Luke

Be Honest (Luke 24:36-49)

cmkenlinLeave a comment

We come before you and we cannot hide our true selves.
We cannot hide our pain, our wounds, or our deepest needs.
Gracious God, you see us truly, and we cannot hide from you.
There is no camouflage that can allow us to keep any part of ourselves secret.
There is nothing about us that you do not know and, more importantly,
there is nothing about us that keeps you from loving us.
We are your children. You have formed us in your image.
And as your children, we are deeply loved and uniquely cherished.

We sometimes hide ourselves from the world.
We smile and tell those around us that everything is great.
We are afraid of allowing others to see us as wanting or in pain.
We want to be seen as strong and in control.
But you see us as we truly are. We cannot hide from you or from your love.
And as you love us completely, open our hearts
so that we can also love ourselves completely.
Heal our wounds and fill our hearts with your peace and your grace.
And as we hear the sacred story of others,
help us to create a space that allows for acceptance and understanding.
Help us to share ourselves with others completely and freely.

Help us to own our past and to recognize the value of our history.
Give us the courage to share our sacred stories with those around us.
Give us the wisdom to understand how our experiences and
how our past has shaped us and made us the people that we are today.
As we have learned from our past, help us to teach others.
Help us to share the story of your love and your teachings with others.
We stand before you, openly and as your children.
As you are with us always, we ask that you especially be with those among us
who need your strength and healing grace. We name ___.

We are your children, Lord.
We lift up your teachings in praise and thanksgiving.
And, as your children, we use the words that you taught us so many years ago,
“Our Father…”

Help Us to Change (Luke 5:33-39)

cmkenlinLeave a comment

Gracious God, as new wine expands and stretches the new wineskins,
we ask that you also stretch us and help us to grow in our faith.
Help us to embrace change and not cling to old ways of thinking.
But remind us to cherish the good in our past and present.
Open our eyes to the nuances of each situation
as we attempt to live out your teachings in our daily life.
We recognize that we like rules and standard practices,
but help us to see the person and what they really need.
Help us to respond always with love, sharing your love with others.

We thank you for the teachers you have brought into our lives.
We realize now that each encounter with another
gives us the chance to share your love,
to be the change in the world that you were.
And as we change others, we are also changed.
Fill our hearts with a desire to know you more completely.
Give us the strength to live our lives in ways that put others first.
Help us to act in ways that make this world, your world,
a place of peace and justice.
As Jesus celebrated with his disciples,
be with us as we celebrate the joys in our lives.
We name ___.
And as Jesus sought to heal the sick, we also support each other.
We ask that you be with those among us
who are in need of your healing touch, your sense of peace
and your strength.
We name ___.

Jesus, we know that change is never easy.
But you brought change to our world and to each of us.
We have been changed by your teachings and we continue to change.
As your changed people,
we lift up our voices to use the words you taught us, “Our Father..”

You Call Us to Your Table (Luke 14:16-24)

cmkenlinLeave a comment

Lord, you call us to your table
and we accept your invitation.
We come, not because we fully understand,
but because we want to know your truth.
We come, not because we feel worthy,
but because we know you love us anyway.
We come, not because we are at peace,
but because we are in search of your peace.

We ask that you open our ears to your invitation.
Open our eyes to the opportunities you place before us,
chances to make connections in a broken world,
and encounters that open our minds to new possibilities.
Use us to extend your invitation to all that we meet.
Help us to embody your teachings in our words,
our thoughts and our daily activities.
As you have extended love to all,
fill our hearts with an unending love for others
so that we can share your love with others.
Fill us with the desire to be as invitational as you were.
Surround our table with those hungry for your truth
and your peace.

Lord, you called those to your table that others ignored
and overlooked.
You sought peace and justice for those without power.
You healed those who were sick.
We ask that you be with those among us in need of your healing grace.
We name ___ .
We ask that you also be with those who go unnamed,
with those living in fear and uncertainty,
and with those who feel forgotten and ignored.
May they feel your invitation deep within their hearts.
May they emerge from the shadows and take their place
fully in this life, healed and complete,
knowing they are loved and accepted.
And as they step forward, invite us to fully embrace and welcome them.

As we accept your invitation, we lift our hearts in celebration and joy,
and we lift our voices to you, using the words you gave us many years ago,
“Our Father….

Right, Wrong and Holy (Luke 10:25-37)

cmkenlinLeave a comment

Gracious God, we confess that we sometimes tell others,
we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers.
And maybe we do say a prayer.
But maybe we should also be doing something for them.
Help us, Lord, to see what those around us need and want.
Help us take the opportunity to provide that support,
to fulfill that need.
Help us to display your love to them through our presence.

As your followers, you told us to love our neighbor as our self.
Help us to truly see our neighbors.
In this world of divisiveness,
open our hearts so we can listen and find common ground.
Give us the willingness to talk with our neighbor,
to understand their needs, their fears and their dreams.
Give us the understanding that we are all your children,
equal in your sight, each of us deeply loved and uniquely cherished.
Help us to recognize that needing help is not a sign of weakness.
And help us to realize that when providing help,
it is important to know what help is needed.

