March 18, 2012 "MIRACLES WITH DOUBLE STUFF"

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Glorious God, inspire us this morning with a hopeful vision. We live in a world torn apart by misunderstandings, greed, fear and ignorance. The haves are suspicious and wary of the have-nots and the have-nots are suspicious and wary of the haves. Remind us Lord that strength is for service, not status. The strong and able in faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter. Faith must not be about doing what is most convenient for us.*** We confess that in our worship, many of us cling to ideas, presumptions and practices that identify us as those truly on the goodness track. Help us to accept each other — our similarities and our differences — right down to the way we worship you. Remind us that the way we hold our heads or our hands to rejoice, to give thanks and to pray need only be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
The year I was born the Sunshine Hydrox chocolate cookie with cream filling had already been around for 40 years. It was the cookie of choice in my house, along with Tollhouse Chocolate Chip cookies made from scratch. Nowadays you can’t find Hydrox. The Oreo came into being 4 years after the Sunshine cookie and celebrated 100 years as Milk’s favorite cookie on March 6th. Over 491 billion Oreo cookies have been sold since 1912, making them the best selling cookie of the 20th century. I’m pretty sure it was the Double Stuf Oreo, introduced in 1975, that caused Hydrox to simply fall off the face of the cookie map. I guess that proves that it takes twice as much, sometimes, just to keep going and growing. Food for thought —as it were.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Glorious God, because our commitment to Jesus is a priority in our lives, so too, is our commitment to the vitality and work of this body of Christ — the church. We are, all of us, ministers in Christ’s name, ambassadors of the assurance of all things hoped for. Bless these gifts, O Lord, that they may empower your mission as we reach out to our community and the world bringing Good News and healing in the name of the Christ. Amen.