Rev. Carol McEntyre 2/28/2021 - Again & Again, We are called to Listen, First Baptist Church of Columbia, MO
Feb 28, 2021
Summary
Again & Again we are called to listen
Detail
Call to Worship
Today in worship, we will be reminded that again and again, we are called to listen. This is part of our invitation as people of faith—to not only speak, pray, and sing, but to listen.
And I will be the first to say, listening is hard. From our toddler years on up, we struggle to listen, particularly when we don’t know what we’re listening for or we don’t agree with what we’re hearing.
So for just a moment, as we gather ourselves for worship, I want to invite you to join me in a kinesthetic call to worship by embodying our prayer as I prompt you.
Let us listen, let us pray:
Family of faith, I invite you to close your eyes.
Rest your feet on the floor beneath you.
Release any tension you are holding—
In your jaw, your neck, your shoulders, your hands,
your legs, your feet.
Take a deep breath in and slowly let it out.
The Hebrew word for breath (ruach) is the same word for Spirit.
So as you breathe, imagine that it is God who is filling up your lungs with energy and love.
Trust that God is as close as your very breath.
Now I invite you to still your mind. Imagine your mind as a river.
Thoughts will drift into view; they always do.
However, instead of holding onto those thoughts,
allow yourself to let them float by.
And listen. Listen deep. Listen far. Listen wide. Listen.
The sound of your breath is like the sound of the Divine.
This is a holy space.
Let us worship God.