Shared Convictions: Seven Responsive Readings
Description
College Community Church Mennonite Brethren (Clovis, California) found a creative way to use the Mennonite World Conference's Shared Convictions in their congregation on the Sundays following Easter 2014.
Pastor Bill Braun, adapted the seven Shared Convictions, along with other resources, to create a responsive reading to use in their worship series for Eastertide. Their series is drawn from 1 Peter, the church in times of challenge/persecution. It is reproduced here with permission.
Scripture
1 PeterSpoken Resources
April 27, 2014 (Bright Sunday)
Declaring our Shared Convictions
(The congregation is asked to read the bold print.)
Heavenly Father and God of mercy, we no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for he is alive and has become the Lord of life.
Because of your power at work in the resurrection of Christ,
we declare that as a community of faith and life we seek to transcend boundaries of nationality, race, class, gender and language.
Because of your power at work in the resurrection of Christ,
we declare that as a community of faith and life we seek to live in the world without conforming to the powers of evil, witnessing to God’s grace by serving others, caring for creation, and inviting all people to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
May the grace of God so fill us,
May the love of Christ so embrace us,
May the presence of the Spirit so empower us that we may live to the glory and praise of God.
Alleluia, Amen.
[Adapted from the Statement of Shared Convictions, Article 7, Mennonite World Conference]
May 4, 2014 (The 3rd Sunday of Easter)
Declaring our Shared Convictions
(The congregation is asked to read the bold print.)
Heavenly Father and God of mercy, we no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for he is alive and has become the Lord of life.
Because of your power at work in the resurrection of Christ,
we declare that we gather regularly to worship, to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, and to hear the Word of God in a spirit of mutual accountability.
May the grace of God so fill us,
May the love of Christ so embrace us,
May the presence of the Spirit so empower us that we may live to the glory and praise of God.
Alleluia, Amen.
[Adapted from the Statement of Shared Convictions, Article 6, Mennonite World Conference]
May 11, 2014 (The 4th Sunday of Easter)
Declaring our Shared Convictions
(The congregation is asked to read the bold print.)
Heavenly Father and God of mercy, we no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for he is alive and has become the Lord of life.
Because of your power at work in the resurrection of Christ,
we declare that Jesus is the Son of God.
Because of your power at work in the resurrection of Christ,
we declare that through his life and teachings, his cross and resurrection, he showed us how to be faithful disciples, redeemed the world, and offers eternal life.
May the grace of God so fill us,
May the love of Christ so embrace us,
May the presence of the Spirit so empower us that we may live to the glory and praise of God.
Alleluia, Amen.
[Adapted from the Statement of Shared Convictions, Article 2, Mennonite World Conference]
May 18, 2014 (The 5th Sunday of Easter)
Declaring our Shared Convictions
(The congregation is asked to read the bold print.)
Heavenly Father and God of mercy, we no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for he is alive and has become the Lord of life.
Because of your power at work in the resurrection of Christ,
we declare that the Spirit of Jesus empowers us to trust God in all areas of life so we become peacemakers
Because of your power at work in the resurrection of Christ,
we declare as peacemakers we renounce violence love our enemies, seek justice, and share our possessions with those in need.
May the grace of God so fill us,
May the love of Christ so embrace us,
May the presence of the Spirit so empower us that we may live to the glory and praise of God.
Alleluia, Amen.
[Adapted from the Statement of Shared Convictions, Article 5, Mennonite World Conference]
May 25, 2014 (The 6th Sunday of Easter)
Declaring our Shared Convictions
(The congregation is asked to read the bold print.)
Heavenly Father and God of mercy, we no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for he is alive and has become the Lord of life.
Because of your power at work in the resurrection of Christ,
we accept the Bible as our authority for faith and life.
Because of your power at work in the resurrection of Christ,
we interpret the Bible under Holy Spirit guidance, in the light of Jesus Christ to discern God’s will for our obedience.
May the grace of God so fill us,
May the love of Christ so embrace us,
May the presence of the Spirit so empower us that we may live to the glory and praise of God.
Alleluia, Amen.
[Adapted from the Statement of Shared Convictions, Article 4, Mennonite World Conference]
June 1, 2014 (The 7th Sunday of Easter)
Declaring our Shared Convictions
(The congregation is asked to read the bold print.)
Heavenly Father and God of mercy, we no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for he is alive and has become the Lord of life.
Because of your power at work in the resurrection of Christ,
God is known to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Because of your power at work in the resurrection of Christ,
God is known to us as the Creator who seeks to restore fallen humanity by calling a people to be faithful in fellowship, worship, service, and witness.
May the grace of God so fill us,
May the love of Christ so embrace us,
May the presence of the Spirit so empower us that we may live to the glory and praise of God.
Alleluia, Amen.
[Adapted from the Statement of Shared Convictions, Article 1, Mennonite World Conference]
Images
Notes
This worship resource was created/compiled by Bill Braun. You are welcome to use it free of charge, and where appropriate, please note the source. If you are printing any of the resources for distribution, please print the source as well. The content of the worship resource does not necessarily represent the views of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, which oversees the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies. For more worship resources from Mennonite World Conference, see http://www.mwc-cmm.org/content/stories-and-resources.