C2W for Real Life Faith Week 3

For week 3 of the Real Life Faith series based on Matthew 5:13-16

The Call

O God, we’ve worked hard all week

   to be somebody and make something of ourselves.

You call us to worship now

   and here in your presence we are able to just be.

You tell us we’re salt and light, so help us take off our self-made masks

    and just be the salty, bright people you made us to be!

Let’s worship our Creator

   who made us exactly what we need to be.

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Call to Worship for Real Life Faith week 2

The Call

God, we’ve been going in circles all week.

   We can’t get these worries out of our head.

But you call us to worship now, to refocus on You;

   Your love that is never in debit and your grace that knows no limit.

Your mercies are new each morning!

   Remind us we start each day with a clean slate.

Real Life Faith Hymns & C2W

Lent begins tomorrow in a crazy collision with Valentines Day! As preachers prepare for Sunday, I offer hymn suggestions for my Real Life Faith sermon series. Download them here: Real Life Faith Hymn Suggestions

I also have the first Call to Worship for week 1 of this series, ‘Prepare The Way’:

The Call

We are called to this holy season of Lent

   to make space for God in our lives.

So much crowds up our calendars and minds,

   we lose touch with our Creator.

But God calls us away from shame or guilt

   and welcomes us back to awareness with love every time.

May we use this season to give up that which kills us and pulls away

   from the great love of our God who we worship today.

Real Life Faith Testimonials

During the season of Lent, it’s become tradition at our church to share our testimonies in worship. Sharing our stories is the most powerful thing we can do and Lent is a perfect time to include them in worship! I ask different people to prepare their testimony and have them engage with a symbolic act that connects with our theme.

This year, our theme is Real Life Faith, so I’m having each person who shares drop a piece of broken ceramic ware into a garbage can that will be at the base of our large cross. When it drops it will hopefully break even more. Each week the broken pieces will pile up and then after Palm Sunday, an artist in our congregation will take the pieces and create a mosaic design on a flower pot.

On Easter morning, the flower pot will be displayed with an Easter Lily inside symbolizing how God brings new life from our brokenness.

I’m giving each of our speakers the following prompt to help them think about a story they can share that will connect to our theme:

Good morning, I’m _______________________
During this season of Lent, we are getting real about faith. For me, faith… 
(or my relationship with God… continue with a story about a faith struggle or a time when you didn’t get it right but found grace or a second chance.)

Conclude with: “Join me this Lent in giving up shame and guilt. [drop dish into can] Allow God’s grace to fill in your cracks and restore the brokenness of your soul.”

I hope this will inspire you to encourage faith sharing in your congregation!
Happy almost Lent and happy planning!

Real Life Faith for Lent

Lent begins in just over a week! We’re gearing up for our Real Life Faith series!

In my last post I shared the series outline for this 6-week look at how faith actually gets lived out in real life. This is the image we’ll be using on our bulletin covers and here is the unison Prayer for Illumination we’ll be using for these 6 weeks:

God of Life, help us know you’re present with us always, with mercies fresh each day. Journey with us and help us grow in faith so our lives will better reflect the love of Christ, in whom we live and pray. AMEN

I’ll be posting a Call to Worship for each Sunday in the weeks ahead so stay tuned and happy planning!