September 9, 2007

23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Rally Sunday

Preparation for Worship

Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:27

Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Let this be thy whole endeavor, this thy prayer, this thy desire, that thou mayest be stripped of all selfishness, and with entire simplicity follow Jesus only.

Thomas à Kempis

The strength of one’s virtue should not be measured by your special exertions, but by your habitual acts.    

Blaise Pascal

Christ did not appoint professors, but followers. If Christianity ... is not reduplicated in the life of the person expounding it, then he does not expound Christianity, for Christianity is a message about living and can only be expounded by being realized in men's lives.

Soren Kierkegaard

Our worship this morning focuses on discipleship and the call of Christ to follow him as we rally together for the coming year. The central text for worship this morning is taken from Luke 14, and in these difficult words, Jesus points to the importance of our commitment to follow Jesus no matter the cost of this discipleship. These words are balanced by the words of the Psalmist who in our Call to Worship reminds us of the constancy of God’s grace. We reaffirm this ever present Spirit in the hymn “God is Here!” The Prayer of Confession asserts we too often fail to live intentionally as disciples.

     In response to this Word, we will be participating in a reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant. This liturgy reflects an attempt to recover the centrality of baptism in the life of the church. Baptism is a radical act of commitment in response to the grace of God’s love and forgiveness. While for many of us, this baptism occurred before we can remember (grace comes long before we ever realize it), in this ritual we recommit ourselves to the promises made on our behalf. We are invited to embody this commitment by coming forward to dip our hands in the font and take a stone. This stone will serve as a reminder throughout the week of the promises we make.

     We have added a commissioning of the congregation to highlight how all are called to discipleship – young and old, male and female. You may notice in the words of this liturgy how our ministry is both within the church and out in the world. We conclude by recessing out of the sanctuary into a hurting world singing “Lift High the Cross, the love of Christ proclaim.”