Estes Park United Methodist Church
November 8, 2020
All-Saints Sunday
Order of Worship
Prelude – Shall We Gather at the River
Greeting/Welcome
Call to Worship
Leader: In all our weakness and strength, with our youth-filled spirits and aging bodies,
People: We come to be your people, O God.
Leader: Strong in faith and eager with questions, singing our praise and whispering our prayers,
People: We come to be your people, O God.
Leader: Filled with saintly determination yet mindful of our human limitations,
People: We come to be your people, O God.
Leader: Made strong in your endless love for us, we know ourselves to be yours.
People: We come to be your people, O God. May we truly become your people today. Amen.
Opening Prayer (Unison)
All: God, our guide and our protector, as we gather today, open our minds and souls and hearts, that we may be inclined to hear the gentle direction of your spirit in our lives. Help us follow you as you lead us to the land you have created for us, where we may dwell with you and in you. Amen.
Opening Hymn – I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Jesus, teacher and Lord, when we hear your criticism of the behavior of the scribes and the Pharisees in the gospel today, we wonder what has changed. People still place unwarranted burdens on others, still demand preferential treatment, still abuse positions of leadership. We are ashamed to confess that this does not only happen in society at large, it happens also within the church.
People: Forgive our participation in practices which inflate our egos at the expense of others.
Leader: Jesus, forgive us when we parade our piety and expect favored treatment, forgetting that you emptied yourself of power so that you could be the servant and Savior of all.
People: Forgive us when we care more for impressive outward appearances rather than inner dispositions shaped by tolerance and love. Renew and refresh us with your gentle and selfless Spirit, Lord, so that we know what it is to be your followers not only in name, but in reality. Amen
Silent Prayer
Assurance of Pardon
Leader: Hear the good news: God has forgiven us all our sins, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. God set this aside, nailing it to the cross. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
People: Thanks be to God! Amen!
Offering
Prayer of Blessing
Offertory
Naming of the Honored Dead
For All The Saints
Pastoral Prayer
Scripture Lesson – Matthew 23:1-12
Sermon – Practicing What We Preach
Closing Hymn – When We All Get to Heaven
Benediction
Postlude – El Shaddai
Service Participants:
Pastor: Rev. Ann Steiner Lantz
Liturgist: Cay Lacey
Director of Music: Jim Flanigan
Pianist: Nancy Gunter
Videographer: Jim Ecklund