Thy Will Be Done

Changing the Rules (Mark 1:21-28)

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There is safety in the rules.

If you work hard, you will be rewarded.
If you don’t make a mistake, bad things won’t happen.
But we know that it doesn’t really work that way.
Our world is not always an orderly place.

Things happen no matter what we do.
Storms erupt.
Cancer strikes.
Jobs are lost.
Cars cross the center line.
Adhering to the rules will not prevent bad things from happening to us.

Things happen no matter what we do.
But your son changed the rules.
He taught us that it is not what we say,
but rather what we do.
We know that our deeds do not buy our salvation.
That is by your grace.

But it is up to us to make this world as it is in heaven.
It is up to us to strive constantly for peace and justice.
It is our hands who fulfill your plan here on earth.
It is our eyes who see the needs of those around us.
It is our hearts that open to your love and grace.
And it is you who have taught us to love one another.

Things happen no matter what we do.
But we know that you are with us always.
We ask that you be with __ as we know they need your healing grace.
We know that it is up to us to make this world as it is in your heaven.
And we use the words that you taught us, to remind us that it is our job,
“Our Father…”

You Are Our Shepherd (John 10:11-18)

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We are your children, Lord.

You watch over us as a shepherd watches over his flock.
We have come together to this place.
We have come from different backgrounds,
from different flocks.
But we have joined together as your people.

Remind us that it is
our job to look after those who need protection,
our job to look for the wolf and to speak out for those in danger,
our job to pick up those who stumble and to seek out those who get lost.
You are our shepherd, Lord, but we act as your shepherds here on earth.
We share your teachings in order to gather others into your flock.

We are your children, Lord.
We celebrate the gift of your life.
Like you, we would gladly give our lives for our children.
Remind us to live our lives every day to honor you,
to reflect your teachings in our actions and in our thoughts.
Remind us to dance with joy as our hearts are filled with your love.
Remind us to share your love with everyone we meet,
even if we don’t really like them.
Remind us that you are with us always, watching over us,
embracing us with your grace and your love.
We ask that you grant your healing touch and your strength to ___.

We are your children, Lord.
Remind us that our membership
in the body of Christ is a full and complete membership.
We are not hired hands who will run at the first sign of trouble.
We are your disciples, your followers.
We have come to this holy place for a purpose.
We gather strength from one another,
from this community of believers.
We share our doubts, our fears, our worries,
and we celebrate our births, our joys, and our celebrations.
We are your followers, your flock of believers,
and we know it is up to us to share your good news with others.

As your followers, we use the words that you taught us
“Our Father..”

Born of Water and Spirit (John 3:1-17)

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We are the children of God, born of water and of spirit.
We come together as your church, as your body.
Fill us with your spirit, open our hearts to your will
and help us to trust your plan for us.
Stir up our lives as the wind stirs up our world around us.

We are the children of God, born of water and spirit.
We were born of the flesh,
but have become born again of the spirit
through your teachings.
We open ourselves to your spirit,
we allow ourselves to be blown about according to your will.
Stir up our lives, excite us with your passion and your desires.

We are the children of God, born of water and spirit.
And yet, our vision of our Father, our understanding of You,
is lacking in comprehension.
We know we are loved and uniquely cherished by you,
but we are still full of questions and sometimes doubts.
You understand our fears, our concerns, and our questions.
Your wind whispers to us, coaxes us, convinces us, and
pushes us in directions we may never have considered.

We are the children of God, born of water and spirit.
Remind us that we are your hands here on earth,
our voices are to speak for the powerless,
our gifts are to be used to feed the hungry,
our feet are to follow your path and your plan,
and it is up to us to share your teachings with those around us.
We are your children, and we know that you are with us always.
We especially ask that you be with ___ and grant them your healing touch.

