Treehouse Dinner Church
Welcome to Dinner Church at Treehouse! We are thrilled you are here. Tonight’s worship mirrors a form of worship known by the earliest Christians. If it is new to you, not to worry! We will guide you through everything. Take a moment in prayer to settle yourself and recognize the presence of God already at your table. Then relax and enjoy this night!
Welcome and Explanation of the Night
To long-time Lutherans, Christians from every tradition, and people new to the faith.
We welcome you
To all who have no church home, want to follow Christ, have doubts or do not believe.
We welcome you
To people of every age and size, color and culture, gender identity, sexual orientation, and marital status, ability, disability, and challenge.
We welcome you
To believers, non-believers, questioners, and questioning believers.
This is a place where you are welcome to: celebrate and struggle, rejoice and recover.
AMEN
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of the Sana and Tonkawa peoples. It is also important to acknowledge that we are here today due to the exclusion and erasure of many indigenous people from their native land, including the land on which we stand today. We honor with gratitude the land itself and its original people.
Gathering Prayer
The Lord be with you!
And also with you.
Let us pray…
Opening Song – All Are Welcome
Text: Marty Haugen, b. 1950 Text © 1994 GIA Publications, Inc., 7404 S. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638. www.giamusic.com. 800.442.3358. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Duplication in any form prohibited without permission or valid license from copyright administrator.
The Meal:
Sharing of the Bread
On the night before Jesus was to die, he gathered together with his friends for dinner. And on that night, he took the bread, broke it, and gave it to them saying, “Take and eat, this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
And so tonight, we do the same. We take bread, broken for us, and share it with one another with those sacred words, “The body of Christ given for you.”
Communion Song – Let Us Break Bread Together
Let us break bread together on our knees;
let us break bread together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees,
with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.
Let us drink wine together on our knees;
let us drink wine together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees,
with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.
Let us praise God together on our knees;
let us praise God together on our knees. Refrain
When I fall on my knees,
with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.
Post-Bread Blessing
Be strengthened this night by the presence of Christ made known to you in the bread and in one another. Amen.
Invitation to the Meal
Reading – Luke 15:1-10
1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.] 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 So 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? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 Just 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? 9 And when 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.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Table Discussions
As you share the meal tonight you are invited as you feel comfortable to choose from the discussion prompts below.
*Share about your favorite meal.
*Share about your favorite people to eat with.
*Share about a time when someone made you feel welcome/unwelcome at a meal.
*Share about a time when you felt lost.
*Share about someone who rejoices at your presence.
Prayers
Gracious God, we come to you in prayer for the church, the world, and all in need.
Sharing the Cup
When supper had ended that night, Jesus took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this as often as you drink in remembrance of me.”
And so tonight, we take the cup of wine, and we drink together, “The blood of Christ shed for you.”
Communion Song
Let us break bread together on our knees;
let us break bread together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees,
with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.
Let us drink wine together on our knees;
let us drink wine together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees,
with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.
Let us praise God together on our knees;
let us praise God together on our knees. Refrain
When I fall on my knees,
with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.
Post-Wine Blessing
Now that you have tasted the goodness of God in bread and wine, let us be the body of Christ, blessed and broken for the whole world. Amen.
Closing Song – Canticle of the Turning
My soul cries out with a joyful shout
that the God of my heart is great,
and my spirit sings of the wondrous things
that you bring to the ones who wait.
You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight,
and my weakness you did not spurn,
so from east to west shall my name be blest.
Could the world be about to turn?
My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
and the world is about to turn.
Though I am small, my God, my all,
you work great things in me,
and your mercy will last from the depths of the past
to the end of the age to be.
Your very name puts the proud to shame,
and to those who would for you yearn,
you will show your might, put the strong to flight,
for the world is about to turn.
My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
and the world is about to turn.
From the halls of pow’r to the fortress tow’r,
not a stone will be left on stone.
Let the king beware for your justice tears
ev’ry tyrant from his throne.
The hungry poor shall weep no more,
for the food they can never earn;
there are tables spread, ev’ry mouth be fed,
for the world is about to turn.
My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
and the world is about to turn.
Though the nations rage from age to age,
we remember who holds us fast:
God’s mercy must deliver us
from the conqueror’s crushing grasp.
This saving word that our forebears heard
is the promise which holds us bound,
till the spear and rod can be crushed by God,
who is turning the world around.
My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
and the world is about to turn.
Text: Rory Cooney, b. 1952, based on the Magnificat. Text © 1990 GIA Publications, Inc., 7404 S. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638. www.giamusic.com. 800.442.3358. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Duplication in any form prohibited without permission or valid license from copyright administrator.
Blessing and Sending
The God of righteousness,
who gives justice to the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry,
who sets the prisoners free,
bless you now and forever.
Amen.
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God. And Weee Will!