June 29, 2025 – Third Sunday after Pentecost / Proper 8

Lectionary Readings

Semicontinuous
2 Kings 2:1–2, 6–14
Elijah is taken to heaven in a whirlwind; Elisha picks up his mantle. 

Psalm 77:1–2, 11–20
You work wonders, O God; you make a path through the waters. 

Complementary
1 Kings 19:15–16, 19–21
Elisha leaves his family and his oxen to follow the prophet Elijah. 

Psalm 16
Protect me, O God; you show me the path of life and fullness of joy. 

Galatians 5:1, 13–25
Christ has set us free; live by the Spirit, not the desires of the flesh. 

Luke 9:51–62
Jesus turns toward Jerusalem and warns those who would follow him.

— Gathering —

Opening Sentences

In the calm waters of the ponds
and the bouncing waters of the rivers,
you make a path, O God of wonders.
In the playful waters of the streams 
that shape every rock
and the furious waters 
of the whirlwinds coming down,
you make a path, O God of wonders.
We come to praise God,
knowing that in the quiet 
and in the chaos of our lives, 
you will make a path. 
Let us worship God!

Prayer of the Day

How do we follow you, O God in the margins?
How do we welcome you
while rejecting perspectives
different from our own?
We pray for those who may think, look,
and believe differently from us.
(specific prayers may be offered)
How do we do your will
while responding to it with vengeance?
We pray for governments and nations 
who are at war.
We pray for leaders and lawmakers 
to enact justice and peace. 
(specific prayers may be offered)
How do we open our homes to you, 
the one who doesn’t have a place to lay your head?
We pray for people seeking asylum,
people with no place to sleep,
and people who offer shelter to others. 
(specific prayers may be offered)
How do we trust you
while clinging to certainty and comfort?
We pray for our families, for the church, 
and for the institutions we hold dear to us. 
(specific prayers may be offered)
Call us into your heart
and call us out of that which keeps us
separated from you and one another, 
that we may follow you, O Loving One. Amen. 

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Thanksgiving for Baptism

At the baptismal font:
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
O Lord our God, we give you thanks
for the grace that is at work in us
through the gift of our baptism—
the sign of your threefold name,
the communion of your faithful people,
the promise of your glorious realm.
By the power of your Holy Spirit,
poured out upon us in baptism,
let your grace and peace grow in us,
until we gather at your heavenly throne
to give you thanks and praise forever;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession and Pardon

At the baptismal font:
Seeking to follow God,
shepherd of our flock,
and knowing how we have strayed,
we humbly confess the ways
in which we have sinned,
that we might find grace.

God of mercy,
we confess that we too often give in
to the yearnings of the flesh.
We have impure thoughts.
We idolize those who misuse power.
We harbor jealousies and are quick to anger.
We neglect to care for others
and gratify our own desires.
Forgive us, O God,
and cleanse us of our sin.
Lead us to ways of love, joy, and peace.
Send your Spirit to engender patience, kindness, and generosity,
and lead us to be gentle
in our care for all of your people.

Lifting water from the font:
Sisters and brothers, we are all called to freedom.
Amidst thunderous storms and rocky waters,
God reaches out to us in love.
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Thanks be to God.

— Word —

Prayer for Illumination

At the lectern or pulpit:
Faithful God, how blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Sanctify us by your Word and Spirit
so that we may glorify you
in the company of the faithful;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture

Before the readings: 
At the crossroads wisdom calls. 
Proverbs 8:1–2

After the readings: 
The wisdom of God for all people; 
the call of God for all who live. 
Thanks be to God.
Proverbs 8:4

Sermon

Ascription of Praise

After the sermon:
How majestic is the name 
of the Lord our God! Amen.
Psalm 8:1

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Affirmation of Faith

The life, death, resurrection,
and promised coming of Jesus Christ
has set the pattern for the church’s mission.
His human life involves the church
in the common life of all people.
His service to men and women
commits the church
to work for every form of human well-being.
His suffering makes the church sensitive
to all human suffering
so that it sees the face of Christ
in the faces of persons in every kind of need.
His crucifixion discloses to the church
God’s judgment on the inhumanity
that marks human relations,
and the awful consequences
of the church’s own complicity in injustice.
In the power of the risen Christ
and the hope of his coming,
the church sees the promise
of God’s renewal of human life in society
and of God’s victory over all wrong.
The church follows this pattern
in the form of its life
and in the method of its action.
So to live and serve
is to confess Christ as Lord.
Adapted from the Confession of 1967, 9.32–33