Prayer Before a Congregational Meeting About Money

O Creating One,

You took the chaos,
forming the waters, land, and sky.

You took the earth, held her in your hands,
and populated it with animals of the sea, sky, and land.

You created your people to love you,
and one another and your earth.

We bow our heads before
your majesty in awe.

We humble ourselves that
you have entrusted us with your resources
and commanded us to be good stewards.

For you, O God, are 
our guide, our focus
now and always.

PAUSE

We find ourselves in a time
when our earthly resources 
–YOUR earthly resources–seem finite.

At times we have let our fear,
our angst, and our earthly ways,
prevent us from trusting
that you are present with us.

There are moments when we feel
our backs are against the wall.

Your holy spirit nudges us 

And we see the wall is not a wall.

We have not backed up
against impenetrable bricks
but against Christ.

Christ’s gently touches our shoulder.

He points at the birds of the sky
and the lilies of the field (Luke 12)
and whispers in our ears:

“There is enough.

Your father-mother — the Creating One — 
has given you what you need
to be my hands in this place and this time.”

PAUSE

We humble ourselves that
you have entrusted us with your resources
and commanding us to be good stewards.

Remind us that there is enough.

Keep our hearts and heads striving for your kingdom.

Now. Always.

Praise be to you!

Praise be to the Christ!

And praise be to the Holy Spirit 
who journeys with us in the midst of these times. Amen.

Posted in Church Meetings, opening prayer, Prayers

Bask in the Joy of Love

Each blade of grass,
And each hair upon our heads, 
were completed by the Creator.
And God rested on the seventh day.

Like the Creator loved Jesus,
Jesus loved his disciples.
“Remain in my love and keep my commandments,” he said.

Look within. Look at your neighbor.
There is manifest the image of God.
The love of the One brings us joy.

Bask in the joy of the One within and between us.
Praise to the One: to the Creator, the Christ, and the Spirit. Amen.

Posted in Call to Worship, Genesis, Genesis 1-2, Genesis 2, John, John 15, John 15:9-15, New Testament, Old Testament

You Are Clear

You are clear: We must love our neighbor as ourselves.
Move us to find ways to manifest your love even to those it is hard to help.

You are clear: We must rest from our labors and honor you every week.
Instead of more is better, move us to trust in your economy of abundance.

You have told us what is good and what you require:
Move our hearts and minds to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with you. Amen.

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Posted in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 15:1-15, Deuteronomy 15:4-11, Leviticus, Leviticus 25, Leviticus 25:8-13, Mark, Mark 12, Mark 12:30-31, Micah, Micah 6, Micah 6:8, New Testament, Old Testament

Your Heavy Burden is Lifted

Clouds hung close to the earth.
A boulder weighed heavy upon us.

And they wept. 

And hid. 

On the third day, the sun emerges. The tomb is empty.
The weight of the boulder lifts from our shoulders.

With great fear and excitement,
they hurried to tell the others.

Your heavy burden is lifted.
Be transformed, you people of God!

Hope lives!
Love lives!
Christ lives!

Posted in Call to Worship, Easter, Matthew, Matthew 28, Matthew 28:1-10, New Testament

We Are Goats & Sheep

We are goats.
We are sheep.
We are sheep and goats.

We make decisions.
We take actions.
What we do matters.

We gather to worship.
We gather to learn and be inspired.
We commune together,
and leave to serve and love.

We are goats.
We are sheep.
We make decisions and take actions.
We are sheep and goats.
What we do matters.

Let us worship and serve.
Amen.

Posted in Call to Worship, Matthew, Matthew 25, Matthew 25:31-46, New Testament

He Rode Into the City

He rode into the city like an earthly king.

Jesus was so much more.

They waved branches and lay down their cloaks.

Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!

He entered the Temple.

And overturned tables and threw the money changers out!

My house shall be a place of prayer and faithfulness to God.

Let us make this house, a place worthy of Christ. Amen.

Posted in Call to Worship, Matthew, Matthew 21, Matthew 21:1-17, New Testament, Palm Sunday, Palm/Passion Sunday

Anoint us, O God (short)

*Call to Worship responsive

We gather to worship the One whose love knows no bounds.
We gather in unity with friends from other churches.
Anoint us, O God!

But our hearts are heavy. Outside these walls the world is fragmentation and despair.
We call out, “Fix it for us!”
Anoint us, O God!

Places of worship are no longer sanctuaries from violence and xenophobia. Our children practice active shooter drills in their classrooms.
We call out, “Fix it for us!”
Anoint us, O God!

Terrorism. War. Hunger. Poverty. White supremacy. Climate change. Loss of civil discourse. Hatred.
We call out, “Fix it for us!”
Anoint us, O God!

We live in a scary place and time. Closed minds and hardened hearts abound. We, too, are not the people you call us to be.
We call out, “Fix it for us!”
Anoint us, O God!

Moment of Silence.

And you remind us that death and resurrection are the way of creation.
Anoint us with hope, O God! 

You remind us that the path to Easter is through Good Friday.
Anoint us with trust, O God!

You call us to love you whole heartedly, with all our strength and being, and love our neighbors as ourselves. (Mark 12:30-31)
Anoint us with love, O God!

You call us to love faithfully and do justice in our fragmented world. (Micah 6:8)
Anoint us with humility, O God!

Praise be to the One who shows us the way!
Amen.

Posted in Call to Worship, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 15:4-11, Lent, Matthew, Matthew 26, Matthew 26:6-13

We are goats. We are sheep.

*Call to Worship 

We are goats.
We are sheep.
We are sheep and goats.

We make decisions.
We take actions.
What we do matters.

We gather to worship.
We gather to learn and be inspired.
We commune together,
and leave to serve and love.

We are goats.
We are sheep.
We make decisions and take actions.
We are sheep and goats.
What we do matters.

Let us worship and serve.
Amen.

Tagged with:
Posted in Call to Worship, Matthew, Matthew 25, Matthew 25:31-46, Uncategorized

Waiting on the World to Change

*Call to Worship

Children gunned down. Worshipers killed. Hatred surrounds us, Lord.
So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

Hurricanes. Rising sea levels. Forest fires. Earthquakes. Our climate seems to be running amok, Lord.
So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

Our politics is one of mutual destruction. We call one another names. We don’t listen. We fail to practice love and empathy, Lord.
So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

Creating spirit, create in us love of neighbor and love of your earth. Open our hearts to you.
Amen.

Response is the refrain from Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer 

Posted in Call to Worship, Matthew, Matthew 25, Matthew 25:1-13, Uncategorized

Refreshing Waters

*Call to Worship

Come, children, refresh yourselves within ever flowing waters.
We come to be renewed.

Listen, interact, be one with each other and with the Creating One. Praise, sing, smile, and cry in this hour.
We come to be refreshed so that we might leave to be servants. Amen.

Posted in Call to Worship, renewal, Topics & Themes, Uncategorized, water
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All materials by Tim Graves unless otherwise noted. Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/

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