7 Readers King Ahab
Jezebel
messenger/servant
Elijah
servant/friend
angel
God’s voice (offstage whisper)
Props lapel microphones or cordless mics are helpful
paper and pen for Jezebel’s letter to Elijah
facsimile of tree
food tray with loaf of bread, carafe of water and glass
cave entrance
Costumes Jezebel in seductive contemporary outfit; Ahab in handsome suit and tie;
Elijah in khaki slacks and...
Psalm 25:1-10, Jeremiah 33;14-16, Luke 21:25-36, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Greeting
It’s a new season in the life of the faith, and we are confronted again with truths about Divine Presence and the stories we have learned that pass along those truths. How does the truth of Jeremiah shape our lives in a new millennium on a different continent? What does the birth of Jesus of Nazareth have to do with us?
Our minds ask these questions and our souls are moving through gesta...
Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 1:68-79, Luke 3:1-20, Philippians 1:3-11
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
(Includes the lighting of the Advent Wreath)
Leader: Already, the year is behind us and we are counting the days until Christmas — the eldering for one set of reasons and the young for another. We’ve come here to enjoy the festivities of December and to tell again the stories that encourage us to be God-bearers in our world.
People: The scriptures say that God has made promises of ...
Isaiah 12:2-6, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Luke 3:1-20, Philippians 4:4-7
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
(Includes the lighting of the Advent Wreath)
Leader: Already, the year is behind us and we are counting the days until Christmas — the eldering for one set of reasons and the young for another. We’ve come here to enjoy the festivities of December and to tell again the stories that encourage us to be God-bearers in our world.
People: The scriptures say that God has made promises of ...
Luke 1:47-55 or Psalm 80:1-7, Micah 5:2-5a, Luke 1:39-45, Hebrews 10:5-10
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
(Includes the lighting of the Advent Wreath)
Leader: Good morning! We’ve gathered for various reasons; some of us are dreading being alone during this season; some of us to enjoy the holiday music and decorations. Most of us anticipate remembering the Christmas story with its holy family.
People: Yes, we love the Christmas story and the images that remind us we too carry God into t...
Psalm 149:1-9, Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18, Luke 6:27-36, Ephesians 1:11-23
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: It’s a good day to praise God! It’s a good time to remember how God has been with us.
People: It’s the right time to be grateful for the women and men who have blessed us through the years — whose faith has been an example for us.
Leader: We thank God for the Holy Spirit in us and revealed in others.
People: How powerful are the blessings God gives us!
Leader: The power wor...
Psalm 47:1-9, Luke 24:44-53, Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:15-23
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: It’s Ascension Day, the day we celebrate Jesus’ return to God, forty days after Easter. The scriptures say that the disciples were filled with joy when Jesus was taken up into heaven. After that, they spent all their time in the temple giving thanks to God.
People: They must not have had to work for a corporation! Or punch a time clock!
Leader: In fact, times are very diffe...
Psalm 51:1-17, Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, Matthew 6:1-4, 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Note: This service is an abbreviated order so that people who are taking time from work can stay within their allotted time off. Also, the whole service is somber, including the music, so it ought not be too long.
Call To Worship
(During Lent, count the Sundays with a candelabrum holding six purple candles and one white candle. For Ash Wednesday, light these candles during the Call To Worship.)
L...
Psalm 29:1-11, Isaiah 43:1-7, Luke 3:1-20, Acts 8:14-17
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: Happy New Year! With new determination we listen for the voice of God and we desire to respond happily.
People: We also listen with new care for the promises of scriptures, which might make our lives prosperous and easier.
Leader: We are here together, then, to pay attention to the ways men and women have honored the holy.
People: And to hear again about the life and teachi...
Psalm 46:1-11, Jeremiah 23:1-6, Luke 1:68-79; 23:33-43, Colossians 1:11-20
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Today is the last Sunday in the church year. Next Sunday we initiate a new liturgical calendar: Advent 1. Next week we will decorate this space with symbols of pregnancy and birth, with ornaments of love and peace, with wreaths and garlands, with purples and reds, blues, greens, and golds. Today, we consider how the Christ of God lives among us. Take a gentle, deep breath and be fu...
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26, Psalm 148:1-14, Luke 2:41-52, Colossians 3:12-17
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
(Includes the lighting of the Christ candle in the Advent/Christmas Wreath; wreath may need to be refreshed; all candles are gone except the center large Christ candle. The Advent/Christmas tree can be left in place also, showing the symbols of the holy days and slowing down the culture’s hurry to the next buying season.)
Leader: Happy New Year! 20?? is on the next calendar page! C...
Psalm 147:12-20, Jeremiah 31:7-14, John 1:(1-9), 10-18, Ephesians 1:3-14
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: Welcome to this sanctuary, this place of tranquility and celebration, this place of safety and hope. God is here; God is our source of life!
People: God existed before the world and this sanctuary were made!
Leader: People have walked this earth before us; their words and their lives are recorded in books around the world.
People: We look to Jesus, the God-Man and teacher, ...
Psalm 97:1-12, Isaiah 62:6-12, Luke 2:1-7, Titus 3:4-7
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Greeting
Leader: Merry Christmas!
People: Merry Christmas!
Leader: Settle your Christmas gifts on the pew beside you and find the space within your minds and hearts to sing, pray, listen, and talk.
