To Stand with the Poor
Week 4
Fasting is the practice of abstaining from food and drink (except water) for a time, bringing body and spirit into harmony as a unified hunger for God and His kingdom.
Learn more about practicing the liturgy.
Leader prays. Group Prays.
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Let us share in the joys and sorrows of one another's life.
What has been the highlight of your week?
What has been the low of your week? -
Let’s prepare our hearts in worship.
Come, let us enter into God’s presence.
Lord, we are here, waiting.
Let us hear Your voice; for we are poor and needy in spirit.
Be gracious to us, gladden the souls of Your servants, for to You we long for – to You, we lift our souls.
Teach us Your ways, Lord, that we may walk in Your truth.
Give us an undivided heart to worship Your name.
For great is Your steadfast love toward us. -
We will take a moment in quiet to reflect on our actions this past week. Then, together, we will confess and be reminded that we are the forgiven community.
Most merciful God,
We confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart; We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name.
Amen. -
Let us hear the word of the Lord from the Psalms.
But you, Sovereign Lord, help me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt. I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.
Help me, Lord my God; save me according to your unfailing love.
Let them know that it is your hand, that you, Lord, have done it. While they curse, may you bless; may those who attack me be put to shame, but may your servant rejoice.
–Psalm 109:21-28 (NIV) -
Let us affirm our faith with the words of the Apostles’ Creed.
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day, he rose again.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the global Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen. -
An introduction to fasting.
Fasting is the practice of going without food and drink (excluding water) for a period of time. In fasting, body & spirit come into harmony expressing a unified hunger for God, and God alone. This embodied practice engages the whole of our person (body & soul) in a unique way, deepening our hunger for answered prayers and our resolve to “seek first the kingdom of God.” Through fasting our disordered desires (called “the flesh” by Paul and the “world” by Jesus) are broken allowing us to be fed by the Spirit of God. Patterns of sin, destructive cravings, and the temptation of excess are exposed in our hunger pains and confronted in the power of the Spirit. In fasting our heart is trained to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world trapped in poverty and food insecurity. Our unity as the body of Christ is transformed from an abstract idea into an embodied experience.
This is the final week of the fasting practice. We will look at fasting as a way of standing in solidarity with the poor and hungry in our city and abroad.
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Let us open the scriptures and learn the story of Christ.
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers. 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists.You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
–Isaiah 58:1-12 (NIV) -
Let’s take a moment to talk through what we have heard, reflecting on what it is saying to us.What can we learn about this week's practice through this passage?
What is your experience fasting and praying for something or someone specific? What emotions come up?
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Let us consider how to follow Jesus in our everyday lives.
Fast for one day, focusing on praying specifically for a person, a group, or a need in our world.
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At this time, if you have a prayer request, we’ll hear those and conclude with the Lord’s prayer. What would you like to lift up in prayer?
As our Savior taught us, so we pray;
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours now and for ever.
Amen.
CONFESSION OF THE MYSTERY
Let us confess the Mystery of our Faith.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
COMMISSIONING
May we go from this place prepared to reveal the Kingdom of Jesus, together.
Living God, draw us deeper into your love;
Jesus our Lord, send us to care and serve;
Holy Spirit, make us heralds of good news.
Stir us, strengthen us,
teach and inspire us to live your love
with generosity and joy, imagination and courage;
for the sake of your world and in the name of Jesus,
Amen.ANNOUNCEMENTS
We invite you to join us at the following events. -
Let us confess the Mystery of our Faith.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again. -
May we go from this place prepared to reveal the Kingdom of Jesus, together.
Living God, draw us deeper into your love;
Jesus our Lord, send us to care and serve;
Holy Spirit, make us heralds of good news.
Stir us, strengthen us,
teach and inspire us to live your love
with generosity and joy, imagination and courage;
for the sake of your world and in the name of Jesus,
Amen. -
