cmkenlin

Teacher, You Came to Us (Mark 5:21-43)

January 15, 2016January 15, 2016cmkenlinLeave a comment

Teacher, you came to us, as one of us.
You came to where we were and experienced our lives.
Your focus was not on rules, but on relationship, on community.
You sought justice and fairness rather than maintaining the status quo.

We gather here today, as your community, as your followers.
Our lives have changed because we know you.
Change us further with your love and your grace.
Fill us with a desire to seek justice for those around us.
Remind us that we have the ability to make a difference in our world,
by small deeds or large deeds:
A smile, a meal, a letter to our congressman, a donation to the food bank,
standing up for someone who is being bullied, or
protesting against an environmental or economic policy.
This is our world but we need to work to make it your world.

Teacher, you came to us, as one of us.
But you were not one of us.
You were able to heal the sick and raise the dead.
Your acts and your teachings, then, show us the way today,
even when we may stumble and lose our direction.
As we look around this sacred place,
remind us of those in our congregation who are hurting or are in need of healing.
As a community, we know that it is up to us to support one another,
but we ask that you also be with them and grant them your peace and grace.

We gather here today, as your community, as your followers.
Our lives have changed because we know you.
Change us further with your love and your grace.
Help us to realize that our community extends beyond this place.
Our actions impact others within and beyond this place.
As Americans, we use more natural resources than others in this world.
Remind us to take care of this world, our home.
Remind us that your community is the entire human race,
and that we are to work for justice for all your people.

We ask that you teach us, that you change us, that you use us.
We are your children, all of us, regardless of our race or our birthplace.
Open our hearts to your plans, to your desires,
unite us in community, a fellowship of your believers, your followers.
You spoke of faith, and demonstrated love and respect to those around you.
Help us to to live as you did; help us to share love and peace with those around us.
As you taught us, as you modeled your faith, you gave us the words to pray to your Father.
We lift our voices today, using the words you taught us,
“Our Father…”

Do Whatever He Tells You to Do (John 2:1-11)

January 15, 2016cmkenlinLeave a comment

Do whatever he tells you to do.
That’s what Mary told the servants to do at Cana.
Lord, help us to have the same faith and the same discipline.
Help us to follow you and to do what you tell us to do.
Open our ears to your directives.
Open our hearts to your love.
And, open our eyes to your plan.

Your mother, Lord, had faith in your ability to make a difference in this world.
You gathered disciples from unlikely candidates
and they also had faith in you.
They carried your story forward and have made disciples of us.

We are your followers, Lord.
We gather here each week
and make up the body of Christ in today’s world.
Strengthen us,
Use us,
Teach us,
Lead us,
We want to do whatever you tell us to do.

Remind us that there is abundance in this world.
As you changed over a hundred of gallons of water into wine for a wedding,
help us to see that we live in a world of plenty.
We may feel there is not enough, but you have given us more than enough.
Unclench our fists as we try to hold onto more than our fair share.
Encourage our generosity.
Open our eyes to the needs of those around us, locally and globally.
As you have blessed us, we need to also bless those around us.
As your disciples learned from you, help us to also learn your teachings
and help us to share those teachings with others.
As your community shared with one another, and supported one another,
we support each other.
We ask that you be with __ .

Do whatever he tells you to do.
That’s what Mary told the servants to do at Cana.
You have told us what to do.
We know what we are to do and we ask that you give us the strength to do so.
You have given us the words to say and we use those words today,
“Our Father…”

Remembering Our Baptism (Luke 3:15-17, 21-22)

January 15, 2016January 15, 2016cmkenlinLeave a comment

As we enter into a new calendar year and the church season of Epiphany,
our expectations are high.
We have made resolutions and plans for the upcoming year.
But some of our resolutions have already been broken.
Some have been forgotten and
we have already made excuses for why we will not be able to keep others.
Our willpower can be weak and we know that we are not worthy.

And yet, All Loving and Personal God, you know us to our very depths.
You know our strengths and our weaknesses.
And you love us anyway and in all ways.
You see who we are today and who we could become tomorrow.
You know our thoughts, our deepest desires and our darkest fears.
We are your children, Lord, and as such,
we are deeply loved and uniquely cherished.

Lord, you chose to be baptized within a group, sharing in their sense of community.
We have joined your community, with our baptism, with our confirmation,
and with our pledge to be your disciple.
We ask that you be with us in our journey,
that you help us to see what needs to be done here to make this world your world.
We ask that you give us the strength we need to carry out your plan.
We ask that you support us in our desire to be better people,
to help us to keep our New Year’s resolutions, but most importantly, to be your people.
We ask that you remind us of our baptism, remind us that at that time,
we joined your universal church, the body of Christ.
And as the body of Christ, we support each other and raise each other up in prayer.
We ask that you be with those among us who need your healing touch and sense of grace.
We name ___.

In the act of baptism, we know that you are with us.
You give us the power of forgiveness.
You renew our spirits.
And, you call us to be your people, always.
As your people, we use the words your Son taught us,
“Our Father,…”

What We Share (Mark 6:1-13)

December 30, 2015December 30, 2015cmkenlinLeave a comment

Lord, we recognize that the person we see in the mirror
may not match the vision we have of ourselves
and does not match the vision our friends and families have of us.
The world around us focuses on the image, the perception,
but you taught us what we do and how we act is more important
than our words.

