O Lord, Hear; O Lord, Forgive; O Lord, Listen and Act.

Call to Worship

Pastor:  Today, this hour, in this moment

People:  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen

Pastor:  When the world around us seems so cold, so hurt, so broken

People:  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen

Pastor:  Meet us here, in this space, with your love

     People:      O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen

Prayer of Confession the Scripture Reading from Daniel 9

Pastor:  O God, your love is steadfast and you keep your covenant in faithfulness. We have sinned, we have been evil, we have done wrong.

People:  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen

Pastor:  We have rejected what you commanded us to do and have turned away from what you showed us was right.

People:  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen

Pastor:  We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our rulers, our ancestors, and our whole nation.

People:  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen

Pastor:  Our kings, our rulers, and our ancestors have acted shamefully and sinned against you, Lord.

People:  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen

Pastor:  Listen to us, O God; look at us and see the trouble we are in and the suffering of the city that bears your name. We are praying to you because you are merciful, not because we have done right.

People:  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act.

Pastor:  Do not fear, for from the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.  (Daniel 10:12) 

Scripture Reading                        Daniel 9:1-19

9 Darius the Mede, who was the son of Xerxes, ruled over the kingdom of Babylonia. ² In the first year of his reign I was studying the sacred books and thinking about the seventy years that Jerusalem would be in ruins, according to what the Lord had told the prophet Jeremiah. ³ And I prayed earnestly to the Lord God, pleading with him, fasting, wearing sackcloth, and sitting in ashes. ⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed the sins of my people.

I said, “Lord God, you are great, and we honor you. You are faithful to your covenant and show constant love to those who love you and do what you command.

⁵ “We have sinned, we have been evil, we have done wrong. We have rejected what you commanded us to do and have turned away from what you showed us was right. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our rulers, our ancestors, and our whole nation. ⁷ You, Lord, always do what is right, but we have always brought disgrace on ourselves. This is true of all of us who live in Judea and in Jerusalem and of all the Israelites whom you scattered in countries near and far because they were unfaithful to you. ⁸ Our kings, our rulers, and our ancestors have acted shamefully and sinned against you, Lord. ⁹ You are merciful and forgiving, although we have rebelled against you. ¹⁰ We did not listen to you, O Lord our God, when you told us to live according to the laws which you gave us through your servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel broke your laws and refused to listen to what you said. We sinned against you, and so you brought on us the curses that are written in the Law of Moses, your servant. ¹² You did what you said you would do to us and our rulers. You punished Jerusalem more severely than any other city on earth, ¹³ giving us all the punishment described in the Law of Moses. But even now, O Lord our God, we have not tried to please you by turning from our sins or by following your truth. ¹⁴ You, O Lord our God, were prepared to punish us, and you did, because you always do what is right, and we did not listen to you.

¹⁵ “O Lord our God, you showed your power by bringing your people out of Egypt, and your power is still remembered. We have sinned; we have done wrong. ¹⁶ You have defended us in the past, so do not be angry with Jerusalem any longer. It is your city, your sacred hill. All the people in the neighboring countries look down on Jerusalem and on your people because of our sins and the evil our ancestors did. ¹⁷ O God, hear my prayer and pleading. Restore your Temple, which has been destroyed; restore it so that everyone will know that you are God. ¹⁸ Listen to us, O God; look at us and see the trouble we are in and the suffering of the city that bears your name. We are praying to you because you are merciful, not because we have done right. ¹⁹ Lord, hear us. Lord, forgive us. Lord, listen to us, and act! In order that everyone will know that you are God, do not delay! This city and these people are yours.”

Sermon      The Courage to Atone

 

Prayer 

O Lord, hear;

 Hear the cries from amidst the earthquake ruins of Mexico.

Hear the cries of your people in stormed battered communities – Puerto Rico, the Virigin Islands, Florida, and Texas

Hear the cries from the refugee camps of Myanmar, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

O Lord, forgive;

We ask your forgiveness for the systemic racism in this country

We ask your forgiveness where hatred inflames the hearts of people.

We ask your forgiveness for letting there be people who do not have enough or any food to eat today.

O Lord, listen and

Listen to your people that are facing bombs and guns

Listen to your people who are suffering in the midst of broken relationships,

        illness, 

        grief

O Lord, act.

Spirit inspire us to ay yes I am willing to  volunteer and lead in those places where we are needed.

Give us the courage to use the gifts and talents you have given us

 Raise within us generous visions.