As your followers, we have joined into your community of believers.
We come together in this sacred space to share our love for you,
to support one another and to learn from each other.
As we care for each other, we ask that you also be with those
among us who need your healing grace and strength.
We name ___.
And as a community of faith, we celebrate the joys of those among us.
We lift up ___.
We thank you for bringing us together as a community
to share in the good times and the bad.

Gracious God, we know that our situations change,
sometimes suddenly without warning.
We can be the Samaritan or
we can be the victim by the side of the road.
But we know that you are with us always,
no matter where we find ourselves.
And, we know that we are to share your good news
with others and to share your love with all.
As we celebrate your presence among us,
we lift up our voices using the words that your Son taught us,
“Our Father…”

Riches in Our Lives (2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Luke 17:11-19)

cmkenlinLeave a comment

Gracious and Giving God, you have given us so much.
Help us to truly see the riches in our lives.
You have placed people in our lives,
people that love us, people that challenge us,
people that nurture us, and people that test us.
Help us to see how our interactions with others
make a difference in this world and with one another.
We can choose to act in love or with indifference.
Help us to choose love.

Help us to truly see the riches in our lives.
You have given us treasures in terms of money, time and talents.
We live in a world that judges people
based on their wealth, education and skills.
Help us to truly see one another, to see your image on their faces.
Help us to accept others as they truly are
and help us to share ourselves with those around us.
Help us to come together as your family of believers and
help us to act in your image in our broken world.
Open our hearts and
give us the courage to share our hopes and fears with each other.
As we support one another, we ask that you be with those among us
who need your strength and healing grace. We name ___.
And as we look around at those who are with us today,
we lift up our thanks and praise for this community of believers.
We can choose to share our money, time and talents with love
or we can choose not to share.
Help us to choose love.

Gracious God, you have been more generous to us than we deserve.
Open our eyes to the riches you have given freely to us.
And as we lift up our voices in thanksgiving,
we remember that you gave your Son to us and we use the words he taught us,
“Our Father…”

Open Our Eyes to Your Presence (Luke 24:13-35)

cmkenlinLeave a comment

Lord, how many times have you been walking beside us
without us knowing?
When we are in moments of joy with friends and family,
open our eyes so we can see you celebrating with us.
As we do the mundane tasks of the day to day,
open our eyes so we can see you with us in our daily routine.
If we awaken in the night filled with worry and fear,
open our eyes so that we can see that you are here to comfort us with your peace.

Lord, how many times during the day, do we forget to live out your teachings?
As we face the normal irritations of our day to day,
do we practice loving one another when caught in another traffic jam?
As we learn about current events,
do we seek peace and justice or do we practice judgment and condemnation?
As we interact with each other,
do we seek to build up the community or do we put ourselves first?
Open our hearts to your words, Lord, fill us with the fire of your teachings.
Remind us to grant others grace as you have granted grace to us.

Lord, how many times have you spoken in our ear and we have not heard you.
In times of anger, when voices are raised, remind us to pause and to listen for your guidance.
In times of fear and uncertainty, remind us to take a moment to breathe deeply,
to relax our shoulders, and to listen for your words of peace.
In times of success and celebration, remind us to listen to your teachings
and to know that we still need your assurance and grace.
Remind us to be in community with one another and to listen to one another
so that we can truly understand each other’s needs.

Lord, you are with us always. Help us to also be with you.
We use the words that you taught us so many years ago,
“Our Father…”

Our Sense of Humility (Luke 14:1, 7-14)

cmkenlinLeave a comment

Gracious God, we know that when we invite someone
to have a meal with us, that it is a special event.
We don’t have dinner with just anyone.
We give you thanks for always inviting us to your table,
for always making us welcome and
for providing a generous feast.
Sharing food with each other at a common table
sparks conversation and allows us to share ourselves with others
on an equal setting.
Help us to find opportunities to be with one another
and to share our lives with others.

As humans, we compare ourselves to others
and strive to excel, to be seated at the best seat at the table.
Remind us, Creator God, that you have made us in your Image
and that each of us is the child of God, deeply loved and uniquely cherished.
As your children, we sit around the family dinner table
and share the story of our day as equals.
May we be able to tell the story of how we shared the good news of your teachings,
the story of how our voices were raised to speak for those without a voice,
the story of how we stood up for those without power and
the story of how our love changed someone else’s day for the better.

As we join together at your table, we form your community,
the body of Christ.
We come together every week in this sacred place,
to be one with each other, to put others first before ourselves.
We ask that you be with those among us who need your grace and your healing strength.
We name ___.
We support one another and share grace at your table of abundant plenty
regardless of where we sit at the table.
Bring us together in community and in harmony.

We come together to the table set by your Son,
following the teachings of your Son, and
using the words your Son taught us,
“Our Father….”

