CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Our Glorious Creator, Author of salvation, we praise your name and give you thanks for the days of our life, for the freedom we have to choose, for the ability to be decisive and, most of all, for second chances. We confess the fragility of our egos. And dearest Lord, we confess to, sometimes, feeling unappreciated especially when someone else’s work is recognized before ours. Help us never feel discounted, by attentions paid to any who seek to glorify your name. All our efforts, as followers of Jesus, are made in your honor. Help us take our faith off the back burner and see clearly all of the chances you set before us to be gratified in our work. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Gracious God, our hearts are full as we ponder the depth of love you have shown us in the life of Jesus. He opened our eyes and helped us to see your light shining in the darkness. He invited us to know you intimately, personally and to be aware of your presence in every moment of our lives. These offerings cannot fully express how grateful we are for all your blessings. However we pray that they will succeed in shining your light in dark places and bring comfort and healing to those in need. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
Monday, October 29, 2012
October 21, 2012 "IMAGINE WHAT'S POSSIBLE"
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Our most Awesome and Glorious God, we thank you for the sun that rises in the morning creating, for all the world, the new day. Whether its face is hidden among the clouds or we see it’s brilliance and feel the warmth its rays, we have not been grateful enough for its powerful light. When we confess that we take for granted, each new day, we are reminded of the many blessings we fail to acknowledge. Thank you, dearest Lord, for this family of faith, for those dear ones who seek to love us through and in spite of our faults and flaws. We thank you for life’s challenges; without them we would not comprehend the meaning of faith. We thank you for the millions of heartbeats that carry us through the days and nights of our life. We thank you most of all for the person of Jesus, the wisdom of his words and the example of his life. We thank you for the companionship of the Holy Spirit who remains with us to inspire us and ignite a fire of imagination within. Help us, Gracious God, to be your servants always imagining what’s possible in the name of the Christ. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
Carl Sagan wrote: “Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere.” If we live believing that we are powerless to change ourselves or the systems that govern our lives; if we live thinking that there is nothing we can do, nothing we can change, nothing we can make better — that we have no power to influence even our own actions then we have embraced fatalism, not faith. Today, if you can reach into your pocket or purse and make an offering to the church, you have embraced faith, not fate.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Gracious God our hearts and hands have committed these offerings to your keeping, to be used to further the work of the church in spreading the good news of your kingdom come upon the earth. May these faith inspired gifts reach into the darkest places of this earth to bring light. May they replace dearth with plenty and despair with hope. We pledge ourselves and the work of our hands that we may be your instruments of peace offering solace to a hurting world. In the name of the Christ. Amen.
Our most Awesome and Glorious God, we thank you for the sun that rises in the morning creating, for all the world, the new day. Whether its face is hidden among the clouds or we see it’s brilliance and feel the warmth its rays, we have not been grateful enough for its powerful light. When we confess that we take for granted, each new day, we are reminded of the many blessings we fail to acknowledge. Thank you, dearest Lord, for this family of faith, for those dear ones who seek to love us through and in spite of our faults and flaws. We thank you for life’s challenges; without them we would not comprehend the meaning of faith. We thank you for the millions of heartbeats that carry us through the days and nights of our life. We thank you most of all for the person of Jesus, the wisdom of his words and the example of his life. We thank you for the companionship of the Holy Spirit who remains with us to inspire us and ignite a fire of imagination within. Help us, Gracious God, to be your servants always imagining what’s possible in the name of the Christ. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
Carl Sagan wrote: “Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere.” If we live believing that we are powerless to change ourselves or the systems that govern our lives; if we live thinking that there is nothing we can do, nothing we can change, nothing we can make better — that we have no power to influence even our own actions then we have embraced fatalism, not faith. Today, if you can reach into your pocket or purse and make an offering to the church, you have embraced faith, not fate.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Gracious God our hearts and hands have committed these offerings to your keeping, to be used to further the work of the church in spreading the good news of your kingdom come upon the earth. May these faith inspired gifts reach into the darkest places of this earth to bring light. May they replace dearth with plenty and despair with hope. We pledge ourselves and the work of our hands that we may be your instruments of peace offering solace to a hurting world. In the name of the Christ. Amen.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
October 14, 2012 "FIFTY YEARS OF WELCOME"
Greeting
Dear Friends, we have gathered together in this time of worship to give thanks to the Lord our God for one of the great blessings of our lives, this very United Methodist Body of Christ here in Palm Springs. Fifty years ago God’s wondrous and empowering Spirit moved in the hearts of those first individuals who longed to be a congregation of Methodists treading a Wesleyan path toward holiness. They found a way to be a congregation first, finding a temporary home in Temple Isaiah where they were free to worship, pray, dream and make plans for the day when they would have a church home. We celebrate the determination, dedication and devotion of those first dreamers, the sacrifice, love, commitment and hard work of so many who have brought us to this present day, and the visionary leadership of those who will guide us through our next 50 years of ministry.
Dear Friends, we have gathered together in this time of worship to give thanks to the Lord our God for one of the great blessings of our lives, this very United Methodist Body of Christ here in Palm Springs. Fifty years ago God’s wondrous and empowering Spirit moved in the hearts of those first individuals who longed to be a congregation of Methodists treading a Wesleyan path toward holiness. They found a way to be a congregation first, finding a temporary home in Temple Isaiah where they were free to worship, pray, dream and make plans for the day when they would have a church home. We celebrate the determination, dedication and devotion of those first dreamers, the sacrifice, love, commitment and hard work of so many who have brought us to this present day, and the visionary leadership of those who will guide us through our next 50 years of ministry.
