Call to Worship (By Christine Sine)
One: For the music of our world, the divine song that sings through all creation,
All: God our creator, we praise you.
One: For the beauty of all you have created, a mirror of the wonders of heaven,
All: God our creator, we praise you.
One: For the resounding roar of thunder, your awesome majesty revealed,
All: God our creator, we praise you.
One: For a clouded sky splashed with sunset colors, a glimpse of heaven’s glory,
All: God our creator, we praise you.
One: For the fragrance of a rose, your sweet perfume of grace,
All: God our creator, we praise you.
One: For a riotous field of wildflowers, God’s exuberant laughter unfolded,
All: God our creator, we praise you.
One: For a snowflake, an atom, a mathematical formula, a hint of your unimagined complexity,
All: God our creator, we praise you.
One: For the call to steward your creation, to tend your garden and make it flourish,
All: God our creator, we praise you.
Prayer of Renewal (From the National Council of Churches)
Creator God, you make all things and weave them together in an intricate tapestry of life. Teach us to respect the fragile balance of life and to care for all the gifts of your creation. Guide by your wisdom those who have power and authority, that by the decisions they make, life may be cherished and a good and fruitful Earth may continue to show your glory and sing your praises. Almighty God, you have called us to tend and keep the garden of your creation. Give us wisdom and reverence for all your plants and animals who share this planet with us and whose lives make possible our own. Help us to remember that they too love the sweetness of life and join with us in giving you praise.
Scripture: Romans 1:17-25, Romans 8:18-24
17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?