We are the children of God, born of water and spirit.
We are your church, your community.
Your spirit, like wind, flows through us, moves us, and shapes us.
Father, Son and Holy Ghost, we feel your presence among us.
We open ourselves to your teachings and to your desire.
Open our hearts to your plan here on earth for us,
for both the people within and outside of your church.

We are the children of God, born of water and spirit.
We use the words that your son taught us, lifting up our hearts and voices to you,
“Our Father…”

What We Hear (1 Samuel 8:4-20)

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There is so much noise in our world today.
We fill our moments with this noise,
we fill our hours with the busyness of the world, and then
we lose our days to the never ending list of things to do.
Lord, help us to take a moment, to take a deep breath,
to stop and listen,
to be in the moment with you.

Whisper to us. Call us by name, as you have known us
before we were born.
You are with us always, but we sometimes focus too much
on the noise of the world around us.
Open our senses to your call, to your presence.
Lord, help us to take a moment, to take a deep breath,
to stop and listen,
to be in the moment with you.

Each of us has heard a different call,
but you have called each of us to be here today in this holy space.
Each of us is your child, equally loved and uniquely cherished.
You have called us, with a whisper, with a gentle voice, or with a shout.
Despite the how, the why is to fulfill your plan here in this place, on this earth.
Lord, help us to take a moment, to take a deep breath,
to stop and listen,
to be in the moment with you.

The noise around us can be deafening.
The world around us can be overpowering.
The pain we feel, or see in others, can overwhelm us.
Remind us that your message to us, here in Lancaster county,
is the same message that you would give to a single mother
on welfare in the inner city of Baltimore.
We are your children, each of us equal in your eyes.
We are your hands here on earth,
to make this world as it is in heaven,
to work for peace and justice for all,
to lift each other up and to support one another,
to share our gifts and talents with each other,
to treat the environment and the gifts of your creation with wisdom and protection,
and to share the teachings of your good news with all we meet.

Father, you are with us always even when we fail to listen.
We ask that you be with ___, members and friends of the congregation
who need your grace and your healing power.
We ask that you reach out to those in our neighborhoods who may not yet know you.
Open their hearts to joining us to ask their questions.
Open our hearts so that we can truly hear their questions and
help us to freely share our journey with them.

Lord, help us to take a moment, to take a deep breath,
to stop and listen,
to be in this moment with you.
As we open our hearts and ears to you, we use the words that your Son taught us:
“Our Father…”

Be Love (James 1:17-27)

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Father God, you gave us your son.
Your son who showed love with his every action
and his every thought.
Help us to do the same.
Remind us that our thoughts shape our actions.
Our thoughts of judgment may keep us
from reaching out a helping hand.
Our thoughts of fear may keep us
isolated and alone.
Remind us to filter our thoughts
through the lens of love.

God of light and love,
fill us with the warmth of your presence.
Open our ears to your teachings,
open our hearts to your desires, and
open our eyes to truly see the people around us.
Mold us into the people you want us to become.
Help us to put your teachings
into action in this world.
Give us the strength and the wisdom to make our world,
your world here on Earth.

God of truth and wisdom,
remind us that faith and understanding
should be demonstrated in acts of doing.
Bless us in our work here on earth.
Forgive us when we struggle to love one another,
and be with us when we seek to make amends
to those we have hurt.
Open our eyes to the pain of those around us and
give us the strength to comfort and help one another.
We ask that you be with __ in the upcoming days and weeks
and we lift up our concerns to you.

Mother God, you have given us many gifts.
Each of us is deeply loved and uniquely cherished by you.
In addition to the gift of truth, you have given us the gift of laughter
and the gift of celebration.
You have given us the gift of relationships and
we know that we are stronger when we come together
as your children, as brothers and sisters in Christ.
As you find joy in each of us, help us to see that same joy in one another.
Remind us to enjoy the life you have given us.
Remind us to use our gifts to help one another
and to make this world a better place.
As we lifted up our concerns, we also lift up our joys
in praise and thanksgiving.

