Congregational Prayer for Sunday July 12, 2009

Glorious God how often we think of you as hanging out in heaven sort of looking down at us from a distance. And it is also true that many of us have pretty much concluded that you have done just about everything with us that you planned to do. We confess a degree of sluggishness in our thinking. We have forgotten that you are a dynamic and motivating presence in our lives. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work in every installment of our existence. We keep thinking of ourselves moving toward the future, but rarely do we think that your future is ever moving toward us. We pray vigorously not to be a part of the dumbing -down of society. We want to be thinkers, intelligent, focused, clear, working always to discern and understand what you are calling us to do. Help us to grasp the glorious immensity of what it means to be Christians. May your extravagant work in us give us endless energy and boundless strength. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen

Prayer for the Sermon on May 3rd "Recognition and Remembrance"

Dearest Lord, today we celebrate our being together in one service again. We greet the faces of those we have missed and extend a hand and open our hearts to those whose faces are new to us. Open our eyes to recognize and embrace the light of Christ shining in those who will affirm their faith and make their commitment to Christ’s church and this congregation this morning. Let us unabashedly celebrate the triumph of faith that is Mark Thallander and the glorious gift he shares with us in this time of worship. We pray that his music will continue to flow forth into the world. We thank you, God for all of the ways we can embrace your grace in sacrament, song and prayer, for the gift of renewed faith inspired or prayed for arriving often in the moment we least expect it. We thank you for the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper through which your most wonderful grace is mediated. And we thank you for the life, love, and sacrifice of Jesus who became for us the bridge across a great spiritual chasm. He took our stained hands and placed them in yours making them clean once again. Like the two on the Emmaus road let our hearts be strangely warmed in the miracle of the bread and the cup. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.