meditatio at the water's edge

We're taking a bit of a turn in our worship gatherings starting in December. We're going to try doing some potluck worship. No, we're not worshipping potlucks (who in the WORLD would do that?!!!). We just want our worship to be a reflection of who we are, not just a reflection of what two or three of us think it should be. Here is the e-copy of the 'menu' we passed out last night. I must say that some props go to Steve Collins from Grace for writing a simple sentence that woke me up to thie idea (he wrote: "Alternative worship is what happens when people create worship for themselves, in a way that fully reflects who they are as people and the culture that they live their everyday lives in."). Also credit goes to Cityside for something on their site that helped me with our 'menu' selections. So anyway, here's the stuff....Oh, I forgot, thanks to Daryll and John at Southside Vineyard here in G.R. for the title to our december theme, "Come to the Table."

.........................................................................


Most of us are familiar with potluck dinners—those infamous church functions when everybody brings a dish to pass. Some of the food is really good, some of it is really not so good. But we all eat and share in the experience of the meal together.

Potluck worship is kind of like that. Everybody brings something to help each other learn to worship God with our whole lives.

We want our corporate worship time to be a reflection of who we are, not just the reflection of one person’s ‘vision’ for worship. So we’re inviting you to bring something to the ‘meal.’ This ‘menu’ is a list of ‘dishes’ that you might prepare and bring during the month of December.

Our theme for December is “Come to the Table.” All through the Scriptures we see God’s concern to bring the most unlikely people to come and sit around his table. Poor people, social outcasts, helpless people, enemies, moral failures, and the other voiceless people of society; they are all welcomed to come, to eat, to drink, and to delight in the Lord.

So we will follow Jesus’ lead and “Come to the Table”. We hope you will invite some unlikely people to come and share in the meal. We hope you will bring something to share in our potluck worship. And we think that as we do this we might make God smile as we honor Him together.

Opening Responses
Welcome everyone to the gathering. Share a story. Share a prayer. Share a poem. Share a song. Just share.

Call to Worship and Prayer for God’s Blessing
Offer up a prayer, written or spontaneous, to invite God to make us aware of His presence among us.

Sung or Meditative Worship
Sing a song. Lead the group in a time of reflection and meditation on a Scripture. Express your heart for God.

Stations/Installations
Create an interactive space to direct our thinking and prayers to the places where life on earth intersects with the life of God. Make it artsy or make it simple. Create!

Reading Worship
Share a poem or psalm or prayer you’ve written. Share a journal entry or a short story you’ve read. Help us hear different ways God shapes our lives to be like His.

Lectio Divina
Lead us in a time simply reading, praying, and meditating on the Scriptures. Help us place our lives under the Scriptures to be transformed.

Prayer of Confession and Words of Forgiveness
Offer up a prayer of reconciliation. Confess. Ask forgiveness.

Devotional Expression
Share a few thoughts on how God has spoken to you through life, though the Scriptures. Share something that might help someone love God some more. Share the love.

Sermon and Response
Build a bridge between life and the Scriptures. Teach about the focus passage for the night and show us how to meet God in the ordinary. Bring us alive to the Scriptures.

Children’s Space
We love having our kids with us. They remind us of how Jesus wanted us to be. So do something for the kids. Sing a song, help them draw, or just play with them and show them God’s love.

Communion Meal
Lead us in some time around the table. Help us reconnect ourselves to Jesus—to unite ourselves with Jesus in the bread and the wine. Share a few thoughts. Share a prayer. Share some bread and wine. Celebrate the new covenant.

Concerns
Facilitate a time for people to share what’s on their heart. Ask for people to share prayer concerns, give thanks, ask questions, or just talk about where they see God at work around us.

Prayers for Others
Lead in a prayer for the world. Lead in a prayer for those mentioned in people’s Concerns. Ask a few people to pray with you, open it up to the group, or just pray yourself.

Sending Song
Sing a song. Send us out as missionaries and pastors where we live. Choose a song for us to listen to. Lead us in a song or two that communicates the heart of our topic for the night.

Sending Prayer
Send us off with a good word of God’s grace. Speak a blessing on the group and on their work in the coming week. Send us out with encouragement and hope.

december
Come to the Table


december 8
the helpless at the table
2 Samuel 9
John 8:1-11


december 15
strangers at the table
Deuteronomy 10:17-19
Matthew 15:32-38


december 22
outcasts at the table
Luke 19:1-10
Luke 14:15-24


december 29
enemies at the table
Matthew 5:43-48
Mark 14:17-26
Romans 5:8