Our Sense of Being Called (Luke 14:25-33)

cmkenlinLeave a comment

The call to follow you, God, is not always easy.
We can feel embarrassed to share our faith openly
with those we don’t know well.
We can feel guilty when we realize we don’t follow
your teachings as closely as we should.
We can feel the pain in our world and
question how a loving God could allow the innocent to suffer.
We can feel the demands of the world
taking our attention away from what is important.
Be with us, Gracious God, and continue to call our name.

Call us to follow you.
Call us to be your disciples.
Help us to prioritize where we spend our time and our attention.
We can feel conflict between the material world and
the spiritual world shown to us by your Son.
Remind us of what is truly important in this world .
As we think about the end of our lives,
what will we have achieved here in this world?
What will have been the flavor of our life?
Will we have followed you by speaking up for those without a voice?
Will we have followed you by feeding the hungry?
Will we have followed you by raising up
those among us who have stumbled?
Will we have followed you by seeking to understand those with whom we disagree?
Will we have followed you by sharing our gifts freely with others?
Will we have tasted the fullness of your grace or
the bland and unfulfilling taste of the material world?

The call to follow you, God, is not always easy.
But we are your followers and we have heard your call.
We answer your call today and always,
knowing that you, in turn, are always with us.
Your love and grace seasons our lives and provides us strength.
We ask that you be with ___.
And using the words your Son taught us, we lift our voices to you,
“Our Father…”

Our Sense of Knowing and Being Known (Luke 13:10-17)

cmkenlinLeave a comment

We are created in your image, Lord.
Each of us are unique,
with different skills and different talents.
We may compare ourselves to others,
judging ourselves better or worse, but
You know us completely.
Open our eyes to the gifts you have given to us
and also to the gifts of others.
Help us to celebrate those gifts.
Help us to use our skills and talents
to fulfill your work here on earth.

We are created in your image, Lord.
Some of us have bodies that appear to work well,
while others wear their imperfections on the outside.
And some of us are experiencing the transition
of an aging body.
We are human and none of us are perfect, but
You know us completely with only love.
We ask for your healing touch within us.
Even if we cannot be physically healed,
calm our thoughts and give us the strength we need.
We ask that you be with those among us who need
your extra comfort and strength, naming ____.
Help us to accept and to celebrate our human experience.
Help us to use our bodies and minds in ways
that fulfill your work here on earth.

We are created in your image, Lord.
We can choose to conceal our hearts from others,
but You know us completely and accept us.
We may hide our fears from others,
but You know us completely and accept us.
We may present a confident face to the outside world,
while inside we are filled with doubt,
but You know us completely and accept us.
We may not fully share ourselves with others,
but we cannot hide ourselves from you.
Remind us that together we are the body of Christ.
Open our hearts to each other,
remove our fear of intimacy and
help us to see each other without judgment or envy.
Use us, as your community of believers, ‘
to make this world a better place.
We are your children and in faith and trust,
we use the words your Son gave us, “Our Father…”

Our Sense of Selfishness (Luke 12:13-21)

cmkenlinLeave a comment

Good and gracious God, you have given us so much.
You sent to us, your Son, who taught us your teachings.
In deeds more than words,
Jesus showed us to work for peace and justice,
to treat everyone with respect and kindness.
Help us to see when we have enough in our lives.
Help us to see that our success is not guaranteed by
our material possessions.

It can be so easy to compare ourselves to others.
Remind us that there will always be people
who seem to have much more than we have
and there will be those who have much less.
Help us to see that our material worth is meaningless.
You taught us that we cannot compare ourselves to others,
because none of us is better than another.
We are each a child of God, each of us deeply loved
and uniquely cherished.
Help us to see when we have enough in our lives.

Our world is changing and expanding.
We no longer stay contained within our own small town,
but our connections are global now.
We work for companies that operate within different countries.
Our neighbors may have moved from another state or another country.
We fear hate coming into our lives
from conflict from the other side of the world.
We give into that fear and allow the changes we encounter
to make us cling tightly to our treasures and
make us distance ourselves from others.
Help us to see when we have enough in our lives.

Give us the faith to recognize that the world has always been uncertain.
Help us to see that every generation has feared the future
and questioned the path of the next generation.
We can not make this world a better place if we hide in fear,
if we refuse to share our gifts and our treasures.
Open our hands when we clench our fists and refuse to share.
Soften our hearts so that we can truly relate to someone else’s story.
Remind us that giving to others does not threaten our security.
Help us to follow the practices that Jesus taught us.

Your son, Jesus, practiced a life of selflessness.
He did not value material wealth; he valued the individual.
He did not bow to the political leader; he bowed towards peace and justice.
He taught us to share freely with one another
and the early church embodied that sense of sharing and community.
Take us back to those days and reinforce our community.
As we support one another, we ask that you be with those among us,
who need your strength and grace. We name ___.
Help us to see when we have enough in our lives.
Help us to see that our success is not guaranteed by
our material possessions.

As you open our hearts to you, remind us that our world
should be your world.
Help us to work towards that goal as we life up our voices to you,
using the words your Son taught us,
“Our Father…”