May 11, 2014 Mother's Day "BY THIS EVERYONE WILL KNOW"

AN AFFIRMATION OF FAITH FOR EASTERTIDE Written by Dr. Burr
We trust and affirm that each of us is created in the image of God.
God’s Grace is immeasurable and God’s will for us is always Goodwill.
We believe that Jesus Christ lived to forgive, to heal the broken hearted and proclaim God’s love to the world.
We believe Jesus bore our shame carrying our sins to the cross where he surrendered his own spirit to God in order to set our spirits free.
God promised that Jesus would not be given up to death and, true to that promise, God raised him from the dead.
We trust in the counsel of The Holy Spirit who guides us in our efforts to live out the commandment to love one another as Christ loved us.
We believe the Holy Spirit moves us ever onward toward perfection and for this we give thanks to God. Amen
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Wondrous and Loving God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Sovereign of the universe, how very good it feels to be in your presence gathered together to worship you. We confess that we get into a rut when it comes to addressing you in prayer. We don’t use adjectives or superlatives when we call upon your name, rather we repeat the names we have heard or were taught, Almighty God, Our Father, Mother/Father God, Dearest Lord, or Abba — the name Jesus used. Oh, most glorious author of LIFE and LOVE, bring us closer to your heart of grace. Give us new visions of your engaging presence in our lives and empower us to be inspiring, passionate, ever-inviting, followers of Jesus in whose name we pray. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
I learned a lot in my travels last week. For example the cheapest airline ticket cost $356, but a comfortable seat in coach costs extra — anywhere from $20 to $35 more per flight. Checking “a” bag — carry-on or larger — costs $25, but if I am willing to drag my carry-on all the way to the gate, the airline will beg me to let them check that same bag for free. I learned at 11:45 PM, that no matter when I reserved that special deal midsized rent-a-car, it would not be available. They had a mini-van available for the deal price or the good people at Budget would let me rent one of their premium cars for just $20 more a day. I needed the GPS to find my way around costing me another $15.64 a day; the liability —only— insurance cost me $16 a day, plus a bunch of taxes and something called concessions. So the 5-day-$338-midsized-car-deal escalated in to a $626 push-button-ignition-red-Taurus. Perhaps the most important lesson I learned was never to arrive late at night unless armed with plenty of chutzpah. I think we should be grateful for the predictability of Tithing. There are just no add-ons in the church.