October 7, 2012 "THE WELCOME TABLE"
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Sovereign God, Creator of the Universe, today in our tiny corner of the world, we open our eyes to the realization that we are connected with the whole body of Christ beyond borders, seas and oceans, beyond longitudes and latitudes, time zones, and languages. No matter how we celebrate the Lord’s Supper; no matter the way in which we partake of the elements, all who claim the name of the Christ, partake together as one body in the world, always looking forward to the coming of the Christ. One day we will feast at your heavenly banquet, but today we remain one in Christ, one with each other and one in ministry to all the world. Bless our whole communion; we ask in the name of the Christ. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
The earliest followers of Jesus in Acts 2:44-47 “were all who believed and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds, to all as any had need. They spent much time together in the temple, and broke bread at home, and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and have the goodwill of all the people. And day by day The Lord added to their number…” You see, because they believed, because they shared and because they were generous people of glad hearts, God kept adding to their number. That’s God’s formula for church growth.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Glorious God accept our tithes and offerings not only for the care and support of Christ’s church, but the care and support of your creation. Let faith and trust abide in our hearts as we seek to live in response to your never ending and abundant grace. Empower us, further, O Lord, to be your people of glad and generous hearts as we continue our ministries of care, reaching out to those in need in our community and around the world. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
Sovereign God, Creator of the Universe, today in our tiny corner of the world, we open our eyes to the realization that we are connected with the whole body of Christ beyond borders, seas and oceans, beyond longitudes and latitudes, time zones, and languages. No matter how we celebrate the Lord’s Supper; no matter the way in which we partake of the elements, all who claim the name of the Christ, partake together as one body in the world, always looking forward to the coming of the Christ. One day we will feast at your heavenly banquet, but today we remain one in Christ, one with each other and one in ministry to all the world. Bless our whole communion; we ask in the name of the Christ. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
The earliest followers of Jesus in Acts 2:44-47 “were all who believed and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds, to all as any had need. They spent much time together in the temple, and broke bread at home, and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and have the goodwill of all the people. And day by day The Lord added to their number…” You see, because they believed, because they shared and because they were generous people of glad hearts, God kept adding to their number. That’s God’s formula for church growth.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Glorious God accept our tithes and offerings not only for the care and support of Christ’s church, but the care and support of your creation. Let faith and trust abide in our hearts as we seek to live in response to your never ending and abundant grace. Empower us, further, O Lord, to be your people of glad and generous hearts as we continue our ministries of care, reaching out to those in need in our community and around the world. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
Monday, October 1, 2012
September 30, 2012 GOOD SHOULDS"
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Compassionate and merciful God, we lift our voices in prayer this morning knowing that you hear the timbre of each voice, ever alert to the sounds of suffering. Our beloved savior urged us not be anxious about our life, what we will eat or drink, about our bodies, or what we will wear; even still we confess our anxiety. Remind us that from your heart pours forth a Spirit of calm to reassure us, to quench our thirst, satisfy our hunger and bathe us in the light of your goodness and promises kept. May our prayers for each other, for brothers and sisters in need, for children in want, even for ourselves be the prayers that fuel our mission, energize our calling and fortify our spirits. It is in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the man of sorrows, that we are reminded how much you know of suffering. Your heart has indeed bled for us and we can do naught, but be grateful and humbled. Thank you, dearest Lord, we say, in the name of the Christ. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
Horace Mann was known as the “Father of the Common School Movement.” The epitaph on the monument over his grave reads: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” He boldly conceived of universal education through the establishment of free schools, which he called a grand experiment whose effect would not be recognized in a single generation. In 1891 when encouraging the State of Massachusetts to continue it’s financial support of the universal education experiment he said: “The sincerity of our gratitude must be tested by our efforts to perpetuate and improve what these schools have established. The gratitude of the lips only is an unholy offering.” Make a holy offering today.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Glorious God our gratitude for your love, mercy and blessings, is not only expressed by our grateful prayers, but by these, our gifts of gratitude. Bless this holy offering as it seeks to carry on and improve the work that we do in the name of Jesus Christ. Let faith and trust abide in our hearts as we seek the path to holiness by living out the commandment to love one another as Christ loved us. It is in his marvelous name that we pray. Amen.
Compassionate and merciful God, we lift our voices in prayer this morning knowing that you hear the timbre of each voice, ever alert to the sounds of suffering. Our beloved savior urged us not be anxious about our life, what we will eat or drink, about our bodies, or what we will wear; even still we confess our anxiety. Remind us that from your heart pours forth a Spirit of calm to reassure us, to quench our thirst, satisfy our hunger and bathe us in the light of your goodness and promises kept. May our prayers for each other, for brothers and sisters in need, for children in want, even for ourselves be the prayers that fuel our mission, energize our calling and fortify our spirits. It is in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the man of sorrows, that we are reminded how much you know of suffering. Your heart has indeed bled for us and we can do naught, but be grateful and humbled. Thank you, dearest Lord, we say, in the name of the Christ. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
Horace Mann was known as the “Father of the Common School Movement.” The epitaph on the monument over his grave reads: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” He boldly conceived of universal education through the establishment of free schools, which he called a grand experiment whose effect would not be recognized in a single generation. In 1891 when encouraging the State of Massachusetts to continue it’s financial support of the universal education experiment he said: “The sincerity of our gratitude must be tested by our efforts to perpetuate and improve what these schools have established. The gratitude of the lips only is an unholy offering.” Make a holy offering today.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Glorious God our gratitude for your love, mercy and blessings, is not only expressed by our grateful prayers, but by these, our gifts of gratitude. Bless this holy offering as it seeks to carry on and improve the work that we do in the name of Jesus Christ. Let faith and trust abide in our hearts as we seek the path to holiness by living out the commandment to love one another as Christ loved us. It is in his marvelous name that we pray. Amen.
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