Monthly Archives: October 2013

Three crosses in the front of New Song Church in Henderson

Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, No scholar could even grasp a second of understanding Your eternity yet You humbled Yourself and came down to earth so that we could know Love because You refused to exclude anyone from experiencing Your grace.    You are the example of truth and You show us how love works.  You teach us that no one is outside of salvation and that even the worst sinner can be redeemed.  Help us to believe in the reality of Christ so that we can show the world who You are through our lives.  Restore Christ church to what You meant it to be: One body united in the Word of God.   “And when the world throws our mistakes at our face, let us know that wherever Jesus is we shall be also.”  (Martin Luther).  So Lord, stop us from sinning because “sinning is the refusal to grow” (St. Gregory of Nyssa) and instead help us to grow from everything, even our mistakes and failures.  Fix our gaze upon You so that our hearts can change as we walk through the doorway of the gospel and enter into Your presence, sanctified and sustained by the Love of God.  God be with us.  Amen.

Art work from Mosaic Church in Miami Florida

Lord God, we come into this place and ask that You lead us into Your presence so that we can experience all that is You.   Filter away anything that would prevent us from seeing or hearing what You need us to see and hear.  Our first purpose is to worship You, Lord, so let’s go beyond all of the right words and focus on right relationship with God and worshiping God with everything that is within us.  Breathe Your Loving Spirit into our troubled trembling hearts and let the love of God pierce through whatever blocks our vision so that we can see past the strangers that are in this room and instead see our brothers and sisters and treat them in the same way that we should treat you.  Break down the walls of our fear: The fear that we misspent time or the fear of things that have not even happened yet.  We need help beyond what we can do so that we can love others as You love us.  We need to turn away from sin and turn to You because You allow us to be free and You allow us to live Your dream for our lives with our eyes wide open.  So Lord, help us to be a blessing to each other and to You and let’s start by letting go of our crowns before the King of kings and just be lost in the wonder of the mystery that is the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.

Mural from Mosaic Church in Miami, Florida.

Loving and merciful God, we bring You thanks and praise for blessing us with this day because it is just so good to be in the house of the Lord one more time.   So as we take our seats today in Your house, we pray that we take the time to really know You, Your Word and to really know our sisters and brothers starting right here and right now.   Make us aware of the needs of those around us by clothing us in a holy way of life full of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Wake us up with Your wisdom so that we can break down the conventions of this world and build up our relationship with You and with each other.  You freed your people Israel from Pharaoh and you can/will do it again and again.  You set us free with Your amazing grace and Your never ending love so that we don’t ever have to carry the weight of the world with just our two hands because You have taken on our burdens with Your sacrifice on the cross.  Get in here Jesus.  Get in our minds, hearts and lives so that everyone will know that God is always with them and that we can go to the altar, to the table of love and affirmation: A place where we can leave all of our baggage and receive the promise of everlasting life.    And even though we fail and stumble, time and time again, it is God’s Grace alone that always catches us.  To God be all the glory.  Amen.

Artwork from Mosaic Church in Miami, Florida

Lord, change the atmosphere of our lives because we focus on too much of what we need from You that we forget to listen to Your word and hear what You ask of us.  Wake us up from the stagnant rigidity of complacency so that we can wrap our minds around Your truth and begin a transformation in our lives.  Dim down the lies of the empty voices of the world and turn up the volume of God’s truth for all because we forget what we can do for our neighbors.  We forget that there are people right next to us, in this very room, who can benefit from our praise and worship to God.  We forget that others can benefit from a smile, a prayer, or a helping hand.   Help us to bring church outside of these walls, outside of this one-day of the week, and outside of this one hour.  Don’t let us sleep through Your presence.  Don’t let us be too busy for You because this neighborhood should be better because we are here.  People struggling with addiction should find courage and strength because we are here.  The sick and the dying should find comfort because we are here.  The broken hearted should find hope because we are here for them.  We are here because we serve a Living God who looks beyond our imperfections and sees us in His possibility, living in His miracle, and receiving His salvation. Lord, give us the wisdom to grasp the reality that when we leave this life “we will finally meet our brothers and sisters, not in our agreements or disagreements, but at the foot of the cross where God is faithful, where Jesus is present with us and where, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we are One in Christ.”  (Bishop Hanson, 2009)