Father God, you gave us your son.
Your son who showed love with his every action
and his every thought.
Your son who gave us the words we use today,
“Our Father…”

Are We Acting as Your Followers? (Mark 8:27-38)

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Who do we say that you are?
What brings us here each week?
Where do we see you touching our lives?
When are we most like you?
How do we show that we are your followers?

Do we ever really think about these questions?
Open our eyes, Creator God, to your love and to our answers.
You sent your Son to us, as one of us, but also as part of you.
Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
separate but yet connected.
Sharing your Son with us was sharing your love with us
in the physical form.
Do we see your Son as love? as a teacher? as a prophet?
as a Savior?

We come here every week to this sacred place.
What brings us to this place, to this family of believers?

Open our hearts to your desires.
Help us to work together as your church
to fulfill your plan.
Help us to discern your plan for Church of the Apostles.

As your children, we know you are with us always.
Creator God, you see us as we are and how you would like us to be.
Open our eyes to the times
that you have tried to coax us to follow your teachings more closely.
Open our eyes to the times
that you have supported us in our times of crisis.
As we support each other, we know that you are with us and
we ask that you be with ___ in particular.

We are your children, Lord, and we try to follow your teachings.
As we look at our daily lives, open our eyes to when we are acting in ways
that are most like you.
Use us to fulfill your plan here on earth.
Remind us that we are your followers and it is up to us
to speak for those without a voice,
to listen for the unspoken needs,
to shelter the refugee,
to feed the hungry,
to teach those who cannot read,
and to love the discarded.
As we look at our personal lives, when are we acting most like you?
When are we acting as your disciples, your followers?

Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was.
Remind us every day who Jesus was and why we follow him.
And as we remember, we use the words he taught us,
“Our Father…”

God of Creation (Genesis 1:1-28)

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Creator God, in our darkest moments,
we know that the sun will rise in the morning from the east
and set in the west.
We have witnessed the beauty of those sunrises,
have marveled at the vast numbers of stars in the sky in the dark of night,
and have been humbled at least once in our lives
by the majesty of the world you have given us.
The world you have given to us is full of what we need
with more than enough for all of us.
Remind us not to take more than our fair share.

We have witnessed the beauty of the world you have given to us.
We have also witnessed the harm that we have caused your world.
We remember the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico,
the Kuwait oil fires from the Iraq war, the dead zone within the Chesapeake Bay,
Three Mile Island, the damage done to third world countries who have
the minerals or natural products that we want and far too many other examples to name.
Remind us that as you made the world, you created us, in your image.
Creator God, help us to act as your images here on earth.
As you have nurtured us, give us the wisdom and guidance
to nurture our earth, the world you have given to us.

God of the sunrise and the sunset, you are with us always.
We find you in the noise of the crashing waves against the shore and
we find you in the stillness of the darkest night.
We find you in the beauty of a bee dancing against a flower and
in the morning dew sparkling on a spider web.
We marvel at your creation as we look at the face of a newborn baby
and we recognize the cycle of life as we say good bye to those we love.
In today’s modern world, we can live our lives seemingly disconnected with nature.
Remind us that our lives are intertwined with nature
and that our actions impact your world directly.

Created in your image, we know that we are your children, Lord.
We are to support one another and work to fulfill your plan here on earth.
As we are to nurture the earth, we are also to nurture each other.
We know that you are with us always, and
we ask that you be with those among us who need you the most.
We name ___

As the God of Creation, you are with us every moment of every day.
Help us to feel your presence with us and within us.
Remind us to celebrate the simple pleasures of the world around us.
Remind us to value all aspects of nature.
And, as members of your creation, hear us as we lift our voices to you,
using the words your Son taught us,
“Our Father…”

The Lord’s Prayer (John 18:33-37)

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You gave us the Lord’s Prayer,
a prayer we say every week,
perhaps every day.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Lord, you told Pilate that your kingdom
is not from this world.
You were right.
You came to us and shared our humanness.
Your kingdom did not come from here rather
you came to us to give us your kingdom.

