JULY 28, 2013 "ERASER, DISARMER AND FRIEND"

AN AFFIRMATION OF FAITH: One Act in Jesus Christ ***
In the vastness of the Universe there is one God, the creator of all things, the gracious redeemer of humanity, merciful forgiver and eternal reconciling presence.
Jesus Christ came into the world that we might see the face of the invisible God, in whose image all are created. When we turn our eyes upon Jesus, the Beloved One, bringing the Christ of God into our hearts, we are re-created, becoming new beings in his name.
Through Jesus all things hold together from beginning to end. We are bound together by our common faith in him. We who were strangers, wandering and disconnected from God, have been brought close, once again, by Jesus’ self-sacrificing love, even unto death on the cross. God did not give Jesus up to death, but raised him from the dead, as promised.
Neither did God leave us desolate and alone, but gave us the gift of The Holy Spirit who walks with us through this life until Jesus will present us holy, blameless, and irreproachable before God.
Therefore, we are steadfast in our faith, clinging to the gospel hope, promised and proclaimed. We are pleased to serve our Lord, each day, offering ourselves, our prayers, our gifts and
our witness that we may bear good gospel fruit. Thanks be to God! Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Gracious God, we know you are the author of the story of the universe. We wonder whether you wrote the biography of our lives even before we took our first breath, or are you recording our progress in the book of life each day? Maybe it isn’t so important that we know. We will trust that you are walking through the pages of our stories with us. Perhaps you are as surprised and as confounded as we are when we stumble or fall. We ask, in the name of the Christ, that you brush us off as you help us stand up again, and give us a little nudge to get over it and move on. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
How many of you have been ensnared by paid programming. Some small time celebrity is selling a miracle gadget? They ask you how much you think you’d pay for just one of these thingys and announce that they are going to give you two of them for the price of one and “Wait, that’s not all! If you call right now we will give you two more absolutely free, plus this other super duper special gadget — which usually retails for 49.95 — but you will get it free with your purchase of that first miraculously special doodad we were talking about. Yes for just one phenomenally low price you get all this stuff.” By the time you dial the 800 number, desperate to give them your money, you are in a panic that you might miss out on getting that thing. That thing won’t change your life and that celebrity won’t answer when your call. Help your church be the place of change and miracles, not the television.