Author: cmkenlin

Transform Us To Be Easter People (Acts 10:34-43)

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The message spread throughout the land, from Galilee through Judea.
The message spread throughout time, growing in strength,
the witnesses growing in numbers over the centuries.
We stand as your witnesses today.
We tell your story to our children and share your love with others.

You taught peace, Jesus.
We hunger for peace in our world today,
a world that is filled with noise, anger and chaos.
Remind us to practice peace in our daily lives.
Remind us to listen for understanding and
to seek out that which we can agree upon
while accepting differences in opinions.
Remind us to adhere to your teachings
and to share your peace with others.

Your message spread throughout the land and through the centuries.
We stand as your witnesses this morning, filled with the joy of your return.
Our hearts beat faster as we allow our celebration
to fill us with hope and with your grace.
The flowers of rebirth surround us, the music embraces us,
and our belief in second chances and a new beginning is strengthened.
We are transformed as your children, as your believers.

Even on your way to the cross, Jesus, your focus did not change.
You still cared about the poor, still continued to teach your disciples,
and still had complete faith in God, the Father.
Fill us with that same strength, with that focus on your teachings.
Help us to be the Easter people, filled with hope and joy!
Help us to transform our lives to truly be your people,
to show your love at all times to all people.
Help us to stand up for those who have no power, no money,
and no voice.
Help us to encourage peace, not anger and hatred.
Help us to always feel the joy of your resurrection,
to keep hope alive in our hearts.
In this time of renewal, we ask that you be with ___
sharing your gift of healing and strength with those who need it the most.

Your message spread throughout the land and throughout the centuries.
We stand as your witnesses this morning, filled with the joy of your return.
Easter is finally here.
You have returned.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Now hear us as we pray the way you taught us saying,
“Our Father…”

Listening for You (Luke 10:3842)

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Our world is a busy and chaotic world.
So many different things compete for our attention.
It can be hard for us to hear our own thoughts,
to take a moment to just be.
And, sometimes, we spend more time
dealing with day to day tasks
than we do in daily prayer and meditation.

In the morning, when we first wake,
before we think about our first to-do,
help us to give you thanks for a new day and a new beginning.
Help us to be present with you in the early morning quiet.
Open our hearts to your will in our lives.

During our day, as we cross items off our to-do list,
remind us to spend time with you again.
Open our ears to those we encounter during our day,
especially those who we may not know well or
who have different life experiences than ours.
Help us to be present with them and to truly hear their story,
and help us to hear the words that they leave unspoken.
What are they afraid to share with us?
Remind us that the gift of our attention is sometimes
the most valuable gift we can give to someone.
Help us to be present with you in the busy of our day.
Open our hearts to your will in our lives.

As we spend time with our friends and families,
remind us that this time is precious in our lives.
In what seems like moments rather than years,
children grow and become teenagers and then adults,
spouses and our relationships with them evolve,
and parents age and require assistance.
Help us to be present with our family,
to truly listen to their story and to know them fully.
Remind us that our time and our attention is worth more
than any material gift.
Help us to be present with you within the love of our family.
Open our hearts to your will in our lives.

As our day draws to an end, remind us again
to hear your voice in the quiet of the night.
As we think back over our day,
help us to hear when you spoke to us throughout the day.
Help us to be present with you in the stillness of the night.
Open our hearts to your will in our lives.

Ever-loving God, you are always present with us.
As we support each other, we ask that you be with those among us
who need some additional support and strength.
We name ___
And, while we seek out your voice in our daily lives,
we lift up our voices using the words Jesus taught us,
Our Father…”

Seeing From the Viewpoint of the Other (Luke 10:25-37)

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God of Compassion and Mercy, you have always been with us
challenging us when we need to be challenged,
and sending to us your Son who modeled your love in his teachings.
Be with us now and help us to see the world from the viewpoint of the other.

As we sit here in this sacred space, open our hearts and our minds.
Open our eyes to see a different world than what we usually see.
As we look at ourselves, help us to imagine ourselves as different people.
Our skin is no longer white, but instead different shades of brown.
Open our eyes to notice how others may now treat us.

