Call to Worship
Leader: In our time of darkness, God led us from captivity to freedom.
People: As we left the only life we knew, God called us to be strong and courageous.
Leader: With the Egyptian army behind us and the sea in front of us, God parted the waters.
People: As we walked through the sea, God called us to be strong and courageous.
Leader: In the wilderness, God fed us with Mana from heaven and water from a rock.
People: As we were thirsty and hungry in the desert, God called us to be strong and courageous.
Leader: Today we stand on the banks of the river Jordan looking into the land God has promised.
People: As we face the unknown that tomorrow may bring, God calls us to be strong and courageous.
Offertory
People: And also with you!
Leader: Let us pray together…
All: God of wonder, our hearts and minds are opened to your calling this morning. We rejoice in our sharing and giving and we pray that our offering is fruitful. We praise you for food harvested, spiritual gifts, cherished family and friends, the beauty that surrounds us, and the mystery of your grace. Help us grow in gratitude even under the stresses of life, the injustice in the world, and the seeming instability of our nation. We praise you for your bounty. We rejoice in what you have for us through new horizons to come. We bless your most Holy name. Amen.
Service January 29th
Scripture Lesson
Joshua 1:1-9 NRSV
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s assistant, saying, 2 “My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the west shall be your territory. 5 No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall lead this people to possess the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful. 9 I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."