|
1/22/2020 0 Comments Call to Worship, E3A "Come, follow me," said Jesus,
and IMMEDIATELY Peter and Andrew left their nets to follow him. Jesus called to James and John, sons of Zebedee, as they were repairing their nets, and IMMEDIATELY, they left their father and their livelihoods and followed him. From the darkness, we come to the light, some IMMEDIATELY and some reluctantly: eager to follow, reluctant to be transformed, excited for the adventure, anxious about the journey. Let us leave behind our limitations, and proclaim the kingdom of Heaven to all who will hear! *Please note: prayers may be disrupted this week (and next?) as computer repairs are made. Thank you for your patience!
0 Comments
1/15/2020 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, E2A Call to Confession
For our sake (God) made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, E2A God, forgive us. We see you working among us. We experience your healing first hand. We have even accepted your invitation to come and see what God is doing in our midst. But we are unmoved ... unimpressed ... underwhelmed. Our cynicism is almost as great as our egos. We have lost our sense of wonder, God. Entitlement has replaced gratitude. Narcissism and greed have overcome curiosity and excitement. Forgive us, we pray. Take us by the hand, and lead us to a new understanding of what you have done for us and why, that we may be humbled by the depth of your love, inspired by the breadth of your mercy, and so enthused by your message that we race to invite our neighbors to come and see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Assurance of God's Grace (Christ) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds (we) have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24 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 ... *Liturgical resources are posted with an intention to resource worship leaders. Please feel free to use this prayer in your ministry context, with attribution to writer, Julie Gvillo, Commissioned Pastor, Founder and Creative Executive Director of A Place of Grace. *Join the conversation around the scriptures for this week at: https://www.facebook.com/juliegvillo.aplaceofgrace/photos/a.1109649079092669/2953852314672327/?type=3&theater 0 COMMENTS 1/14/2020 0 Comments Call to Worship, E2A LOOK! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Come and see! We have found the Messiah! Come and see the Word made flesh ... the Anointed One ... the Son of God. Come and stay and see. *Liturgical resources are posted with an intention to resource worship leaders. Please feel free to use this prayer in your ministry context, with attribution to writer, Julie Gvillo, Commissioned Pastor, Founder and Creative Executive Director of A Place of Grace. *Join the conversation around the scriptures for this week at: https://www.facebook.com/juliegvillo.aplaceofgrace/photos/a.1109649079092669/2953852314672327/?type=3&theater 1/10/2020 0 Comments Note We have been experiencing some technical difficulties this week. The laptop is TEN years old this month! It has run very slow this week, and yesterday, would not load the OS. This morning, I Reikied it, and then waited patiently all day, and tonight, I am able to log in and post! WOOT WOOT! THANK YOU, GOD!!!! I have a call into Matt-the-computer-repair-guy, but in the event that my posts cease -- or look different -- for a bit, you'll know why. Thank you for your patience. :)
 Jesus came to the water to be baptized by John.
So we come to the water, Curious, Hopeful, Reluctant, Remembering. We come to be cleansed, Claimed, Renewed, Restored. Saved by grace, We are welcomed, Named, Cherished. Thanks be to God! 12/27/2019 0 Comments Prayers of the People, C1A You sent your son to live among your people
wearing skin, knowing well the kind of hell that dwells without, within. You knew that fear and greed and jealousy would drive him -- like others -- to live as refugee in a country not his own, yet there you provided security among the foreign humanity until such time as peace meant he and his earthly family could return home. Today your children cry from cages, and their parents from prison cells, for rescue from the violence that threatens to destroy. Like Joseph, they are running from people who are gunning to take into slavery -- or murder -- their helpless girls and boys. Hear our prayers for mercy, God! Hear the cries of despair! Open wide your arms of love that grace dispels all fear. Across the earth, grief is birthed that cannot be consoled as mothers wail and fathers rail against systems out of control. For comfort and compassion, for safety and for peace, for violence to end and for the innocent to be released, hear our fervent prayers, O God, and change our stony hearts that Love may make its home here and a fresh new era start. 12/26/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, C1A Call to Confession
(Our) feet run to evil, and (we) are swift to shed innocent blood; (our) thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in (our) highways. (Isaiah 59:7, paraphrased) Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession God, forgive us: we are an angry people, jealous of your favor and greedy with our blessings. We do not want to share power, Lord. We do not want to acknowledge your presence in the other living among us. Instead, we seek to to undermine, to threaten, and to destroy. What is it within us that elicits such hatred? When did our hearts turn to stone? When did we become the evil we claim to deplore? Forgive us, we pray. Cleanse us from sin, and stir in us a spirit of openness and of love. Teach us the wisdom of the magi, that we might discern the ways in which you call us to be protectors of the innocent all over the world. Assurance of God's Grace For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17) By the grace of God made known in 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~ 12/24/2019 0 Comments Call to Worship, C1A You who are fleeing danger,
and you who have found safety, you are welcome in the circle of grace. You who are angry and you who are protectors, you are welcome in the circle of grace. You who are comforted, and you who are inconsolable, you are welcome in the circle of grace. May you find here a community of neighbors and strangers alike who are willing to walk the extra mile with you in the name of Christ. 12/20/2019 0 Comments Prayers of the People, Advent 4A God of Mystery,
you looked with favor upon a woman born of humble circumstance and chose her to bear your Son to the world. Hear the cries of women everywhere, whose past has dictated their present and threatens their futures. Open the ears of men around the world to hear the songs of justice sung by mothers, desperate for righteousness to reign for the world in which their children live in the hope of freedom. Send your messengers to speak words of comfort, healing, and grace, to those who are feeling betrayed abandoned, and alone ... to those who fear the worst and those who are living it. Make your presence known to us, we pray, in dreams and visions, in thoughtful conversation and patient listening, in pondering and in a peace that passes all understanding. Grant that we may be transformed into a people of patient perseverance as we seek to live according to your Word, living and relevant in every time and place. 12/18/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, Advent 4A Call to Confession
God exalted Jesus at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. (Acts 5:31) Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace, confessing our sins together knowing that God came to live among us as an act of salvation. Prayer of Confession, Advent 4A We are an impetuous people, O God. We are quick to rush to judgment, ready to throw even those we love to the wolves. Our fervor to abandon the stranger in our midst is even greater ... like our eagerness to judge the character flaws in our neighbors. Probably because they reflect our own to us in less than complimentary ways. We are slow to consider the ways in which you might be moving to among us, reluctant to participate in your transformation of the world you created, fearful of the responsibility that comes with answering your call. Forgive us, we pray. Soften our hearts, and help us to be guided by the example Joseph set when he refused to subject Mary to public disgrace. Teach us how to be loving and patient and kind. Always. Assurance of God's Grace But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth God's Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children of God. (Galatians 4:4-5) 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~ |
Archives
November 2019
CategoriesAll Call To Worship Ordinary Time 23A Prayer Of Confession Prayers Of The People |
RSS Feed
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!
|