As we look at ourselves, help us to imagine ourselves as different people.
Our salary level is now lower than it was when we walked into this sanctuary.
Open our eyes to notice how others may now treat us.

As we look at ourselves, help us to imagine ourselves as different people.
Our country of origin is different than the US and we have recently moved here.
Open our eyes to notice how others may now treat us.

As we sit here in this sacred place, and later as we move from here out into the world,
open our hearts and our minds.
Help us to listen to the story of those who are not like us.
Help us to listen without trying to defend ourselves and our behaviors.
Help us to listen without feeling guilty or accused.
Help us to listen without judgment and without reservation.
Help us to just listen, to hear the story from the view of the other,
and to accept the truth of how they see their life and their experiences.

Gracious God, you created us in your image, each of us your beloved child.
Help us to see your image in the face of those we encounter.
Help us to share the love you have generously provided to us,
to those that we meet in our daily lives.
Help us to accept the differences between us
and even to celebrate those differences.
Help us to stand up for those who are different
and to fight for those without a voice.

Gracious God, we are your children.
You have been with us always, and we ask that you especially be with ___.
The teacher that you sent us, your son, Jesus,
championed the cause of the other.
He showed us how we should live.
And he gave us the words we should use in prayer,
and we use those words today,
“Our Father…”

Changing Rules (Isaiah 50:4-9a)

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The world we live in today is not the world we used to know.
The rules have changed, but we are not sure when or how they changed.
We don’t even know who changed the rules,
but the world is different now.

The institutions we used to trust have failed us.
Our leaders in the government, in business, and in the church have failed us.
The plans we made for our lives have been thrown into turmoil
and the world we see on the news and social media is not the world we used to know.

Jesus entered the eastern gates of Jerusalem in triumph
on the back of a borrowed donkey.
Pontius Pilate entered the western gates of Jerusalem
in triumph at the head of the Roman army.
The world they lived in was not the world they used to know.
Their plans were going to be thrown into turmoil.

Lord, you have taught us the truth.
You have given us the words to share,
the words to help calm the turmoil around us.
Words of love to answer the words of hate that fill our ears on a daily basis.
Words of justice to answer the words of oppression
that hold some in poverty and without a voice.
Words of healing to soothe the pain of hurt and loss.
Words of forgiveness to heal the wounds caused by jealousy and fear.

You open our ears and our hearts.
You sustain us when we grow weary.
You awaken us every morning with the call to listen to your teachings,
to be your followers.
You give us the strength to stand up to our convictions,
to uphold your teachings.
You sent your Son to us to reinforce your teachings.

The rules of our world have shifted underneath our feet.
But as your children, we know though that you are always with us.
We ask that you give your strength and healing to ___.
As your community of believers, we stand together.
We stand up together as a united family, brothers and sisters in Christ.
And we use the words that your Son taught us,
“Our Father…”

An Everlasting Covenant (Isaiah 55:1-9)

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We often dream of a world of plenty,
a world where we have won the lottery,
a world where our wishes will come true.
We compare ourselves to others and
can be jealous of what we don’t have.
We forget that the happiness
about a new possession is a temporary mood.
We forget that the newest electronic gadget
will be out of date next month.

Help us, Creator God, to recognize the gifts you have given us.
You have given us an earth full of wonders,
lands of plenty and bodies of fresh water.
Creator God, help us to respect the gift of the earth,
the animals and the natural resources.
You have given us a society in which we live and people to interact with,
to learn from and to grow with.
Creator God, help us to respect one another and
to seek justice and peace for all.
You have given us free will and the ability to learn from our past.
Creator God, help us to see our past clearly,
to recognize where we have made mistakes or redefined history,
and help us to make a better future for our children.
You have given us your Son to share your teachings and your plans with us.
Creator God, help us to understand those teachings and encourage us
to follow in His path.

Most importantly, remind us that this is a material world.
A material world does not last and possessions become a burden to maintain.
Free us from that burden, Lord.
Remind us to go through this world unencumbered by things.
Focus our attention on your teachings, Lord.
Remind us to share the resources of this earth with others.
Remind us to treat each other with respect and caring.
Remind us to be aware of the choices we make and how they impact others.

