CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Gracious God we ponder and repeat what the psalmist wrote all those years ago, believing his words to be eternally true. “Oh Lord you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You know all my ways.” You know us to the very depths of our soul, for it was you who formed our inward parts. You know what we are going to say, before the words leave our lips. Help us to listen to our hearts, to be aware of everything and everyone around us. Teach us to connect with your guiding, calming, presence, when chaos reigns and solutions to problems seem to be in short supply. Let us capture your vision and embrace it. Lead us along the path of patience. Help us build spiritual endurance in spontaneous and purposeful moments of prayer. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
STEWARDSHIP INVITATION
When I worked as a recruiter for the Peace Corps a common saying among those people I worked with was: “The right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing.” You’d think the hands could write notes to each other, or use sign language to keep the channels of communication open. Whichever hand you depend on to make the offering to the church, I hope your other hand encourages it to be generous.
OFFERTORY PRAYER
Gracious God, pour out your blessing upon these gifts. They come from the labor of our hands. They are brought before you by trusted hands and are offered humbly and prayerfully to do your work and will. May these offerings bring help, relief and comfort to those in need. May they be a powerful blessing to our work as the body of your Christ in the world. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment