a community creating for the relentless return of Sunday
O Lord our God, you have fed us at your table and joined us together with all your people in every land. As the source of our life, you rightly claim our complete loyalty, in heart, soul, mind, and strength. So we dedicate to you the gifts we have presented and the lives we commit to your service, that we might bear your love and goodness to all people, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Submitted by Rev. Nathan Williams, Echo Hill Presbyterian Church, Marion, IA
Great God, your liberating power opened a way through the waters and guided your people through the wilderness. Guide the use of these gifts by that same power. Free us from the need to determine and control your grace, and turn us into servants of your boundless love, poured out for us in Jesus Christ.
Submitted by Rev. Nathan Williams, Echo Hill Presbyterian Church, Marion, IA
Calling God, you invite us into a future filled with possibilities and promises. We give you thanks for the blessings you have given to us, so that all people might be blessed through us. Through what we offer for your service today, magnify your love and make your glory known, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Submitted by Rev. Nathan Williams, Echo Hill Presbyterian Church, Marion, IA
O Lord, your word is right and true;
you are faithful in everything you do.
As children of your covenant,
we are bold to claim your righteousness for all who are in need.
For the balance of your created world
and the wisdom to share its resources fairly and respectfully.
Righteous Lord: Fill the earth with your love.
For the leaders of nations,
that they might honor your image in every person.
Righteous Lord: Fill the earth with your love.
For your church,
made larger today by one more life,
that we would have the courage to live faithfully in all things.
Righteous Lord: Fill the earth with your love.
For those whose strength fails them,
who cry out for healing, comfort, or rest.
Righteous Lord: Fill the earth with your love.
For those who walk in the shadow of death,
facing the end of their own lives
or mourning the loss of loved ones,
that you would cover them with your peace.
Righteous Lord: Fill the earth with your love.
For all these needs, and for those needs we hold within ourselves,
we pray to you in Jesus’ name,
joining together in the prayer he taught, saying…
Submitted by Rev. Nathan Williams, Echo Hill Presbyterian Church, Marion, IA
Gracious God, the words of your apostle Paul ring in our hearts and we pray they are true. “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” We pray these words ring true because in the world around us, surrounding us in our daily lives, we are bombarded with the cynicism and hardships of the world.
An epidemic rages on as death tolls rise and healthcare-workers scramble to keep it at bay. Wars drag on in cycles of power-mongering and violence. Revenge and retribution are viewed as signs of strength while reconciliation and humility are trampled underfoot. And, playing politics often takes priority to effective resolutions and meaningful change for the betterment of all. These are the images and stories that we encounter on a daily basis. These are the stories that fill our screens, these are the stories that burden our minds and our hearts, and these are the stories we comment on with one another because they are our common story.
So, this morning, we pray that our hearts might not be hardened, O God. We pray that these common stories of destructive happenings in our world do not become the primary narrative we know and share. May we, in the midst of these stories, lift up a trust in the power of reconciliation and peace and may we dwell in expectation that war can and will end. May we point to the immeasurable power that grace and resurrection has in this world. May we remember that we believe in a God whose creative Spirit dwells with and among us – And, it is because of your love for the world, O God, that cynicism will not reign above joy; that gentleness and love will not fall victim to pride and greed; and that forgiveness, justice and peace will be experienced by all.
“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, [may we] think about these things [, O God].” And live into them boldly. Amen.
Submitted by Rev. JC Cadwallader, Western Presbyterian Church, Washington DC.
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