CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Wondrous God, we take a deep breath, breathing into our bodies your essential presence. We are grateful and we know that we are not presumptuous in our thanksgiving and our praise, because you keep your promises. From the beginning of all things, you have kept faith and covenant with us. You have always sought us out, beckoned to us, called to us, held out your hand to us. You became covenant in the person of Jesus, a hands-on savior taking on the world, to teach us and ultimately show us the better way. In your final hours you said: “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you, not as the world gives.” Give us the courage to be the good news. Help us get our feet in gear to proclaim the gospel of peace in this troubled world for the cry for peace and justice echoes down the centuries in the voices of the lost, the abused, the imprisoned and the oppressed. Hear our prayer, O Lord, in the name of the Christ. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
The other day, a friend showed me his selection of counterfeit men’s and women’s Rolex watches for sale. I bought a counterfeit Rolex in Hawaii about 20 years ago, but I ended up giving it to my brother since it was a man’s watch and just too heavy for me to wear. My friend assured me that his counterfeits are automatic with the trademark sweep hand. I decided against buying a new fake Rolex, for all sorts of reasons not the least of which is, the fact that I am armed with numerous devices eager to remind just what time it is. Thank God we don’t need Rolexes to remind us, it is never too late to give and pledge our support to Christ’s church.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Glorious God it feels good to bring our tithes and offerings before you. The love and grace you bestow upon us is the genuine article and so too is our commitment to live in response to your gracious gift. Our prayer is that all of the children of creation can come to know you and experience the abundance of your love and mercy. May our offerings help to bring them ever closer. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
August 19, 2012 "LIGHT FRUIT"
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Gracious and Everliving God, hear our grateful prayer. We have come to worship and to praise your name, to lift ourselves out of the affairs of the world and focus all our thoughts upon you, and upon the indwelling of your Spirit in each of us. Encourage our understanding of our part in your kingdom come. We confess our tendency to be ruled by the world’s visions of scarcity, of lack of not enough. We put our whole trust in human institutions and depending upon the guarantees individuals offer us for just for just a few dollars more. Make us wise, O Lord. When we start looking for guarantees; when we are desperate to have the world revolve at the rate we require; when we cannot be satisfied unless all of our needs are met, remind us that your love, grace and mercy have been, from the beginning, designed to supply all of our needs. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
I love Nectarines. I am so glad that God created a furless peach just for me. If not for the nectarine I would have to confine myself to eating canned peaches, or peach pie, or drinking peach nectar. I look forward to August when the nectarines arrive at Costco all perfect, and juicy and sweet. Of course it’s hard for one person to eat a dozen nectarines, so I have become a sort of nectarine evangelist, sharing the fruit with others. One nectarine proselyte declared that these nectarines were addicting. He keeps coming back for more. Oh that people would find the gospel as tasty.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Glorious God we are glad to work for the transformation of the world through our support of the church and its ministries. Our prayer is that all of the children of creation can come to know you and experience the abundance of your love and mercy. May our offerings help to bring relief to those in dire circumstances, oppressed, imprisoned, isolated, and forgotten, be they close at hand or far away. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
Gracious and Everliving God, hear our grateful prayer. We have come to worship and to praise your name, to lift ourselves out of the affairs of the world and focus all our thoughts upon you, and upon the indwelling of your Spirit in each of us. Encourage our understanding of our part in your kingdom come. We confess our tendency to be ruled by the world’s visions of scarcity, of lack of not enough. We put our whole trust in human institutions and depending upon the guarantees individuals offer us for just for just a few dollars more. Make us wise, O Lord. When we start looking for guarantees; when we are desperate to have the world revolve at the rate we require; when we cannot be satisfied unless all of our needs are met, remind us that your love, grace and mercy have been, from the beginning, designed to supply all of our needs. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
I love Nectarines. I am so glad that God created a furless peach just for me. If not for the nectarine I would have to confine myself to eating canned peaches, or peach pie, or drinking peach nectar. I look forward to August when the nectarines arrive at Costco all perfect, and juicy and sweet. Of course it’s hard for one person to eat a dozen nectarines, so I have become a sort of nectarine evangelist, sharing the fruit with others. One nectarine proselyte declared that these nectarines were addicting. He keeps coming back for more. Oh that people would find the gospel as tasty.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Glorious God we are glad to work for the transformation of the world through our support of the church and its ministries. Our prayer is that all of the children of creation can come to know you and experience the abundance of your love and mercy. May our offerings help to bring relief to those in dire circumstances, oppressed, imprisoned, isolated, and forgotten, be they close at hand or far away. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
August 12, 2012 "CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH?"
