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Worship resources based on Ephesians 4: 1-16

 August 5        Pentecost 11 

Call to Worship: The unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
(Ephesians 4:1-6)

Here with these people you are called into a calling.
Come, friends, you are welcome -
in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Here we choose to like each other, lift each other up, humbly, gently, patiently -
in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Here we are a small part of one body in one Spirit,
with one Lord, one faith, one baptism -
in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Here we share hope in one God and Father of all, 
who is above all and through all and in all -
in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.


God’s Call to You!
a children’s talk or all-age litany
(could be good to make into a hand-out for the children as a Memory Verse challenge)

Ephesians 4: 1-16 (exerpts, adapted from the Contemporary English Version. A second person reads the Bible verses, in bold.)

Introduction

God is calling you! Even before you were born God knew you, and chose you. And now we hear again his call on our lives. Hear God call you by name …

(you could call out the children’s names, or invite the congregation to call out the name of the person sitting beside them, all at once!)

The call of God comes in 5 parts, and we are going to use the 5 fingers on one hand to help us remember this. 
It was Paul the Apostle who wrote about the way Jesus calls his people, and we are going to hear verses from his letter to the church in Ephesus (chapter 4). 

1) We start with our thumbs. Hold on to your thumb. 
Call number one is this: God calls you because God loves you, just as you are.
I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of God who has chosen you to be his own. (Ephesians 4 verse 1)

2) Call Number Two, hold your first finger:
God calls you into a family, the church, where you belong, where you are important. It matters how we treat each other.

Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. Try your best to let God’s Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace. All of you are part of the same body. (Ephesians 4 verses 2-3)

3) The third part of God’s call is the call into his big story.
God calls you to be part of his people and his work through every time and every country.

You were chosen to be God’s people, who have only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. There is one God who is the Father of all people. Not only is God above all others, but he works by using all of us, and he lives in all of us. (Ephesians 4 verses 4-6)

4) Number four is the work he has for us to do.
God calls you to lead and to serve, and he gives you what you need for this.

Christ has generously handed out his gifts to us, gifts and skills to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers, so that his people would learn to serve and his body would grow strong. (Ephesians 4 verses 7, 11-12)

5) And last, number five, is an ongoing challenge:
God calls you to keep growing up. Living life with Jesus is always an adventure, to the end of our days.

Together we become will be mature, just as Christ is, and we will be just like him. Keep growing in every way to be more like Christ, the head of the body.



Prayer of Confession: Gifts Unopened
(Ephesians 4:7-15)

We confess our sins to the Lord. Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, one God with the Father and the Spirit,
thank you for your amazing generosity to us.
You pour out your gifts on your people,
for the building up of your church,
for the redemption of the world.
We confess to you that many of the gifts you have given us
remain unopened.
We are scared to touch them.
We have not unwrapped them.
We’re afraid of what the gift may become in us,
and of what you will ask of us.
So we chose to remain as children as children, 
vulnerable to pushy teachings and selfish schemes.

Give us again, Lord God, the gifts that we need 
to grow up, to become more like Jesus.
Give us the courage to grasp the gifts within us,
to open space for new skills to grow.
Show us how to serve your people as you call us to.
Thank you, generous God, for the gift of new beginnings.
Amen.
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Written by Silvia Purdie 

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