October 31, 2024 – Reformation Day

Lectionary Readings

Jeremiah 31:31–34
God says: I will make a new covenant, writing my law in your heart.

Psalm 46
Though the earth changes and the waters roar, God is our refuge.

Romans 3:19–28
We are justified by the gift of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

John 8:31–36
Jesus says: You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

— Gathering —

Opening Sentences

Across time and place,
people of faith have gathered
to praise God’s holy name.
As we seek to understand who we are,
we praise God’s holy name.
May God teach us to be seekers
in our worship and our daily lives.
As we seek to understand who God is,
we praise God’s holy name.
May God teach us to be curious
about how God will be revealed to us.
As we grow into who we will be,
we praise God’s holy name.

Prayer of the Day

Enduring God,
we claim that we are always being reformed,
but when it’s our turn to change,
we are so often afraid.
Even amidst our growing pains,
enliven our hearts to recognize your grace.
Even amidst the ever-shifting ways of the world,
open our minds to what might be.
Remind us that we live and move
and have our being in you,
and call the church to proclaim your good news
for ages to come. 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:
It is only by the power of God
that we are able to stand against evil.

Trusting in God’s grace, let us confess our sin.

O God, you have never stopped moving in the world
and calling your church to follow your lead.
Forgive us, O God, when we think of ourselves
as reformed only in the past tense.
Forgive us, O God, when we fail to follow
the winds of your spirit leading us to change.
Forgive us, O God, when we are stuck in our ways,
hesitant to listen to your message
coming to us through the voice of a neighbor,
a stranger, or a new generation.
Forgive us, O God, and grant us assurance
that you have never stopped reforming your church.
For you are the one who makes all things new
and forms life even from ashes.

Lifting water from the font:
Now stand firm in your faith,
covered by the saving grace of God
and ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
Thanks be to God.

— Word —

Prayer for Illumination

At the lectern or pulpit:
Sovereign God, let your Word rule in our hearts
and your Spirit govern our lives
until at last we see the fulfillment
of your realm of justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture

Before the readings:
The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
Listen to the word of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:4

After the readings:
Keep these words in your heart.
The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
Thanks be to God.
Deuteronomy 6:6

Sermon

Ascription of Praise

After the sermon:
To the Lord our God, Alpha and Omega,
be all glory and honor forever. Amen.
Revelation 21:6

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Affirmation of Faith

Time after Pentecost
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