Prayer to Accompany the Sermon July 26, 2009: "The First Boy Scout"

Our most wondrous and amazing Abba, gathering here in the company of our family of faith we are relieved, delighted to utter words of praise and prayers of thanksgiving. Too rarely we speak beyond Sunday about your wondrous deeds and your abiding patience and love. All too often we sputter words of frustration, anxiety, and dread on Monday until we get warmed up for the week ahead. We make our promise this morning that we will tune our hearts and minds to your everyday presence with us. We will rise to greet each and every new day not begrudging the morning or regretting the night. We will treasure and savor the minutes gifted to us. With your help, Lord, God, we will find all of the ways to take pleasure in our work, learn to value the efforts of others, and engage in living this life fully, responsibly, authentically and graciously. Truly, our hope, our joy and our peace are in you; forgive us when we forget, in the name of the Christ we pray. Amen

Congregational Prayer for Sunday July 19, 2009

Gracious and Ever living God, we are humbled in your presence, awed by your countless deeds of love and rescue and your willingness to keep working with humankind for the sake of the whole world. We confess that we are not always conscientious in living out the promise we made to you when we first proclaimed our faith. Yes, we obey laws and follow rules, but we pray to be a bit more liberal in exercising compassion, demonstrating fairness and honoring our commitments to one another. Let us not be conservative with the gifts you have given to each of us, but let us lavish them upon each other and upon all whom we meet. Let us not be paralyzed by pride, hobbled by arrogance, or isolated by timidity. Lead us far from superior notions of ourselves, and save us from obsessing over the trivial. As our mothers once admonished us to be sure and wash behind our ears, we pray, dearest Lord, that you will reach into our hearts and cleanse us thoroughly from the inside out. All this we pray in the name of the Christ. Amen

Congregational Prayer for Sunday July 12, 2009

Glorious God how often we think of you as hanging out in heaven sort of looking down at us from a distance. And it is also true that many of us have pretty much concluded that you have done just about everything with us that you planned to do. We confess a degree of sluggishness in our thinking. We have forgotten that you are a dynamic and motivating presence in our lives. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work in every installment of our existence. We keep thinking of ourselves moving toward the future, but rarely do we think that your future is ever moving toward us. We pray vigorously not to be a part of the dumbing -down of society. We want to be thinkers, intelligent, focused, clear, working always to discern and understand what you are calling us to do. Help us to grasp the glorious immensity of what it means to be Christians. May your extravagant work in us give us endless energy and boundless strength. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen

MOVIE REVIEW: "THE UGLY TRUTH"

Anyone, ages 18-50 (in my case a tad older) remembers Gerard Butler as the hunk with 6 pack abs in “The 300.” Many remember his immortal words “We are Sparta”-- I think one of the few lines actually spoken by anyone in the film. I must confess a repetitive eagerness to watch Gerard Butler on the Big Screen and, at the first opportunity, went to see his latest film “The Ugly Truth” co-starring the delightfully refreshing Katherine Heigl. I am by no means a prude, but the first thing I must say in this review is: THIS IS NOT A FILM FOR TEENAGERS! It is rated R and rightly so. I don’t care what kind of parental consent you give teenagers do not and cannot find sex FUNNY. Only those who know the marvels and disappointments of sexual relationships can appreciate this film. I must say I laughed out loud, blushed and chortled, along with most of the other men and women in the audience. We laughed at the indignities our bodies are subjected to when it comes to our physiology and swooned as the couple danced to a Latin Rhythm. Not to diminish Meg Ryan’s famous restaurant scene in “When Harry Met Sally,” but Katherine Heigl deserves an Oscar for her “physical comedy” in the restaurant scene of this film. The bawdy, rough edged, matter of fact humor of “Mike” and the obsessive, controlling, foraging for the perfect match of “Abby” speak volumes in this bright and sexy film about how we humans seek to be, and want to be in relationship. The professional reviewers may have given it 3 stars, but anything that makes me laugh and smile for 96 minutes is worth 4 hearts.

NEW FEATURE: MOVIE REVIEWS

I have not thought to review movies on my blog, but I love them and see lots and lots of them old and new,so I am going to start sharing my opinions about the films I see. I will use hearts to grade them. (I can't seem to upload a heart symbol, but I will figure it out)
1 heart: don’t bother
2 hearts: only if you have a gift certificate and nothing better to do
3 hearts: good take in
4 hearts: worth the money even with popcorn
5 hearts: This will make history and shouldn’t be missed

Prayer to Accompany Sermon July 5, 2009 "TWO DAUGHTERS"

Gracious God, this weekend we remember the decision our fore parents made to declare their independence from those who governed them from far away. We are mindful that in the struggle to be a free and independent nation, like any newborn child we had to develop, learn, and mature. We confess that even though we are much older now, we have not always acted wisely, or more grown-up. We certainly do not have all of the answers to the problems that confront us and the mistakes we make today have far reaching effects throughout the world. Each time we have gotten too big for our britches we have been humbled, made aware of our need for and dependence on your wise counsel. We pray, O God, that you will help us to proceed with caution when we are incensed, to hold our tongues when silence better serves the cause of humanity and to always be willing to lend a hand in spite of our own burdens. As the author of change, Loving Lord, let our continuing reformation be in response to your leading. Focus our thoughts, our actions and our attention on your will, your vision and your mission for us. In the name of the Christ we pray.