"Be on Guard against Your Enemy"

Call to Worship (Proverbs 8, Romans 5, John 16)

To you, O people, Wisdom calls. She calls out to each of us, beckoning us: to experience peace in Christ, to discover the truth of life, to know true love as it is poured into our hearts. Wisdom calls. As we gather this day, let us answer her call as we celebrate faith in the One who leads us into life.

Opening Prayer (Proverbs 8, Psalm 8)

O Lord, you reveal wisdom and spiritual insight through your presence in creation. When we look at the heavens, we see your vastness. When we look at seas teeming with fish and verdant fields painted like a canvas, we see your creativity and your bounty. For all of this and so much more, we praise your name.

Offertory

Lord, with a cheerful heart, I sow my seed.

Today, I planted it in good ground.

I believe my needs are met,

my family is blessed, and I’m expecting a supernatural harvests in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Opening Prayer

God who set the earth in its orbit,   God who sent Jesus to show love to one and all,     God who lives within          and calls us to live out your highest desire for this world,  we lift our voices today to sing and to speak words of praise for you. Receive all we offer, including our gratitude,  for you are the bedrock of our lives.   AMEN

1 Peter 5:6-9 New International Version 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Benediction (Proverbs 8, Romans 5)

Through grace and peace, may we have the wisdom to be transformed. For suffering leads to endurance, endurance gives rise to character, and character produces hope. In true hope, hope founded in God, we are never disappointed. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.