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Where Life and Worship Intersect

9/28/2018 0 Comments

Prayers of the People, OT26B

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​O God, our Fortress and our Rock,
your children are terrified!
The gut-wrenching fear
that silences the stories
that leave us shaking in our shoes
is threatening to tear us apart.
The politics of superiority
damage the psyche
and intimidate the child in us
who is longing to be safe.
We have donned our sackcloth --
our mourning clothes --
and shut ourselves away from the world
to hide the pain on our faces,
to cover our socially unacceptable tears.
Angry and aching,
we relive the attacks made on our physcial beings
and our character
even as we are dismissed as unimportant ...
non-essential ...
unworthy.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers!
Depressed and disturbed,
dismayed and disgusted,
exhausted and enraged,
we come to you in fervent hope
that you will erase the ugliness that rears its giant head
before us.
Hear our desperate prayers for healing
and wholeness,
for compassion
and justice
and peace of mind, body, and spirit.
Grant wisdom, O God,
to those in power,
that they might hear and be moved to act appropriately.
Grant discernment, Source of all Truth,
that all who seek your guidance
will be strengthened and encouraged
even in the darkest days,
to lift their voice
in the name of all that is holy
to preserve the lives of those who stand
in harm's way.
Rescue your people,
we pray,
from destructive ambition
and greed
and from self-identifying bias.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayers.
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9/26/2018 0 Comments

Prayer of Confession, OT26B

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Call to Confession

Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,” will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations, but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them. (Proverbs 24:24-25) Let us confess our sin before God and receive God's mercy and God's blessing.

Prayer of Confession, OT26B

We do not like it, Lord,
when others disagree with us,
when the world laughs at our bravado,
when strangers refuse to bow
to our way of being in the world.
We hiss
and rare
and lash out defensively
with angry words
and untruths,
and we rally our troops around us
on the basis of sheer
narcissism, and self-righteousness.
Our egocentric attitudes
block out any and all ability
to see other humans
as children of God,
and we pray for their destruction,
for their demise,
and for our own victory.
Almighty God,
open our eyes to our own ignorance.
Forgive our single-minded self-centeredness,
and open our eyes
to the lies we have perpetuated
as truth.
Transform our hearts, O merciful God,
before we destroy ourselves
and others with us,
that hope will reign,
and your eternal glory
will be made known throughout the earth.

Assurance of God's Grace

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side— let Israel now say— if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; (Psalm 124:1-3) In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!

Since we have been forgiven in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to those whom you encounter this day ... especially those with whom you disagree.
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9/25/2018 0 Comments

Call to Worship, OT26B

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​Give thanks to the Lord,
for God is good!
God hears the voices
of the marginalized,
the oppressed,
and the fearful,
and answers!
Thanks be to God!
Let us worship the God
of our salvation!
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9/21/2018 0 Comments

Prayers of the People, OT25B

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​For those in committed relationships
who find their covenants difficult to keep,
for those who keep them
and for those who determine they cannot,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

For families of every size and shape,
of every color and constitution,
who strive to love one another
in spite of differences and challenges,
in spite of distance and pain,
and for those who find it easy,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

For merchants and for farmers,
for business owners and for workers,
as they labor for their living,
sensing the worth of their efforts,
even if they are not valued by others,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

For those who have plenty
and those who struggle to make ends meet;
for those who give generously
and those who hoard their resources,
and for those in position to use their authority
to make a difference,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

For the homemakers and the parents
whose tasks are endless
and whose passion is as well,
even when their patience wains
and their fatigue is overwhelming,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

For those who strive for perfection
knowing perfection is permanently out of reach,
and for those who have come close to giving up;
For those who have known the freedom
of grace-filled love in human relationship,
and for those who are imprisoned by judgement --
their own and that of those around them,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

Move your Spirit in and through and among us,
we pray,
that all our attempts at living our best lives
will be guided by your wisdom
and your covered in your grace.
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9/19/2018 0 Comments

Prayer of Confession, OT25B

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Call to Confession
 
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7) Let us confess our foolishness before the Lord, and see the Lord’s mercy.

Prayer of Confession, OT25B
 
For all the times
we have betrayed the trust
you have in us,
and the trust that those we promised to love
have placed in us,
forgive us.
For all the times
we have given less than our best,
failed to live our call,
calculated the risk and decided
not to trust in you,
forgive us.
For all the times
we have taken ourselves too seriously,
hoarded our resources,
and cared only for ourselves,
forgive us.
Open our hearts
to a new way of being,
to a new ideal,
to the promise of perfection
that comes through Christ alone.
Cover us in your grace,
we pray,
and in your righteousness,
redeem our sinful selves.
 
 
Assurance of God’s Grace
 
The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. Psalm 147:11 In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!


Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter this day.


