Enjoy This Life

Called as a Gift (Mark 1:14-20)

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Now is the time for God’s kingdom here on earth.
Gracious God, we ask for your help in making this so.
We ask that you change our hearts
so that we can change our lives as well as
the lives of those around us.
Open our hearts to your teachings,
and inspire us to follow you.
Fill our hearts with your peace,
but don’t make us complacent.
Mend our broken hearts, damaged by the world around us,
and keep us from becoming cynical.

Now is the time for God’s kingdom here on earth.
We trust in that good news as we gather here each week.
Help us to share the good news with others
by using the gifts you have given to us.
Encourage us to recognize our gifts and
the gifts we see in others.
Remind us our gifts have value
and help us to recognize their worth.
Call on us to use those gifts freely without fear.
Give us the strength and wisdom to use our gifts
to speak for the voiceless,
to lift up the fallen,
to see the plans you have set in place for us,
and to listen for the needs of those around us.
You have called us together to be a family of your believers.
As a family, we support one another and
we ask that you be with those among us who need your healing grace.
We name ____.
As a family, we celebrate our joys and rejoice with one another.
We lift up ___.

You have called us here to this sacred place.
You have given us priceless gifts and talents.
You have loved us and shown us your grace and your mercy.
And now it is time to make this world your kingdom.
We take the first step in our call by using the words that you have taught us, “Our Father..”

Joyful for Your Gifts (2 Corinthians 8:1-15)

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Lord, because we have come to know you, we are a joyful people.
Because we have come to know you, we are a thankful people.
And because we have come to know you, we are a blessed people.

We shout with joy and lift up your praises to the world.
As we know joy in your teachings,
we ask that you help us share that joy with others.

We thank you for the many gifts you have bestowed upon us.
As we celebrate these gifts,
we ask that you help us use those gifts to make this world
your heaven on earth.

We thank you for the grace you have shared with us.
As we feel your grace upon us,
we ask that you help us become agents of change and
forgiveness in this world.

We know we are your children and that we are deeply loved by you.
As we feel your love,
we ask that you help us share that love with others,
with those we know and with those we will come to know.

As we support those among us,
we ask that you be with our brothers and sisters in need of your healing touch. We name ___.

Holy Spirit, come to us.
Holy Spirit, blow through this holy place and sweep away our fears,
our hesitations, and our selfishness.
Come to us and open our eyes so that we can see God’s plan before us.
Open our hearts so that we want to do more in Christ’s name.
Open our hands so that we share freely with others.
Open our ears so that we hear the needs of others.
Holy Spirit, give us the strength and courage to support those among us.
We ask that you be with your Church, here in this holy place,
and with the wider Church.
As Luther transformed the church 500 years ago,
we ask that you give us the strength to truly be your disciples
as we seek change, justice and peace.

As your disciples, we lift up the words your son taught us,
“Our Father….”

Delight In God (Matthew 11:25-30)

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Lord, don’t make us too wise to see you.
Make us, instead, like the little child who lifts up his or her arms
to their parent knowing they will be picked up and carried.
We ask that you help us carry our burdens and
yet we know we don’t always give them up willingly.
Sometimes we allow our burdens
to define us,
to contain us,
to protect us or
to separate us.
Remind us to be as a child.
Help us to give up our burdens and find our peace in you.

Lord, don’t make us too wise to see you.
Make us, instead, like the little child who lifts up his or her arms
to their parent knowing they will be quickly embraced.
As your children, we know we are loved by you.
We know that we are to act together in community
and to love one another.
Help us remove the barriers between ourselves.
Take us back to the time of the early church
when your followers worked together to support one another,
and to protect one another.
We ask that you be with those among us who need your healing grace.
We name __.
Remind us to be as a child.
Help us to freely share our love and concern with one another.

Lord, don’t make us too wise to see you.
Make us, instead, like the little child who lifts up his or her arms
to their parent knowing they will always be forgiven.
As the forgiven people, we ask that you remind us to also
forgive those who may have wronged us.
Help us to forgive, to lessen the burden of those who may have wronged us.
Encourage us to seek reconciliation, to work towards understanding,
and to work towards justice and peace for all.
We are your children, deeply loved and uniquely cherished.
Help us to feel your presence in our lives.
Help us to share your love with others.

Lord, give us the wisdom we need to truly see you.
Give us the wisdom we need to truly give up our burdens to you.
Be with us, share rest with us, grant us peace.
Make us like a child, open our hearts to you,
and as we use the words your Son taught us, bless us with your peace,
“Our Father…”

Let Us Achieve New Heights as Followers of Christ (Acts 1:6-14)

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Gracious God
Sometimes the world and its problems seem to be too much for us.
We may find ourselves waiting and unsure what to do.
Sometimes we ask you for signs of what will come,
forgetting that we are to act as your witnesses here on earth.

Jesus was taken into Heaven and until he returns, we ask,
Spirit, come to us and call us to action.

Remind us that you have given us all we need to act in your name,
to be your disciples here on earth.
Fill us with the courage we need to stand up for truth and justice.
Open our hearts with compassion for those in need.
Give us the wisdom to see your vision for this world and then
use our thoughts and energy to fulfill your plan here on earth.
Unclench our fists and replace anger and frustration
with a deep sense of peace.
Remind us that we are your children and that we are loved.

Jesus was taken into Heaven and until he returns, we ask,
Spirit, come to us and call us to action.

We are your disciples now.
Help us to be like the disciples of the early church.
Help us to feel your interaction as we pray and
help us to see you in the ordinary moments of our lives.
As we experience the joy in your teachings,
help us to share that joy with others.
Use us to bring peace to this world, one person at a time.
As we support one another, we ask that you be with those among us
who are in pain or in need of healing. We name ___
We ask that you help us become better students of your teachings,
better disciples in this world.

Jesus was taken into Heaven and until he returns, we ask,
Spirit, come to us and call us to action.

As the disciples devoted themselves to prayer, we use the same words,
the words that Jesus taught them, “Our Father…”

**Words in bold can be said by congregation

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 Lord’s Promise (Hebrews 10:11-25)

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We know we can count on your promises, Lord.
Your promises and your teachings bring us here each week
and we keep you in our hearts every hour of every day.
You came to us and shared our humanness
and in doing so, you have given us direct access
to our Father, to You and to the Holy Spirit.

Fill our hearts with the truth of the assurance of faith.
Help us to hold onto the confession of our hope.
For we know that you are with us always,
when we are alone and
when we are with other people.
We know that you are with us
in our celebrations
and in our trials.
As your people, we come together in this holy place.
We come together to learn your teachings.
We come together to support one another and
to build a community of believers.
Help us to encourage one another.
Help us to show love to one another.
Help us to be your people.

We know we can count on your promises, Lord.
As your community of believers,
we come to you with open hearts and open minds.
We ask that you be with those among us who need
you the most. We name ___.
As we move through our lives,
we celebrate our relationships with one another,
we celebrate our relationship with you.
We know that you are with us and we ask for your guidance.
Help us to fulfill your plan here on earth.

We know that we can count on your promises, Lord.
We use the words that you taught us,
“Our Father…”