This Sunday we are observing All Saints’ Day. This call to worship is inspired by the lectionary reading for the day from Isaiah 25:6-9. (Leader reads plain text, people read bold.)

Hurricanes and floods and environmental havoc;
drones and IEDs and handguns;
cancer and heart disease and bodies shutting down;
poverty and injustice and oppression.
The ways of death in this world are many.
The words of death surround us.
The fear of death envelopes us.
But we come now to hear a different Word,
a true Word
a life-giving Word.
We are here on Isaiah’s mountain
where tears are wiped away,
where a banquet table has been set,
where death has been swallowed up forever.
We do not fully understand it.
We may not fully believe it.
And yet here it is:
the power of Christ’s life within us and among us.
So let us be glad and rejoice in our salvation!

 And here is a link to an edited version of  Hebrews 11:1-12:2, put into a format for three readers. It’s not lectionary, but it fits nicely with All Saints. (Though some of these guys –and Rahab–aren’t exactly saintly.)

*As always, you are welcome to use this material in your own worship context. Acknowledgment is appreciated.