a community creating for the relentless return of Sunday
Church! Do not be afraid, God is happy to give you the Kingdom.
We answer the call and follow, preparing ourselves for God’s unfailing treasure.
Give your whole life, including your own treasure, to Christ in faith.
We are waiting, we are ready for Christ. Come, Jesus, come!
Submitted by Rev. Will Ryan, First Christian Church, Burlington IA
We thank you, Gracious God, for the gifts you have given us.
We return money to you that we might do the work of your Son,
and usher in your kingdom here and now
as we wait and hope for the coming of our salvation in flesh. Amen.
Submitted by Rev. Stephen M. Fearing, Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, NY
O God, You are faithful to all generations—from the beginning of time, you have called all kinds of characters to be your people. When we forget that their story is our story, forgive us. When we admire them from afar while insisting that kind of faith isn’t practical for us, forgive us. We confess that your justice is too hard for us to do, and we prefer to create our own. We confess that we do not often bear the fruit you expect of your vineyard, resisting your kingdom’s way when it conflicts with our desires. Forgive us yet again, and plant your word of justice deep in our hearts and lives. Amen.
Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, The Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL
Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed; it starts out as a small thing, but it grows and grows until it gives a home to the birds of the air.
Can we believe a new day is coming? As surely as the sun rises over the horizon God is creating a new world.
Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like that someone who casts seed on the ground, and then sleeps and wakes, day after day, while the earth produces the fruit from the seed that was cast.
We do not know how God works out the fullness of redemption. But we know we are partners in that work.
Praise the name of the Lord who still cares for the world!
Praise the name of the Lord who leads with power and grace.
Submitted by Rev. Lisa Lopez, Christ Presbyterian Church, Hanover Park IL
Oh God, we come to prayer this day
with no words…
hearts heavy, minds reeling,
fear and grief and anger and hopelessness and resistance
all mingling together
and blocking the things we want and need to say.
And yet you are still God.
We cannot comprehend why these things happen…
Ask us why.
We cannot seem to believe you
when you say we are one body, neighbors with near and far…
Ask us why.
And keep asking, in the silence of our hearts and the conversations of our lives,
until we see you face to face—
in every face.
We lift up to you those who grieve this day—
whose family and friends have been ripped from them
by violence,
by illness,
by cultural complacency.
We pray especially for the families of Mother Emanuel church,
and for their two remaining pastors.
May your spirit of comfort surround them,
even as your spirit of righteousness burns in their broken hearts.
May they know your powerful presence,
and be strengthened as their ancestors in that place were strengthened
to stand up for what is right,
to stand together with all who enter,
to stand firm in your promise that one day all tears will be wiped away,
and in that day we will see the truth that we belong to each other.
We pray also this day for ourselves.
May our eyes be opened to recognize you—even in people who look nothing like us.
May our hearts be opened to love as you love—without reservation or requirement.
May our minds be opened to the reality of this world and our place in it—without defensiveness.
And when you have broken us open,
pour in your Spirit of justice and truth, of transformation and peace.
Where we insist on putting the pieces back together,
provoke our imaginations to new possibilities,
and frustrate our self-preserving goals.
Melt us and mold us, however uncomfortable or painful it may be,
then fill us and use us to be agents of transformation in this world.
We pray reluctantly, and boldly, and fearfully, and hopefully—
my kingdoms go, Lord.
Our kingdoms of entitlement, our kingdoms of self-sufficiency, our kingdoms of privilege, our kingdoms of individualism, our kingdoms of helplessness, our kingdoms of self-righteousness,
whatever kingdoms we have sworn allegiance to, or built for ourselves, or used to hide in…
our kingdoms go,
and may your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
Come Quickly, Lord.
We pray in the name of Jesus the Christ, the One who sat down at the margins, worked to overthrow the empire, and taught us to pray together, Our father…
Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL
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