April 7,2013 "JOURNEYING TO EMMAUS"

AN AFFIRMATION FOR EASTERTIDE (WRITTEN BY AMANDA BURR)
We trust and affirm that each of us is created in the image of God and that:
God’s Grace is immeasurable and God’s will for us is always Goodwill;
Jesus Christ lived to forgive, to bind up the broken hearted and proclaim release to those held captive by this world;
Jesus carried our sins and bore our shame upon the cross where he surrendered his own spirit to God.
Jesus set our spirits free.
God promised that Jesus would not be given up to death.
He rose on the third day proving that all things are possible with God.
The Holy Spirit reminds us daily that loving God with all of our heart, soul mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, moves us ever onward toward perfection.
Thanks be to God! Amen.

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Glorious God, Divine author of the Resurrection, our spirits are still electrified by the wonder and mystery of Christ being raised up from death. We confess our timidity to shout the news of Christ’s rising to the mountain tops as freely and easily as we declare Jesus’ birth. Let our faith in the resurrection shine in each of us as a beacon of triumphant hope for all who doubt, or who live with a fear that death will ultimately be victorious. Prayerfully, gracious God, we dare to repeat what Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting?” With Paul we challenge the power of death and are invited, energized, and empowered to excel in our service to you, and our work for the gospel, knowing that our labor is not in vain. In the name of the Christ we offer our thanks and praise. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
I love reading Charles Dickens. Actually, I love to hear his books read by David Timson. Currently I am reading Dombey and Son. Dombey’s 6 year old son Paul asks: “Papa, what is money?” His father is taken aback wondering what he wants to know, but decides that young Paul will benefit most by knowing what money can do. He says: “Money, Paul, can do anything. It causes us to be honored, feared, respected, courted and admired. It makes us powerful and glorious in the eyes of all men.” Paul responds: “If money can do anything, why didn’t money save me my Mama? It isn’t cruel is it?” Through a child’s innocent question, Dickens invites his reader into a critical exploration of the moral versus the political value of money.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Lord, Bless the gifts we bring. We offer them with grateful hearts. These are the first fruits of our faith, the first fruits of our labor offered to your service, for we esteem you more than these. With these we honor our most important commitment — to you. May these tithes build up your church, and keep it relevant in this complex world. Let what we are fortunate enough to share be an instrument of transformation, helping to restore the spirits of the lost and forgotten. In the name of the Christ, we pray. Amen.