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, questioners, and questioning believers.
This is a place where you are welcome to: celebrate and struggle, rejoice and recover.
AMEN
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.
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 91:9-16
Because you’ve made the Lord my refuge,
the Most High, your place of residence—
no evil will happen to you;
no disease will come close to your tent.
Because he will order his messengers to help you,
to protect you wherever you go.
They will carry you with their own hands
so you don’t bruise your foot on a stone.
You’ll march on top of lions and vipers;
you’ll trample young lions and serpents underfoot.
God says, “Because you are devoted to me,
I’ll rescue you.
I’ll protect you because you know my name.
Whenever you cry out to me, I’ll answer.
I’ll be with you in troubling times.
I’ll save you and glorify you.
I’ll fill you full with old age.
I’ll show you my salvation.”
GOSPEL: Job 38:1-7, (34-41)
Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
Who is this darkening counsel
with words lacking knowledge?
Prepare yourself like a man;
I will interrogate you, and you will respond to me.
Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations?
Tell me if you know.
Who set its measurements? Surely you know.
Who stretched a measuring tape on it?
On what were its footings sunk;
who laid its cornerstone,
while the morning stars sang in unison
and all the divine beings shouted?
Can you issue an order to the clouds
so their abundant waters cover you?
Can you send lightning so that it goes
and then says to you, “I’m here”?
Who put wisdom in remote places,
or who gave understanding to a rooster?
Who is wise enough to count the clouds,
and who can tilt heaven’s water containers
so that dust becomes mud
and clods of dirt adhere?
Can you hunt prey for the lion
or fill the cravings of lion cubs?
They lie in their den,
lie in ambush in their lair.
Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry to God,
move about without food?
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
God, we wait, we watch, we long for you. Renew our powers, refresh our spirits, restore our well being; for you give new strength to the faint and power to the powerless. May your church be found working among those who lack resources or rights. May we seek to care for those who cannot care for themselves. We pray for the lowly and the humiliated. We pray for relief organizations, especially…. God, be to them a tower of strength.
We pray for the great powers of the world, the strong nations, and mighty governments. May their power be used properly that the poor are protected, the weak are not exploited, and no one is oppressed. We pray too for multinational corporations who often wield more power than many governments, that in their relentless pursuit of profit they may take those steps of compassion and concern which will benefit them as well as those powerless to stop them.
We give thanks for all who have cared for us in times of weakness; for those who have uplifted our spirits and given us new hope. We pray for our friends and families, especially any who are finding life difficult at the moment. We pray for any in our community that may feel neglected or rejected.
We pray for all who are in weakness of body, mind or spirit, all who have come to the end of their tether. We think of all who are losing their mobility or agility, those who are losing their memories, and all who have lost their grip on reality; of those who no longer trust in anyone, and those who doubt the love of God; we think of all who are caring for loved ones in illness.
We give thanks that Christ is our healer and our companion on the Way; he will not allow us to be lost. We pray for loved ones departed who are renewed and refreshed in the love and light of God. May the Light of the world truly be that lamp set out on the lampstand to them. Amen.
Sending Prayer
May you run and not be weary.
May you rise up on the wings of eagles.
May you know without doubt
that the everlasting God goes with you!
