Prayer for the Sermon January 3, 2010 "STAR TREKKING"

Dear Lord, our most loving and merciful God, we cannot offer thanks enough, or praise enough for the gift we have received in Jesus Christ. Like mother Mary we shall treasure in our hearts all that we see and all that we hear. We shall keep close in our memory how you desired to be born like us, one among us, one with us. We shall, like the wise men from the East, follow your lead on life’s journey of discovery. We cannot know what awaits us all along the way or how long the journey will take, so help us, gracious God, to travel light carrying with us just the essentials: loving and faithful hearts and open minds. These are the gifts we bring to offer at the manger of the newborn Prince of Peace. May they be sufficient to his need and to our salvation. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.

OFFERTORY THOUGHT
I realized last Monday that I resolve to do things all year long. These daily resolutions usually begin with the words “Now that” and contain the word, could, should or ought to somewhere in the middle of the sentence: “Now that the weather is cooler I could, should or ought to take a walk around the park.” Since realizing my penchant for resolving to do things I found myself fantasizing about the resolutions I would like to make: “Now that I have dug up the buried treasure in my back yard I could, should, ought to give a million dollars to the church.”

Prayer for Sunday June 21st, 2009

Glorious God, our Abba Father, how very grateful we are for your loving and holy presence wherever we are in this world. We know that you are with our Angelica, Peter, Vijith and Max as they travel in other lands thousands of miles from us. Bless all the children of this congregation we pray , whether they are far away from us or close at hand. Give us the patience and the stamina to love them, accept them, to take them as they are today, to encourage them on their way to tomorrow, to always lift them up from their disappointments and comfort them in times of sorrow. Help us to teach them the practical things that ought to accompany their dreams. We confess that we may not be as savvy or as up to date as our children or our children’s children. We shall strive to champion their most altruistic causes and not thwart their creative imagination. Living in this world is an unpredictable business, may we be guided on our way by your strong and loving hand. In the name of the Christ we pray.

Prayer For April 26th Sermon "Spiritual Alms"

Glorious God, you are our most wonderful counselor of truth, our constant compassionate companion, redeemer and friend. We breathe a great sigh of recognition and relief in those moments when we are tuned in to your most gracious presence. Indeed we pray for even greater awareness, believing that you are always at work helping us make the most of the gifts you have bestowed upon us. Let us use our individual gifts to better the world we live in. Let us offer them for the benefit of people we cannot see and may never know. Help us to understand that the measure of our success is not in the accolades we receive from our peers, or the awards we receive from our betters, or the approval we receive from our loved ones and friends. Let the measure of our success be the renewal we feel within ourselves and the knowledge that we have lived by your commandment to live by love. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.

**IN THIS SERMON THE BOOK REFERENCE IS TO "THE SHACK" by William P. Young. It is a must read for anyone who needs to re-vision God and the meaning of Forgiveness!!! I listened to the book on CD and savored every word read to me by the narrator. It remains on my IPod so I can read it again--so to speak.