for the Light of the Spirit
Scripture: Hebrews 3:15–4:16
Sermon: “The Gospel at Work”
[Suggestions for the sermon can be found at ZeteoSearch.org (tinyurl.com/Gospel-Work).]
We Respond in Prayer, Praise and Service
Song of Response: “May the Mind of Christ, My Savior” Wilkinson, LUYH 334, SSS 638
Prayers of the People
Offering Our Gifts
Sending Song: “Hear the Call of the Kingdom” Getty and Townend
God’s Blessing
Postlude