Call To Worship And Open Response Readings For Lent

After you’ve read our What Every Christian Should Know About Lent and What Every Christian Should Know About Ash Wednesday, check out these readings for planning Sunday worship liturgies, personal devotions and family worship time during the season of Lent.  These readings come courtesy of The Worship Sourcebook. Read the bold-type portions aloud:

Call To Worship Reading For Lent

Let us worship God, who has done great things.

We rejoice in our God, who made a way

through the desert of this world.

Let us worship God, who has caused streams of mercy

to flow in the wasteland.

We are the people God has formed through Christ;

we worship him, and we rejoice!

Let us worship God in spirit and in truth.

We praise God for the grace that has saved us.

Alleluia! We rejoice!

– based on Isaiah 43:19-21

Prayer of Adoration For Lent

O Christ, Savior, like the seed fallen to the ground,

you suffered death.

United to you, our lives will bear much fruit.

We praise you, Lord.

O Christ, you went down to the lowest point of the human condition;

you remain close to all who are abandoned.

We praise you, Lord.

In your love you took upon yourself our sins;

innocent, you accepted death to free us from death.

We praise you, Lord.

By your love you conquered evil and hatred,

and you live forever at the Father’s side.

We praise you, Lord.

You listen to us in your goodness, and you visit us in our misfortune;

fill our hearts to overflowing by revealing to us the light of your face.

We praise you, Lord. Amen.

Prayer of Invocation for Lent

All-knowing and all-caring God,

we gather this day drained by another week.

We are like a parched desert, empty and in need of replenishment.

Visit us with your presence, saturate us with your Spirit,

and bathe us in your streams of living water,

that our lives might acknowledge and worship you

to the praise and honor of Jesus Christ. Amen!

– based on John 4:13-14, 7:37-38