Thanksgiving Sunday
Liturgical Colour / green
Scripture Readings / Exodus 32:1-14 or Deuteronomy 8:7-18
Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23 Psalm 65
Philippians 4:1-9 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Matthew 22:1-14 Luke 17:11-19
Living Faith Reference
Hymn Suggestions
(see Hymn suggestions for the Lectionary Resource) / Come, ye thankful people come 803
Can a little child like me? 441
For the fruits of all creation 802
We plough the fields and scatter 807
Call to Worship I / Min: Come let us sing for joy to the Lord;
Peo.: Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Min.: Let us come before him with thanksgiving
Peo.: And extol Him with music and song!
Min.: Let us worship God.
Call to Worship II
Prayer of Adoration / We praise you, God of all being!
You give food to the hungry;
offer healing to the sick;
and are present to our every need.
You are the Lord of the harvest,
your generous goodness comes to us every day.
Therefore we gather to acknowledge your goodness,
and give you our thanks and praise.
Prayer of Confession / You give us so much, O God,
yet we respond to your goodness with disobedience.
We admit there are times when we ignore your word
and follow our own selfish ambitions.
We confess that though we recognize your graciousness to us,
we fail to share those blessings with others.
Forgive us, Lord God, for selfishness and pride.
Help us to share what we have with others
always making our thankfulness known.
We pray these things in the name of Christ Jesus our Saviour,
who taught us when praying to say.....Our Father......
Declaration of Pardon / Friends, hear and believe the words of hope
as they are written in the scriptures:
"for Christ has entered...into heaven itself,
now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf....
to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."
We can surely rejoice, for through the love of Christ we are
forgiven. Thanks be to God.
Invitation to the offering / Honour the Lord with your substance,
and with the first fruits of all your produce....
we will now receive our tithes and offerings
after which will follow the doxology and prayer
Prayer of Dedication / Loving God, Lord of the harvest, creator and giver of all.
We come before you with thanksgiving in our hearts, grateful for all the blessings we have received from your hand. As we think of our blessings we cannot help but desire to return to you a portion. May our offering of praise and thanksgiving be acceptable to you.
In Christ we pray, Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
(Prayers of the People) / O Lord, giver of life and all good things,
we come to you now with thankful hearts.
Through your son Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit
We have been able to receive your many blessings....
...blessings such as food and shelter,
...freedom and justice.
We are grateful, O Lord for our families
and the happy times we share with them....
Thank you for lasting friendships
and the support we get from our church family.
Help us always to reflect your love in our living.
Merciful God, hear now our prayers for others...
We pray for those in our country and world
who are less fortunate than we...
We think especially of those in other countries who are
Undergoing political and economic strife...
...we pray for peace and justice in those lands.
May we never forget the plight of others in our world
and may we always hold them to you in prayer.
We think now of those who are in our own community....
Those who are ill or in hospital…
We pray for those who are facing personal struggle....
.....some are grieving, others are struggling with loss or separation.
Hear us as we name them to you in the silence of our hearts...
Reach out to your people, O Lord,
comfort and strengthen them....
...and help us to be a community which offers
love and compassion as well.
From your hand, O God, we have received countless gifts
may we never forget to return to you to give thanks.....
and may our gratitude show forth in our worship
and in our ministry to others.
As we gratefully receive,
help us to gratefully give in return.
In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
Commissioning /Benediction / Go now in peace,
and may your pathways be blessed with God's presence,
and your voices be filled with praise and thanksgiving
in all of your living this week.
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
keep guard over your hearts and minds,
today and forever more
F:\The Vine Helpline\Worship\Year A - Worship Planners\Blank Template.doc