Psalm 18:20-30, Ruth 3:8-18, John 13:31-35

Revised Common Lectionary, Semi Continuous
Daily Reading, Nov. 3, 2021

Psalm 18:20-30, Ruth 3:8-18, John 13:31-35

Prayer of Invocation
O Lord our God: Indeed, your ways are perfect.  Ours are less than so, to say the least.  But through our regular prayer time, study time, and other spiritual discipline, we find ourselves drawn to your righteousness.  Yet, without your mercies, we would still be lost and we give you thanks as we prepare now to worship together for your Son Jesus Christ who offered this to us because of His love that He asked us to follow. Amen.

Intercessory Prayer
Son of Man: You have brought glory to God through your death, with which our sins have died.
God: You have brought glory to Jesus by raising Him up to life, with which our lives are raised up anew.
As a response to this glory, you asked us, your followers, to love each other as you have loved us.  To love this way would be to love without regard for ourselves, but to give everything we have for them.  We see from our reading of the Bible that we are to have special regard for those who are marginalized.  We may not always realize it, but there is a need to be especially aware of those who are at a disadvantage.  In a spirit of not wanting to fail to mention a group that someone may be a part of that is sometimes marginalized, we lift up all who for some reason or another are (perhaps at some times and not always), regarded in the minority as compared to the rest of society around them.  We pray for them and ask, Lord God, that you would send your Spirit upon them and give them peace from whatever it is that ails them.  In Jesus Name, we pray His prayer: Our Father… Amen.

Great Thanksgiving
Christ our Lord invites all to his table who love him,
  who earnestly repent of their sin
  and seek to live in peace with one another.
Therefore, let us confess our sin before God and one another.

Let us pray…
Lord Jesus is our Kinsmen-Redeemer:
We pray to you know in the midst of our sins begging for your forgiveness.
We have not always been aware of those on the margins of our society.
We look down upon them with the assumption that their misfortune must be their own fault.
We make the assumption that they are aligned with a marginalized group because of their own choices, or the choices of their ancestors.
We want to believe that if they ‘pull themselves up by their own boot-straps’ they would succeed.
And we fail to offer even a helping hand to let them take the first steps.
For these sins and many others that we silently confess before you…

We pray, asking forgiveness in Jesus’ Name
AMEN

 

Hear the Good News:
Jesus loves you
He died for each of you, yes even you, bringing glory to God’s name because your sins died with Him

God loves you
He raised Jesus up for you, yes even you, to raise you up to new life

In the name of Christ, you are forgiven.
Glory to God. Amen.

We lift our hearts to you, O Lord,
We give you thanks to you, our God because
it is always a good, right, and joyful thing,
  to give thanks to you,
  Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
When we failed to follow your will,
  You set your law for us as an example
  But it was not enough…
  So you sent your prophets,
  But they were ignored…
  And so you told us that One would come
  And He became our Redeemer
Allowing that one day, we will join with
  all of your people on earth and in heaven
  will sing praises to your name and join the unending hymn:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ,
  His entire life mission, as told to us by John the Evangelist,
  Summed up in the New Commandment:
    “Love each other.
    Just as I have loved you,
    you should love each other.
    Your love for one another will prove
    to the world that you are my disciples.”
And that
By His baptism of suffering, death, and resurrection
  you could give birth to your Church,
  deliver us from slavery to sin and death,
  and make with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.
On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread,
gave thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:
"Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
When the supper was over he took the cup,
gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:
"Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,
and on these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,
that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.
By your Spirit make us one with Christ,
one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world,
until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church,
all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father (God), now and for ever.
Amen.

This is the body of Christ broken for you.  Take and eat. AMEN
This is the blood of Christ shed for you.  Take and drink. AMEN. 

Benediction

Hear again these paraphrased words of Psalm 18:
The Lord rewards us for doing right,
He shows integrity to those who have integrity,
He lights a lamp for us to light the darkness
  so we can crush the army that stands against us.

By the power of God through Jesus Christ and the Spirit that lives in you,
  this is possible,

In their holy name.

Amen.