John 5, 1-9

After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids--blind, lame, and paralysed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me." Jesus said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk." At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Come God,
come walk with your people,
for you alone are our strength and glory,
and we put our trust in you.

Come God,
come walk behind us, beside us, before us,
for you alone are our shelter and direction,
and we put our trust in you.

Come God,
come seek and find and put us right,
for you alone are the light in our darkness,
and we put our trust in you.

Come God,
we know you are near,
the sound of your footsteps sets us dancing.
Help us to praise and worship you.

Prayer of Confession

God of wisdom,
in this maze of life,
we often run headlong in any direction
which offers a faint glimmer of fulfillment.

Redirect our aimless thinking, doing, and speaking.

In our world,
we often focus exclusively on "me" and "mine."
We want "my will" and "my desires."

Forgive our trivial pursuits,
and the smallness of our focus.

Help us to hunger for what you offer:

a new beginning in loving fully,
loving generously, sharing peacefully
and making joy inclusively.