2017 National Gathering Sermon: Marci Glass

Marci Glass, pastor of Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, ID, preaches on John 4:15-18; 29 as part of the 2017 NEXT Church National Gathering.


Marci Auld Glass is the Pastor of Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho and blogs at www.marciglass.com. She co-moderates the board of the Covenant Network, and serves on the boards of Ghost Ranch, Planned Parenthood Clergy Advocacy, and the Presbyterian Mission Agency.  She and her husband, Justin, have two sons, Alden and Elliott. Marci is a professional espresso drinker, bourbon snob, labyrinth walker, and lapsed cellist who voluntarily listens to opera.


Worship Liturgy

Call to Worship

In Jerico and in Samaria
In Syria and South Africa
In Argentina and Afghanistan
In Palestine and Israel
In Charlotte and Seattle
In Washington, DC and Kansas City
In ancient times and in this time
Around the font and around the table
For sinners and saints
For the broken and the beautiful —
For all of these and even more,
Christ opens wide the arms of love and shouts,
“Come! Come!
Rest and drink deeply!
Eat and be glad!
Your life is holy
and you belong here with me.”

 

Prayer of Confession

Merciful God, forgive us.
Unlike the psalmist,
we are afraid to lie down in green pastures
or rest beside still waters.
Unlike Matthew the evangelist,
we forget the words of Jesus
and insist on carrying heavy burdens.
Unlike Paul the apostle,
we are not always sure that nothing
can separate us from your love.
Forgive us when we are fragile enough to believe
that our brokenness is stronger than your grace.
Help us, O God.
Pour out your Spirit upon us once more,
so that the story we are so used to telling
becomes the story we really, truly, fully and completely,
trust.
(Silent prayer)