Judgmental

We Are Your Children (Genesis 37:1-4, 18-28)

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We forget that we are all your children, Father God.
We allow ourselves to become jealous and judgmental.
We form into groups and categorize others.
We put on our coat of many colors to show off to others
how blessed and special we are.
Remind us that we are all equal in your sight, God.
Remind us that we are your children and
each one of us is deeply loved and uniquely cherished.

Help us to act as your children, Mother God.
Open our eyes to the wonder of your world,
the miracles that surround us that we no longer see.
Remind us to see the world through the eyes of a child,
to marvel at the world around us, to see the miracles and the beauty,
to see one another with the innocence and the trust of a child.
Help us to nurture others as you have nurtured us.
Help us to love as a child loves, freely without hesitation or fear.
Help us to share as a child shares, without expectation or resentment.
Remind us that we are your children and
each one of us is deeply loved and uniquely cherished.

Help us to act as your children, Creator God.
Help us to act as one community,
to take care of each other, and
to support one another.
Help us to work towards unity and
to tear down the walls that separate us.
Help us to seek to understand another’s viewpoint,
to feel their reality.
Help us to work for the good of the community,
rather than our own self interests.
As you were with Joseph in the pit,
we know that you are with us always.
We ask that you be with those we name,
as well as with those whose names go unspoken.
We lift up ___ in our prayers.

We are your children, God, and we use the words
taught to us by your Son,
“Our Father…”

Be With Us (Acts 15: 1-11 )

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Be with us, Gracious God.

As we sit here in this sacred place,
with others who believe as we do,
be with us.
As we wake in the morning,
be with us, Gracious God.
Be the voice in the quiet dawn that
reminds us to celebrate the new day
we have been given
Remind us to use our time here
to make the world a better place.

As we meet others in our day to day,
be with us, listening to our conversations,
watching our interactions.
Be with us, Gracious God.
Be the voice in our ear that
reminds us not to judge, but to encourage.
Be the tiny speck in our eye that reminds us
that our control and power are limited and the
smallest, most accidental encounter in life
can send us to our knees in pain and tears.
Be the friend, or the stranger, who helps us to our feet,
and reminds us of the power of the helping hand.
Be the desire in our heart that reminds us
to share your love with others.
Be with us, Gracious God,
remind us that we are all your children,
filled with your grace.

As we walk with you beside us throughout our day,
remind us of what is important in life.
Be with us always, Gracious God.
Remind us to be at one with one another.
Remind us that none of us embody your teachings fully,
no one of us is worthy of your love
and yet, we are your children, filled with your grace.
Be with us, Gracious God.
When as children, we begin to squabble,
remind us again of what is most important.
We ask that you especially be with ___.

As we prepare for the end of the day and the sleep to come,
remind us to think over our day.
Help us to see clearly where and when you were with us.
Be with us, Gracious God.

In this sacred place, we have come together to feel your grace
and to learn of your teachings.
Be with us, Gracious God.

And now, we lift up our voices, using the words your Son taught us,
“Our Father….”

Restoring People (Mark 1:29-39)

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Lord, you had a talent for restoring people back to their rightful place in the world.
You gave them back their dignity and gave them acceptance.
You did not judge people based on how society judged them.
You gave only love and complete acceptance.

In our lives, we know we spend too much time worrying about what others think about us.
We know that we don’t always spend our time and our resources on the right things.
We allow people to become alienated and alone.

Lord, you had a talent for restoring people back to their rightful place in the world.
Open our eyes to those in our world who need to be brought back into their rightful place in the world.
Open our hearts and remove any judgement and bias.
As you freely give us love and grace, help us to also freely give love and acceptance to others.
We know that we are all brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.

Our world can be a divisive place.
But we know that we can break down the barriers.
We know that we are to support one another, to make each other whole,
to heal the differences between us.

Lord, you had a talent for restoring people back to their rightful place in the world.
It is your teachings that have restored us.
It is your teachings that have brought us here today.
We are a community of believers.
We long for the oneness within this community, and with all the people of the world.