Your teachings showed us that you are the way.
We are to make this world like your kingdom.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
The kingdom you sought to make here on earth
was not a violent world.
You taught us peaceful resistance.
You taught us to speak for the powerless and
to love the unlovable.
You taught us to care for the sick,
to strengthen the weak, and
to always speak the truth in love.
In your teachings, you showed love at all times.

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us the courage to stand up for those without power.
Give us the wisdom to see the plans you have for us here on earth.
Give us the strength to follow your teachings and
to open our hearts to your love.
We have come together to make this your community.
We support each other and we know that you are with us always.
As your children, Father, we ask that you be with those among us
who need your support and healing grace the most.
We name __.

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
This is your world, this is your kingdom.
Help us to make this world your world.
Help us to truly be your people,
to be your church in this world.
We use the words that you taught us, Jesus,
the words that make us your followers,
“Our Father…”

For God, All Things Are Possible (Mark 10:17-31)

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For God, all things are possible.
For us, God, we know it is a little more difficult.
We focus on the wrong things.
We may cling to our status
and our possessions a little too tightly.
We try to be right all the time,
even if we’re not.

For God, all things are possible.
For us, God, we still have questions and doubts.
Remind us that the disciples also had questions and doubts.
We come together as your people,
welcoming new members and guests.
We are your community, your followers in this age.
Help us to see how our gifts and treasures can best be used
to make your teachings take life in this age.
Remind us that our bank balances do not define our true worth,
nor do dirty and unwashed clothes diminish the beauty
of the teenage runaway in the homeless shelter.
Remind us what the victims of fire, flood and earthquakes say,
when they are reunited with their loved ones.
They thank you, God, and say,
It doesn’t matter about the house, our things,
it only matters that we are safe and that we are together.
We know where our priorities should lie, but sometimes we forget.

For God, all things are possible.
So we ask you, God, open our hearts to your call.
For God, all things are possible.
So we ask you, God, open our eyes to the needs you see among us.
For God, all things are possible.
So we ask you, God, use our hands to make this world your world.
For God, all things are possible.
So we ask you, God, fill us with new ideas and new possibilities on
how to share your message with others.
For God, all things are possible.
So we ask you, God, make us generous with our treasures and with
our compassion.
For God, all things are possible.
So we ask you, God, to hear in our silence, what is most important to
us at this moment.

<silent moment>

For God, all things are possible.
So we ask you, God, to share your grace and your healing touch with
those among us who need your support.
We name ___

In God, and in our community of believers,
we know that all things are possible.
We use the words that your Son taught us,
“Our Father…”

Be The Church (John 18:33-37)

cmkenlinLeave a comment

You gave us the Lord’s Prayer,
a prayer we say every week,
perhaps every day.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Lord, you told Pilate that your kingdom
is not from this world.
You were right.
You came to us and shared our humanness.
Your kingdom did not come from here rather
you came to us to give us your kingdom.

Your teachings showed us that you are the way.
We are to make this world like your kingdom.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
The kingdom you sought to make here on earth
was not a violent world.
You taught us peaceful resistance.
You taught us to speak for the powerless and
to love the unlovable.
You taught us to care for the sick,
to strengthen the weak, and
to always speak the truth in love.
In your teachings, you showed love at all times.

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us the courage to stand up for those without power.
Give us the wisdom to see the plans you have for us here on earth.
Give us the strength to follow your teachings and
to open our hearts to your love.
We have come together to make this your community.
We support each other and we know that you are with us always.
As your children, Father, we ask that you be with those among us
who need your support and healing grace the most.
We name __.

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
This is your world, this is your kingdom.
Help us to make this world your world.
Help us to truly be your people,
to be your church in this world.
We use the words that you taught us, Jesus,
the words that make us your followers,
“Our Father…”