Call to Worship (adapted from Psalm 95)
One: Come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation!
All: Let us come into the Lord’s presence with thanksgiving and praise; for our God formed the land and the sea and all the glories of the earth.
One: Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
All: For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
One: Dear Friends, harden not your hearts but listen for the voice of God.
All: We will be at peace with our neighbor and as one with our God.
Prayer of Renewal
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Scripture: Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”