We commit ourselves to fulfilling your plan here on earth.
Open our eyes to those among us who may feel ignored and alone.
Open our ears to those who are crying in pain and hopelessness.
Open our hearts to feel compassion and understanding for those in pain.

Lord, you had a talent for restoring people back to their rightful place in the world.
We know that you are with us always. Be with ___ who need your healing grace and support.
We are a community of believers. And as your followers, we use the words that you taught us,
“Our Father…”

What We Perceive (1 Samuel 15:34-16:13)

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As a child, we see things in black and white.

Our world is very clear, and our boundaries are established.
A child can easily tell you if an act is right or wrong.
The world can become more gray as we get older.
Father, we have more doubts now and
sometimes we ask more questions than a two year old.

Why do we act selfishly at times?
Why do good people die before their time?
Why does a tornado hit one house and not another?
Why do I feel alone even when surrounded by many?
Why are there people in our neighborhoods who go to bed hungry?
And, why does evil sometimes seem to flourish in our world?

As adults, we see the world in shades of gray.
When asked if an act is right or wrong, we may answer, “It depends.”
We view the world based on our experiences, our biases, and our fears.
Father God, we ask that you open our eyes to your choice,
to your plan.
Open our hearts so that we can follow you without hesitation.
Mother God, comfort us in our doubt and confusion,
as a mother soothes her child.
Reassure us that while our world is sometimes lacking balance
and fairness, you are with us always.
Remind us that it is up to us to make this world as it is in your heaven.
We are to act now, to live out your word now, in this place.

Holy Creator, you have shaped us, formed us, and known us.
You see beyond what the world sees in us, beyond what we share with others.
You know us completely and you love us as completely.
We ask that you give us the faith to follow your plan
using the gifts and talents that you freely given us.
Allow us to see ourselves as you see us, each of us deeply loved and uniquely cherished.
As your children, we are to support one another in this world.
We know that you are also with us supporting us in the chaos of this world.
We ask that you be with ___ granting your comfort and peace.

We may still have questions, we may still doubt what we see around us,
but we have faith in the words your Son gave us.
We lift our hearts and our thoughts to you, using those words,
“Our Father…”

Your Healing Touch (Mark 7:24-37)

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God of light and love,
We confess that even when we think we are treating people fairly,
our actions may be tainted by our biases and by our interpretations.
Overwhelmed by the world and desiring privacy,
it can be easy for us to turn a cold eye to the needs of those around us.
It can be easy for us to judge others and blame them for their situation.
Fill our lives with your light, illuminate the shadows of our lives,
and show us what we are not seeing clearly.
Let your light show us the grays in our life,
those spaces where the decisions are not always black and white
and then let your love help us to make the right decision.
As you fill us with your love and light, remind us that we are loved
and heal us as you healed others.
Let the energy of your love fill us with every breath we take.

We gather here in this sacred place.
For the next few minutes, be with us as we sit quietly
and we ask for your healing touch,
for ourselves,
for those that we love, and
for those that we know of but may never meet.
As we breathe in, we feel the energy of your love,
drawn into ourselves,
touching every part of us,
healing what is broken and in pain.
As we breath out, we feel ourselves expanding,
expanding out to unite with one another,
becoming one with each other,
here in this sacred place.

God of light and love,
Open our hearts with your love, help us to share our love and our lives
with people who are not always first in our minds.
Your son showed us this love and compassion when he helped the
Syrophoenican woman, a person some would call an enemy.
As your children, we are loved deeply and uniquely cherished.
Help us to see your face in those that we meet and
help us to extend your gift of healing to others.
We may not be able to cast away their demons,
but we can lend our ears to hear their stories,
we can lend our hands to help pick them up,
and we can use our voices to stand up for them.
Your son came to us in love and
taught us how to truly care for your creation.
And in love, he taught us the words we use today,
“Our Father…”

We Are Connected (Mark 12:38-44)

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Gracious God, we may not want to admit it,
but we are more like the scribe than the widow.
We dress our children in the latest fashions and
upgrade to the newest iPhone.
But we don’t think about the child who may be working
in those factories overseas to give us our latest gadgets
and our athletic wear.
We say we want to protect the environment,
but our constant need for energy depletes the rain forest
and poisons the water.
We put our needs before the needs of others.