People: We’ve been counting the whole year and today is finally here! How glad we are for God’s coming to earth in human form! How glad we are for the family and friends with whom we share this joy!
Lea...
Psalm 96:1-13, Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 2:1-7, Titus 2:11-14
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
If there are children in the congregation and adults who enjoy “performing,” invite them ahead of time to pantomime the Luke 2 story. (Everyone can wear slacks and a turtleneck shirt.) Designate the lead adult angel (Gabriel), lead adult shepherd, adult Mary, and adult Joseph several weeks prior to Christmas Eve.
Since there is no rehearsal, ask the lead characters to arrive fifteen minutes early...
Characters
Rebecca
Lucy
Sarah
Gail
Jeff
Grandma
Lee
Robert
Max
Curt
Ryan
Jeanne
Carolers (choir members)
Props
Three small bistro tables
Chairs
Three candles (one on each table, one for everyone in the congregation)
Coffee cups
Manger with puppet animals and doll
Shopping bag
Loaf of bread
Christmas Tree
Theme
A holiday evening is both tiring and inspiring. Children and adults express real inter...
Psalm 118:14-29, Psalm 150:1-6, John 20:19-31, Acts 5:27-32, Revelation 1:4-8
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: Ah, Sunday again, the week after Resurrection Day. Colorful egg hunts are over; chocolate rabbits are almost all consumed.
People: Yes, but Easter season and spring celebrations are not over! Christ is alive!
Leader: Christ is alive and we are the embodiment of that truth.
People: Let it be said that we are friends of Jesus of Nazareth. Let our reputation include this infor...
Psalm 30:1-12, John 21:1-19, Acts 9:1-6 (7-20), Revelation 5:11-14
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: Ah. Sunday again. The earth is announcing the coming of spring and summer! We can depend upon nature’s cycles, though there are always some surprises along the way.
People: We thank God for the productivity of the land, for the beauty of flowers, and for the coming crops which nurture animals and humans.
Leader: We sing to the Holy One, expressing our gratitude for divine p...
Psalm 23:1-6, John 10:22-30, Acts 9:36-43, Revelation 7:9-17
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: Ah, Sunday again. In some parts of the world this is lambing season. Of course, as we read today’s scriptures, it’s lambing season for us, too, for we recognize Jesus as the Good Shepherd, whose voice we know, and whom we choose to follow.
People: God, Jesus, is our shepherd, we shall not want for anything! Our souls will be nourished with living water and good foods. When ...
Psalm 148:1-14, John 13:31-35, Acts 11:1-18, Revelation 21:1-6
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: Welcome! It’s good to be together again. We celebrate the sun and moon, the skies and the earth! We can sing and pray, listen and plan. Together, we can enjoy companionship and Divine Presence.
People: We are glad to be here and to thank God for life.
Prayer Of Thanksgiving
(unison) Living God — thank you for renewed zest for living and for surrounding us with opportunitie...
Psalm 67:1-7, John 5:1-9; 14:23-29, Acts 16:9-15, Revelation 21:10, 22—22:5
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: God is here! The Holy One looks on us with kindness.
People: People look at us from city hall, in the grocery store, and at the university and they recognize that we are intentional about our spiritual journeys; they acknowledge that God is leading us in twenty-first century adventures for the soul.
Leader: Our behaviors must indicate that we are aligned with the Holy One f...
Psalm 97:1-12, John 17:20-26, Acts 16:16-34, Revelation 22:12-14
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: Be glad! Today has come. God is here! The whole planet is alive with the elements that sustain our lives.
People: We breathe air; we are kept warm with fire; we are cooled with cloudy skies; we drink spring waters. All creatures need these elements of nature to continue living.
Leader: The universe has many systems created by God and called “good.” God calls us to care for ...
Psalm 118:1-2, Isaiah 65:17-25, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-9, Acts 10:34-43, 1 Corinthians 15:19-26
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: Christ is risen! Christ lives!
People: Indeed! Christ is alive!
Leader: Hallelujah!
Prayer Of Thanksgiving
Christ is alive! How grateful we are that the tomb is empty! That we, too, can be fully alive! We eagerly sing and pray our delight. We express our joy with the news that Jesus lives! This resurrection morning, we welcome new life, new opportunities for creativity, ne...
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14, Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12, Ephesians 3:1-12
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: I’m so glad we’re here together! Today’s the day we want to be wise and know just where to locate God.
People: This is Epiphany, the day when we are magi and bring our best gifts to God.
Leader: God quite clearly is here —
People: in each of us!
Leader: We have hopes that when the stars shine just right, we will find the baby who grows up to be our teacher and guide.
People...
Psalm 36:5-10, Isaiah 62:1-5, John 2:1-11, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship
Leader: Welcome! Together we will explore ancient stories about a wedding, a city, and our life together.
People: We’ve come to thank God for the gift of life and to ask for help when our paths are difficult.
Leader: Then let our thanks begin — in music, in conversation, and in prayer; let our time together be pleasing to God and to one another.
Prayer Of Thanksgiving
Gracious God...
Call To Worship
Leader: Welcome! Together we’ll explore ancient stories about a public reading, the awesomeness of Creation, satisfying life together, and we will claim our God-given abilities.
People: We’ve come to thank God for the Holy Spirit, for the wonders of nature, and for the gifts given to humankind. And we’ve come to ask for help in the rough, dark spots of our journey.
Leader: Then let...