You have given us the ever living water of your truth.
We celebrate those truths and teachings here in this sacred place
and in our daily lives.
As your followers, we support one another, but we ask that you be with ___.
And as we seek out a closer relationship with you, we use the words you taught us,
“Our Father…”

The Sense of Mystery (1 Kings 19:1-15a)

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Gracious and all protecting God,
Elijah, like each of us, found himself alone and afraid.

And, like each of us, he realized that he needed to get up,
to shake off his fear, to get up and just get it done.
There is no one else to do your work, to share your news.
We cannot pull the covers over our heads
and hope the world will be a better place when we wake up.
We cannot hide our faces and pretend that we don’t see what is going on.
It is up to us to make this world, your world.

But it can be easy to be fearful in this world.
We see terror on the news everyday.
We see happiness and laughter obliterated in an instant.
We see hate appearing to triumph over justice and
appearing to divide our nation and our communities.
Sometimes our fears are based on reality, but more often,
our fears are based on whispers, rumors, and half-truths.
Give us the strength to stand up to those fears,
to not give into a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness.

Open our eyes to the mysteries and the joys of this world.
A world where first responders run bravely into burning buildings,
a world where strangers give shelter to the injured and to those in danger,
a world where search parties give of their time and energy
to look for those who are lost
and a world where death is met by new life and new hopes for the future.
You gave us a world with everything we need.
You gave us your Son, who came to us and shared his life with us, as a man,
teaching us how to make this world your world,
showing us by his actions, not just in words.
Give us the strength to do the same for those around us.
Give us the strength to get up, to get up and just get it done.

We ask that you be with those among us who need your extra strength today.
We name ___

Open our eyes to the mysteries of this world and
help us to stand up to our fears to do what is right and just.
We use the words that your Son gave us,
“Our Father….”

The Sense of Loyalty (2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14)

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As we look around at the people in our lives,
we realize that we are connected and intertwined
with one another.
Some of those in our lives are our teachers;
others our students.
Some of those in our lives are our cheerleaders;
others our detractors.
Some of those in our lives inspire us;
others are examples of how not to live our lives.

Help us to see those connections to others more clearly.
Help us to see how we impact those around us.
Help us to see the needs of those around us.

As we look at our lives and understand where we
spend our time, our money and our worry,
we can see where our loyalties truly lie.
Our lives intersect with many others.
Help us to see where our actions don’t meet our words.
If we say that family is important to us,
are we spending enough time with them?
If we say that the environment is important to us,
are we acting in ways as individual stewards of God’s earth?
If we say that we are all God’s children,
are we working to create unity and fairness or
do we allow divisiveness to create barriers between us?

Help us to see our connections to others more clearly.
Help us to see how we impact those around us.
Help us to see the needs of those around us.

As we look around at the people in our lives,
we see the teachers in our lives.
You sent us your son, who taught us
your ways and your teachings.
Before Jesus, we heard your word
through the prophets.

Help us to see our connections to others more clearly.
Help us to live out your teachings in ways that improve
our lives and the lives of others.
As your children, we know that you are with us always.
We ask that you be with those among us today
who need your presence the most.
We name ___.
Help us to be the people of God and to support those
among us in need.
Help us to be loyal to the right things.
Help us to stay true to your teachings and to
live them out in our daily lives.

As your students, we live up the words our Teacher gave us,
“Our Father…”

The Sense of Human Touch (2 Kings 5:1-14)

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We fear what we do not understand
and pull away in an attempt to protect ourselves.
In Naaman’s time, a disease to be feared was leprosy.
In our recent history, we have treated AIDS victims as lepers,
and before that, we whispered the word cancer using
other terms instead.
In today’s world, we hide diagnoses of addiction and mental illness.

