We are gathered today on the occupied territory of the Sana and Tonkawa People who have stewarded this land for generations.
Taizé Worship
Welcome to worship at Treehouse. Tonight we will worship in the style of the Taize Community in France, an ecumenical monastic community committed to peace. This style of worship is quiet and contemplative, with a “grand silence” in the middle for your own prayer, meditation, or reflection. Allow your spirits to settle into the mystery and stillness of this worship. God welcomes you here tonight.
PSALM: Psalm 51:1-10
1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
2Wash me through and through from my wickedness,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3For I know my offenses,
and my sin is ever before me.
4Against you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are justified when you speak and right in your judgment.
5Indeed, I was born steeped in wickedness,
a sinner from my mother’s womb.
6Indeed, you delight in truth deep within me,
and would have me know wisdom deep within.
7Remove my sins with hyssop, and shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be purer than snow.
8Let me hear joy and gladness;
that the body you have broken may rejoice.
9Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my wickedness.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
GOSPEL: Luke 15:1-10
1Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.] 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3So he told them this parable: 4“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. 8“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Grand Silence
You are invited to enter into a time of silence, prayer, and contemplation. If you are unsure how to do this, you might a) try speaking to God as if speaking to a friend; b) quiet your mind by slowly repeat a phrase from one of the songs or readings from tonight; or c) allow your mind to wander back over your day, asking yourself where you felt most full of life and where you felt most drained, then considering how God was present in both of those experiences.
Prayers
Let us implore the Lord our God praying,
“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.”
We pray for leaders of the Church.
May they serve as examples
to those who would come to believe in Christ for eternal life.
May the Church place its hope in you, O God,
and not in human wisdom.
Silence
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
We pray for the leaders of the nations.
May they show mercy and advocate for the rights of the people.
May they, like Moses, seek the greater good rather than their own interests.
Silence
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
We thank you for all you created.
We thank you that your Son Jesus Christ rejoiced in your creation—
telling stories about sheep, praying in the wilderness and walking on the sea.
May we also appreciate the works of your hands.
Silence
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
We pray for the people in our lives.
May we learn to love the stiff-necked, the sinners
and all those in great need of your mercy. Make us instruments of your peace.
Silence
followed by Silence.)
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
We pray for the sick, the anxious and the sorrowful.
Make them hear of joy and gladness,
that broken bodies and broken spirits may rejoice.
Silence
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
We trust to your mercy, O God, all who have died.
May they rest eternally in your peace.
To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, our God,
be honor and glory forever and ever.
Silence
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Sending Prayer
May God create in you a clean heart,
a transformed heart,
a heart that knows and seeks and loves
the justice and mercy of the Lord.
May you accept the gift of salvation –
not your personal possession to be coveted,
but His work, accomplished in the destruction of Sin
on the cross of Jesus Christ.
And may you humble yourself before the Lord,
coming before Him with a broken spirit,
a contrite heart
receiving from His hand
great compassion
and unfailing love.
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