We believe we are created in the image of God, male and female.
Believing that God’s will for us is goodwill,
we follow in the footsteps of God’s beloved Son,
Jesus the Christ.
We believe Jesus lived to forgive, and showed us that by serving one another,
we are connected to the heart of God.
We believe we share Jesus’ mission to bind up and heal the broken hearted.
We believe that Jesus took the burden of our regrets and sorrows
upon his own shoulders, and bore them to the cross where they died with him.
Jesus was buried, but on the third day God raised him from the dead, as promised.
After Jesus’ resurrection, we believe God sent the Holy Spirit to empower Jesus’ followers.
The Holy Spirit was their ever-present advocate, counselor of truth, and companion.
We believe that same Spirit resides with us, interceding for us,
and empowering our work in the name of the Christ.
The Spirit reminds us daily to love God and one another as
the Christ loved us. Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Dearest Lord, when we live far away from loved ones, friends or family, we keep in touch by calling them on the phone or writing to them in some form. When we sign off we will actually say “keep in touch.” We can lose track when we don’t stay in touch. O Lord, may we realize that every moment of prayer is our way of keeping in touch with you, whether we are greeting you with praise and thanksgiving, or asking for guidance, comfort or relief. Let us be bold in our communication as Jesus taught us. When he prayed he held nothing back, he asked you to intercede on behalf of others and himself. Show us we need not be timid, even if it’s been a long time since we reached out; you are still there and always will be. Thank you for that, in the name of the Christ. Amen.
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
I grew up hearing the expression “keeping up with the Joneses.” I really didn’t understand what it meant, because I never saw my parents as the keep up with the Jones’s types. I do remember when I was around 12 or so, we started going to a country club. I took tennis lessons there until we stopped going, because I guess my parents decided not to belong anymore. My older brother and I both had summer jobs as lifeguards at two different country clubs, and although we could swim in the pools we guarded, we weren’t members—we were employees. To belong in some organizations/clubs you have to have money, social standing or political standing, influential friends, or adequate sponsorship, and once you belong you are obliged to live up to certain expectations. It is true some churches have modeled themselves after country clubs, but the Lord requires no such “buy-in” to belong to the body of Christ, only your word that you will serve others with the gifts God has given you.
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