Help us to be giving and healing people, Lord.
Open our eyes to the needs of those around us,
and when we are in need, bring a loving touch to our lives.
Remind us that the human touch and the smallest act of caring
can make a huge difference in someone’s outlook on life.
We can make eye contact and say good morning
to the homeless man on the corner of the street
rather than walking past him as if he doesn’t exist.
We can listen for the answer, spoken and unspoken,
when we ask someone how they are doing.
We can offer assistance without judgment to a family
impacted by a child’s mental illness.

We fear what we do not understand
and pull away in an attempt to protect ourselves.
We want easy answers and
don’t want to take the time to understand a different point of view.
We want to blame others for their situation in life.
If they had been more responsible, they wouldn’t be homeless.
If they had worked harder, they wouldn’t have lost their job.
If they had taken better care of themselves, they wouldn’t have gotten ill.
Remind us that finding reasons for others’ failures will not keep us safe.
Remind us that we are your community of believers and
we are to act as your body in Christ.

Help us to be giving and healing people, Lord.
You showed us in your teachings how to model that behavior.
Help us to act as you did, giving respect to all,
treating everyone with love without judgment.
Help us to touch the lives of those around us with kindness and acceptance.
As you shared our world, we know that you are still with us.
We ask that you be with those among us who need your presence.
We name __.
As your followers, we lift up the words you taught us,
“Our Father…”

We Ask For Your Wisdom (Proverbs 8)

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Creator God, you have created us in your image,
and set before us your teachings
and yet, we see the world differently, with many interpretations.
We ask for your wisdom.
We ask that you open our eyes and give us clarity.

Our political leaders seek to control us with fear or partial truths.
The talking heads on our TV news channels spin their version of the truth
in any way that fits their purposes.
How can we decipher what is true and what is false?
We ask for your wisdom.
We ask that you open our eyes and give us clarity.

The rules for how our world operates have changed beneath our feet.
It is not always good enough to work hard and to do the right thing.
We see jobs lost,
we see unfair economic practices,
we see unfair criminal justice practices,
we see unfair immigration policies and practices.
But among ourselves, the definition of fair and unfair is in conflict.
We ask for your wisdom.
We ask that you open our eyes and give us clarity.

Help us to see what is true.
Help us to understand your teachings and how they apply in today’s world.
Remind us that we are to carry out your plan in this world.
We are your voice.
We are your people, who fulfill your plan here on earth.
We ask for your wisdom..
We ask that you open our eyes and give us clarity.

You created us in your image.
You gave us your only Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We know that you are with us always.
We ask that you be with those among us who need your extra strength.
In their time of trial, help them feel your love surrounding them.
Help them feel your healing touch as it envelopes them and provides support.

You sent your son to teach us your truth and your plans for us here on earth.
Your son taught us the words of wisdom we speak today.
“Our Father…”

We Sing to You a New Song (Psalm 96)

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Gracious God, we sing to you a new song and give you our praise.
As the sun rises in the east,
we marvel at the creation that you have set before us,
the new day with new potential.
The noontime sun casts away the shadows
and helps us see our world and ourselves more clearly.
We see the glory of the creation you have provided to us.
We see where we have not shared those resources fairly
and where we have not protected the environment.
We see the other idols of this world that we have allowed to compete
with our focus on you.
Yet as the sun sets in the west and
we snuggle into the darkness of the night,
we are reminded that you have provided us a sanctuary of strength and beauty.
You are our God and you alone deserve our praise.

Almighty God, we declare to everyone around us, the power of your love,
and share the good news of your teachings with our children.
We give to you all glory and honor, and lift up your name in praise.
Let everyone celebrate and help us to work to establish your justice
here on earth.
We proclaim your power and yet recognize with the gift of free will,
much depends upon us and our choices.
Be with us as we work to establish justice in this world.
Be with us as we work to make things right.
Be with us as we work to make things fair.
Be with those among us today who need your strength and protection.
We lift up the names of ___.

All Powerful God, we sing to you a new song and give you our praise.
As your people, we celebrate your teachings and know that we are loved.
You created our world, gave us life and everything that we need on this earth.
You gave us your Son who showed us how to live in a way
that follows your teachings.
We lift up our voices in praise to you, using the words Jesus taught us,
“Our Father….”