Call us to be the people you want us to be.
Send us out to be your face to the world.
Use our hands to do your work in this world;
use our hearts to share your love in this world;
use our voices to call for your justice in this world;
and, use our faith to help us discern your plans for this world.
We are your disciples in today’s world.
Send us out to be your face to this world.

Lord, we recognize that the person we see in the mirror
may not match the vision we have of ourselves
and does not match the vision our friends and families have of us.
As we look around this sacred place that we return to each week,
do we truly see the people who sit beside us?
Do we know the gifts and talents that you have given to them?
Are we helping each other to nurture and grow those gifts and talents?
Or are we shutting them down and failing to believe in them?
Help us to support and grow one another.

Call us to be the people you want us to be.
Let us start here, within this community,
but help us to move out into the world that surrounds us.
Help us to support one another, and to grow each other into your disciples.
Remind us to have patience with one another.
Remind us that none of us have all the answers and that we learn from one another.
Remind us that we are a community and we need to support each other.
While we focus on those within our midst who need our attention,
we know that you are always with us.
We ask that you be with ___, granting them your healing grace and providing them with your strength.

Lord, we recognize that the person we see in the mirror
may not match the vision we have of ourselves
and does not match the vision our friends and families have of us.
Many of the people that you have called did not feel up to the challenge that you set before them.
Help us to meet the challenges you set before each of us.
Remind us that we are your children, built in your image,
each of us loved and uniquely cherished, and given the gifts needed to meet the plans
you have set before us.

Call us to be the people you want us to be.
We give ourselves to you and offer ourselves to you.
Send us out in the world with only your teachings.
As your disciples, we know and use the words that your Son taught us,
“Our Father….”

What We Contribute (Ephesians 1:3-14)

December 30, 2015cmkenlinLeave a comment

Mother God, we know that we are your children.
We know that we are each deeply loved and uniquely cherished.
We feel nurtured and blessed by your presence in our lives.
And then we face the world and are bombarded with messages.
Messages of fear.
Messages of doubt.
Messages of inferiority.
Remind us to act as if we truly believe that we are your children,
each of us equal in your eyes,
each of us given the gifts that you chose for us.
Remind us, Mother, that we are your children and that we are loved.
Give us the courage to act in ways that lead others to your love and presence.
Give us the confidence to use the gifts you have freely given us.

Teacher God, you have replaced the old laws and given us new truths and
new lessons to follow.
Through your Son, you have lavished your grace upon us
and we feel peace in your presence.
And then we face the world and that sense of peace can be shattered so easily.
Remind us, Teacher, that your lessons are as applicable today as they were back then.
You taught us that each of us, rich or poor, is equal in your Father’s eyes.
You taught us that we are to make this world more like your heaven,
to work for peace and justice.
Give us the courage to act in ways that lead others to your love and presence.
Give us the confidence to use the lessons you have freely taught us.

Creator God, you made each of us unique with different gifts and talents.
Individually, we can feel secure within our talents and capabilities.
And then we face the world and that self-confidence can be challenged
as we compare ourselves to others.
Help us to recognize and to celebrate these gifts within ourselves and in others.
Remind us that we are each uniquely special and formed in your image.
Remind us that someone else’s gifts do not detract from ours,
but that working together as your children,
our gifts complement one another allowing us to achieve your plan.
Remind us that you are with us always, supporting us and encouraging us.
We ask that you be with ___, who may need your healing power and your grace.
And we ask that you
Give us the courage to act in ways that lead others to your love and presence.
Give us the confidence to use the gifts you have freely shared with us.

Knowing deep within our souls that we are your children, we lift our voices to you,
using the words that Jesus taught us,
“Our Father…”

What We Reconcile (Ephesians 2:11-22)

December 30, 2015cmkenlinLeave a comment

One thing that humans do very well
is to identify differences between ourselves.
White, black, rich, poor, educated, illiterate,
conservative, liberal, male, female, young, old.
It is easy to see these different labels and
to hear the biased arguments on the daily news and talk shows.
Lord, we ask that you be with our political leaders and
to focus their hearts on what is best for the country,
not on what is best for them or for their party.
We ask that you open their eyes to your plan here on earth
and open their hearts to lead our country to work towards that plan
as a united people.

We gather here each week in this sacred place.
As we look around the community that you have gathered here today,
remind us to reach out to those we don’t yet know,
to say a simple hello and to start getting to know one another.
Each of us may know you differently, Father,
but we come here each week because we want you in our lives
and we want to know you better.
We know that your Son taught us that we strengthen our faith
by living in community with one another,
growing and nurturing one another.
Our differences can make us stronger,
remind us to celebrate the gifts and talents of others,
knowing that we are each unique and deeply loved
and knowing that we are called to be your people.

You gave us your Son who taught us peace,
peace and justice for all, regardless of our status.
Encourage us to seek out peace and justice for all we encounter.
Open our hearts to your will and to your plan.
Remind us that we are one with Christ, one with each other as your community.
We know that you are with us always.
We ask that you make your grace and presence known to ___
as they are in special need of your healing touch.
We are citizens of the United States, but also citizens of the world.
Remind us that every nation is our neighbor,
remind us that this creation is ours to protect,
remind us that we are all your children,
remind us that we are one.

As your children, as your united people,
we use the words you taught us,
“Our Father…”