Call to Worship (Adapted from Psalm 65)
One: Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed,
All: O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come.
One: When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions.
All: We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.
One: By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation;
All: you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
One: By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might. You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.
All: Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
Prayer of Renewal
God of mercy, we humbly confess our sins against you and our neighbor. We have forgotten the needs of our neighbors and wasted the gifts you have given us. We ignore your commandments and lift up our own judgment over yours. We forsake your peace for our own gain. Forgive us, Lord, and fill us with your Spirit who makes all things new. Transform us into gracious and diligent disciples of your Son Jesus Christ, whose death and resurrection have freed us to new life.
Scripture Genesis 25:19-34
19 These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the elder shall serve the younger.”
24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.”[d] So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.