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10/31/2018 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, OT31B Call to Confession
We have turned back from following the Lord. We have not sought the Lord, nor have we inquired of him. Our sin is ever before us. Let us confess our sin before the Lord our God, and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, OT31B Forgive our bitter rhetoric, Lord. Forgive our fearful cries. Do not turn away from us though we shout, and we despise. Forgive the times we walked away when friends needed loving care. Forgive our lack of courage when invited, but did not dare. Do not disown your people, though our actions betray your name, but transform our hearts and souls that we might recognize your claim. By your Spirit, lead us forward into neighborhoods unknown where we might meet our neighbor and share the love we're shown. Assurance of God's Grace Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. (Luke 1:68) 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.
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10/30/2018 0 Comments Call to Worship, OT31B In utter devastation,
in sadness and in grief, we rise slowly with the morning rooted firmly in belief that the hope we held so firmly and the joy that we once knew is painfully unreachable, and so, dear God, are you. We cannot stand before you. We don't have words for praise, but we come in silent worship, our hearts laid bare beneath your gaze. NOTE: In the aftermath of the Tree of Life Synogogue shooting, we lift our voices in prayer for those whose lives have been lost senselessly to gun violence, and we pray not only for their comfort in this time of grief, but also for unity among all peoples and for wise leadership to protect the freedoms of our country's citizens while also protecting the citizens of our country and the world. May it be so. 10/26/2018 0 Comments Prayers of the People, OT30B In fear and hopelessness, we bow before you, Lord,
devastated by the ways in which our unexplained grief is wreaking havoc on our lives. We can neither comprehend nor communicate the depths or our inadequacy. Our questions far exceed our answers both in quantity and in substance. We lift our prayers to you, O God, and seek your mercy. Your people are counting their losses, Lord, and finding the weight of them too heavy to bear. Violence, division, and addiction destroy families. Greed and abuse of power oppresses the poor. Illness rips our loved ones from our arms. We lift our prayers to you, O God, and seek your healing. Hear our prayers as we seek to listen for your wisdom and your guidance. Open our hearts to a new perspective. Teach us humility for ourselves and compassion for the other. Make of your people agents of hope and recommission us to share the Good News with all who will hear it. We lift our prayers to you, O God, and await your Spirit's anointing. 10/24/2018 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, OT30B Call to Confession
Woe are we, for we are people of unclean lips. Let us confess our sin before God and seek God’s mercy. Prayer of Confession, OT30B Holy God, Forgive our arrogance and pride. We speak of things we do not know. Our foolishness is greater than we can measure. In despair, we run out on faith, forgetting all you have done for us, refusing to trust in your unfailing love for your people. Hear our prayers for mercy. Open our eyes to see you at work in the world, in every place that appears to be void of your activity, in every dark valley and tumultuous storm. Give us vision to see beyond our self-centeredness, and to believe where we cannot see. Assurance of God's Grace God's anger is fleeting, but God's mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. 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. 10/23/2018 0 Comments Call to Worship, OT30B Bless the Lord! Sing praises to the God of our Salvation!
That which is beyond our comprehension is not beyond God’s. Let us bow before the Creator of the universe. Let us worship God with songs of faith. 10/19/2018 0 Comments Prayers of the People, OT29B Prayers of the People, oT29B
Out of the depths, we cry to you, O God, hear our prayers of lament! We are hurting. The pain of broken relationship, of guilt and self-condemnation, of pride and self-righeousness, or uncertainty and fear, runs deep. Our grief overwhelms us as we attempt to count our losses. Our division tears us apart. We do not know where to turn. Have you abandoned us? Remember when you formed us from the dust of the earth? Remember when you breathed life into our beings? Where is the God who created us and claimed us as God's own? Your children need your redemption! It was you who called us. Grant us healing and reconciliation that we might contribute to the building of your kingdom on earth. In gratitude for your grace and for your everlasting love,we bow before you. Hear our prayers, we pray. 10/17/2018 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, OT29B Call to Confession
All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, OT29B Out of the raging storm, Almighty God, we hear your voice, and we are ashamed. We use your name in vain when we blame you for the chaos in our lives. We pretend to know the answers to questions of the universe that are beyond our comprehension. Our empty words are void of knowledge. Absent of understanding, we speak declare condemnation and speak pain with a false sense of wisdom and compassion. Forgive us, we pray. Move your spirit among us, humbling our hearts, and renewing a right spirit within us, that we might remember that we are children of the Sovereign, Creator God who spoke creation into being and then called it good. Reignite in us a faith in your created order, and help us to trust that you work all things together for good. Assurance of God's Grace God has promised that when we confess our sin, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sin, removing it as far as the east is from the west, and remembering it no more. 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 this day. 10/16/2018 0 Comments Call to Worship, OT29B Come, you who know the answers
and you who only have questions. Come, you who are confident and you whose faith is shaky at best. Come, you creatures of the dust and stand in the presence of the Creator whose wisdom is beyond human comprehension and whose perspective is reaches beyond eternity, and worship. Click here to reflect on this week's passages. 10/12/2018 0 Comments Prayers of the People, OT28B Oh, Lord, our hearts are like blobs of melted wax.
We droop, sticking wherever we fall, in awkward postures of sorrow and humility, hardened by our separation from the warmth of your love and your light. Hear our cries for mercy! If indeed our complaints are seen as rebellion, then do not cover us with your hand or stifle our groaning, but listen to our suffering, O God. Hear our cries for justice! We cannot begin to understand the reasons behind natural disasters or terminal illness or abandonment or war, and it overwhelms us as we take it in. Do not hide your face from us in our desperation. Do not cut us off. Hear our cries for healing, O God, for we are so in need of your redeeming grace! Almighty God, our Rock and our Fortress, surround us with your loving care, light up the darkness and lead us to places of wholeness and of peace that our fears will not overtake our joy and enthusiasm for life. 10/10/2018 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, OT28B Call to Confession
In the day of our trouble we seek the Lord; in the night our hands are stretched out without wearying; our souls refuse to be comforted. When we remember God, we moan; when we meditate, our spirits faint. Ps. 22:2-3 Let us confess our sins before God and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, OT28B We seek the Lord while the Lord may be found; we call upon the Lord while the Lord is near; we are wicked, and we forsake your ways, we unrighteous focus on our own thoughts, our own plans, our own ways, for we are certain we are right. Return us to you, and have compassion on us, O God, we pray, and in your mercy, abundantly pardon. Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for your name's sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you and against our neighbor in the name of righteousness. Move your Spirit in and among us individually, and collectively, healing our divisiveness and reconciling us, one to another, and to you. Assurance of God's Grace In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:19) 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. |
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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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