Connect with me on LinkedIn for weekly references to the monthly spiritual practice.
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9/18/2018 0 Comments

Call to Worship, OT25B

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The Lord calls
the courageous
and the timid,
the confident
and the anxious,
the equipped
and the unprepared,
the powerful
and the vulnerable,
the wise
and the wandering.
Everyone is welcome
in God's family.
Everyone
is fearfully
and wonderfully
God's child.


​Click here to join the conversation about this week's focus scripture on Facebook.

​
0 Comments

9/14/2018 0 Comments

Prayers of the People, OT24B

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​Creator of the Universe,
Mother Nature,
Sovereign God,
the storm rails against us,
and your people cry out in fear
and frustration
and grief,
as the wind and the water
that have given us life
threaten to take it away.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

Comforter-in-Chief,
Rescuer,
Redeemer,
tragedies break out indiscriminately
in gaseous explosions
injuring,
killing,
destroying,
as the fire that is meant to refine us
swallows up shelter
and safety.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

Eternal Hope,
Spirit of Wisdom,
Peacemaker,
violence reigns
in city streets,
and family homes
and between nations who refuse
to heed your call;
in angry,
selfish,
inciting recitations
and behaviors
where people refuse to listen
to those who are pleading
to be heard.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

Send aid, we pray!
Save your people
from this time of trial,
from the path of destruction,
from devastation!
Calm the storm.
Protect the innocent.
Speak wisdom to all who will hear it,
and inspire action
in the name of justice
and of love.
0 Comments

9/12/2018 1 Comment

Prayer of Confession, OT24B

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Call to Confession

“Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
(Isaiah 55:6-7) Let us turn to God and confess our sin.

Prayer of Confession, OT24B

We are the simple who insist
on wallowing in ignorance,
the cynics who feed on cynicism,
the fools who refuse to learn.
We are the ones who have ignored
God's blatant offerings of guidance,
who have laughed at God's counsel,
and joked about the consequences.
We are the ones who have chosen
not to accept training,
but to continue on paths of carelessness
and complacency ...
paths of destruction ...
for ourselves
and others.
We do not deserve the grace
that God offers in Christ,
the grace we cannot find it in our own hearts
to offer our neighbor,
yet we seek it
fervently.
Pour out your spirit upon us.
Open our hearts,
we pray,
that we might hear and understand,
and heed the call to love
as we have been loved.

Assurance of God's Grace

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-49) In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God!

Since we have been forgiven in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter today.


​Click here to join in conversation about this week's passages.
1 Comment

9/11/2018 0 Comments

Call to Worship, OT24B

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Lady Wisdom calls.
Sophia herself urgently pleads,
"STOP! Listen!"
Take a moment,
she implores,
and sit with me.
Be still,
and know that God
is God of all.
Stop.
Listen.
Worship.

​
Click here to engage in conversation about this week's passages!
0 Comments

9/7/2018 0 Comments

Prayers of the People, OT23B

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​Your people hide behind generosity, Lord,
afraid to let insecurities,
failures
and weaknesses
be known.
We are sure our friends and family members
wouldn't love us
if they knew.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.
Help us to be authentic.
Help us to be real.

Day after day,
week after week,
month after month,
year after year, Lord,
you have children who are struggling
to make ends meet:
children who are working tirelessly
for less than a living wage,
children who are at a disadvantage
because they come from schools
improperly funded,
if they come from school at all,
children who have fallen
into difficult circiumstances
beyond their control ....
illness
and injury
and tragedy.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.
Help us to lift one another up
from the depths of despair,
to support and to encourage,
to listen,
and to be voices for justice
in a world where the poor
and marginalized
are too often unheard.

Stir us from our comfort seats,
O God.
Open our hearts to your Word.
Grant us wisdom
and compassion.
Lord, in your mercy,
grant us compassion,
and boldness,
and teach us to love our neighbor
as much as --
or more than --
we love ourselves.
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    Author

    Julie served as a Commissioned Ruling Elder in a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation for thirteen years. She now absolutely delights in filling the pulpit for colleagues upon request, and looks forward to opportunities to do so. Her reformed perspective is sprinkled with humor and presented with authenticity, and she is open to creatively deconstructing worship as a means to helping congregants explore worship in transformational ways.

    Julie and her husband, Ray, are parents of three adult children, and grandparents of four energetic and imaginative little people. She is an introverted-with-enough-extrovert-balance-to-keep-her-social, perfectionistic-with-hopper-tendencies, time and goal-oriented, kaleidoscopic, and insatiably curious child of God.

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Julie participated in the 25th Seminar for Certified Zentangle(R) Teacher Training in June, 2019, trained by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. In addition to creating art as a personal spiritual practice, Julie also incorporates the Zentangle(R) method in Prayer Art Retreats in a variety of contexts, including church groups, friend gatherings, and at a local art gallery. Check out the Upcoming Events page for a calendar of events, or use the Contact Us page to inquire about scheduling an event with your group!
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