Help us to be more aware, Lord.
Help us to see how we are connected with one another,
with nature, and with you, Lord.
Help us to see how our private and our public choices
impact each other, impact our world,
and impact our relationship with you, our Creator.
Help us to remember we affect people we will never know
and will never see.
Help us to put ourselves in someone’s story,
to hear their circumstances without judgment
and to see your image in their face.

Creator God, you created a world that contains all we need.
Remind us that our gifts and treasures are not a reflection of our faith,
but more a reflection on the circumstance of our birth
and our ability to make our way in a material world.
As your disciples shared their gifts and talents with the early church,
so too, are we to share with each other.
Help us to see the inequities of this world
and give us the strength to stand up for justice and peace.
Use us to fulfill your plan here on earth.
Fill our hearts with the desire to follow the examples of your Son, Jesus.

Remind us that being a church does not only mean gathering together
in this sacred place.
Being a church means taking our message out to the world,
in deeds more than in words,
showing others your love and your grace.
Help us to be more like the Widow,
give us the strength to give ourselves freely to each other,
without fear, and without doubt.

We know that you are with us always.
And, we know that faith alone does not guarantee us a pain-free life,
but we know that with your presence, and with the help of each other,
we can be supported and comforted in this world.
We ask for your healing presence for those among us who need it the most.
We name ___

As the widow, we come to this sacred place, and together,
we use the words that your son taught us:
“Our Father…”

Created in God’s Image (Mark 10:35-45)

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We call ourselves your followers, Lord.
We are your children, we call ourselves Christians.
Remind us what that really means.
We were told to love one another as we love ourselves. 

We are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
But who do we consider to be our neighbor?
The person who looks like us, talks like us
     and shares our common experience?
Or is our neighbor a different color?
Does our neighbor make less money than we do?
Does our neighbor speak the same language that we speak?
Does our neighbor have more kids than they can afford to feed?
Did our neighbor drop out of high school?
Has our neighbor escaped a country full of violence
     to find safety in the United States?
Take our judgmental views from our thoughts, Lord.
Help us to see each other as you see us, without bias and in love.
It can be easy for us to look down upon others in an attempt to build up
     our own status and self-importance.

Help us, Father, to treat each other as your children, as our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We do not choose our starting point in life,
     and each of us makes both good and bad choices as we travel
     through life's paths.
Our wealth and comfort in this life is not our right,
     nor is someone else's poverty their penalty for a failed life.
Remind us that none of us are better than another,
     and remind us that we may see each other through biased eyes.
Help us to see your image in the face of those around us.
You created us in your image,
     we are each your children, regardless of what we look like,
     regardless of our talents and skills.
You created us in your image.
We are your children, each of us deeply loved and uniquely cherished.

As we look at others, it is natural for us to classify others, to compare
     ourselves to others.
Remind us when we do that, we will give in to either envy or
     disappointment.
These are not feelings that you want us to experience.
God, you are love, light and grace. That is what you want us to experience,
     to be.
We are unique, created in your image, and each of us possess gifts and
     talents given to us for a purpose.
As your children, we know that you are with us always and we ask that you
     be with __
We know that you have reached out to us in love, and given us your son to
     share your teachings.
For those of us in need of healing, we ask that your Holy Spirit flows
     through us, healing us, strengthening us, making us whole.

As your children, we know that we are equal with one another,
     we know that we were each created in your image and that each of us
     fulfills your particular plan here on earth.
As your children, we celebrate that you gave us your Son to teach us,
     to share your love and grace, and to build a community of believers.
As your followers, we use the words given to us by your Son,
     "Our Father..."