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Glorious God, we have come to praise you, to focus our minds and hearts upon your gracious bounty given into our care. We confess that we bring with us our grief, our fear, our doubt, our frustration, our pain, our illness and our worries. Help us to let go the things that weigh us down. Lighten our spirits and fill our hearts with your truth. You have fulfilled your promises and given us the earth and its ability to produce abundantly. We pray for the ability to utilize the earth’s resources to benefit all of the people of the earth. Help us to stop the violence done to your creation by those who are ruled by selfishness and greed, need and desperation. Let us live as Jesus taught us; for truth is in Jesus. Let us live truthfully, then, speaking truth to our neighbors always in the name of the Christ. Amen.
Glorious God, we have come to praise you, to focus our minds and hearts upon your gracious bounty given into our care. We confess that we bring with us our grief, our fear, our doubt, our frustration, our pain, our illness and our worries. Help us to let go the things that weigh us down. Lighten our spirits and fill our hearts with your truth. You have fulfilled your promises and given us the earth and its ability to produce abundantly. We pray for the ability to utilize the earth’s resources to benefit all of the people of the earth. Help us to stop the violence done to your creation by those who are ruled by selfishness and greed, need and desperation. Let us live as Jesus taught us; for truth is in Jesus. Let us live truthfully, then, speaking truth to our neighbors always in the name of the Christ. Amen.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
August 5, 2012 "KNIT TOGETHER"
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
O Lord, Our Lord, full of majesty and power, you are our rock and our redeemer. But you are strength and innocence, Lord and servant, unshakable yet moving, calling each one of us to an intimate relationship with you. You already know our every thought, our every fear, our every doubt without our speaking the words out loud. You know our delights and sorrows, our triumphs and the often cruel disappointments the world dishes out. Open our ears to hear your repeated whispers of encouragement given to enlighten our thinking, comfort our fears and allay our doubts. Let us not be afraid to live the disciple life, confident of your ever-presence; trusting that your hand is held out to guide us through any darkness, into your light. May we always find respite for our souls here as we intertwine our thoughts, our voices, our prayers, our hands and hearts as the whole body of Christ. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
Credit Cards are not the personification of the “tempter,” nevertheless I look very closely at my statements, since discovering something called “pre-paid” and “automatic” renewals. These charges can appear annually (surprise!) for things like a card membership or monthly for something you purchased — God only knows when — because the demon inside your computer or your cell phone said: “You NEED this!” Perhaps, you needed it at the time, back in May 2011, in order to perform some task, once. Since then you have been paying $20.00 a month for the on-going privilege of doing, what, exactly, you can’t quite remember. Canceling the payment can be done quickly, but the $300 you paid for something you never used is gone forever. John Wesley reminds us that we need to be alert and responsible with money, where it goes and who receives it.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Loving and Merciful God, bless these offerings, given with a cheerful heart. Teach us the ways of frugal living, inspired by a spirit of sufficiency and enough. Help us O Lord, be good stewards of what we have. Help us to speak out on behalf of those who have naught and give us the wisdom and strength to be workers for economic equanimity and transformation in this society and the world. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
O Lord, Our Lord, full of majesty and power, you are our rock and our redeemer. But you are strength and innocence, Lord and servant, unshakable yet moving, calling each one of us to an intimate relationship with you. You already know our every thought, our every fear, our every doubt without our speaking the words out loud. You know our delights and sorrows, our triumphs and the often cruel disappointments the world dishes out. Open our ears to hear your repeated whispers of encouragement given to enlighten our thinking, comfort our fears and allay our doubts. Let us not be afraid to live the disciple life, confident of your ever-presence; trusting that your hand is held out to guide us through any darkness, into your light. May we always find respite for our souls here as we intertwine our thoughts, our voices, our prayers, our hands and hearts as the whole body of Christ. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
Credit Cards are not the personification of the “tempter,” nevertheless I look very closely at my statements, since discovering something called “pre-paid” and “automatic” renewals. These charges can appear annually (surprise!) for things like a card membership or monthly for something you purchased — God only knows when — because the demon inside your computer or your cell phone said: “You NEED this!” Perhaps, you needed it at the time, back in May 2011, in order to perform some task, once. Since then you have been paying $20.00 a month for the on-going privilege of doing, what, exactly, you can’t quite remember. Canceling the payment can be done quickly, but the $300 you paid for something you never used is gone forever. John Wesley reminds us that we need to be alert and responsible with money, where it goes and who receives it.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Loving and Merciful God, bless these offerings, given with a cheerful heart. Teach us the ways of frugal living, inspired by a spirit of sufficiency and enough. Help us O Lord, be good stewards of what we have. Help us to speak out on behalf of those who have naught and give us the wisdom and strength to be workers for economic equanimity and transformation in this society and the world. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
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