St. James Lutheran Church in Crystal Minnesota
Lord God, we come here today so that You can pour Your Spirit into the deserts of our lives. Teach us how Your love knows no limitations. It walks on water, it raises the dead and it connects us with our Creator. When all else fails, the love of God never fails. So release the gospel into our story so that we can step into our function as children of God and messengers of truth.
“Authenticity takes courage (Bishop Yvette Flunder).” Faith in Jesus, goes beyond words, it calls us to action. Yes, we may take up our cross but it is Jesus who carries it. “He has a purpose in even the things we cannot understand (Romans 8:28).” So Lord, give us courage, give us strength and give us the vision to pursue Your dream of a healed world. And when doubt creeps in, give us the wisdom to know that “God doesn’t call the qualified. God qualifies the called (Mark Batterson).”
Tags: Bishop Yvette Flunder, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, Mark Batterson, Prayer, Romans 8:28
Lord God, “thank You so much for Your love for us. Thank you that, despite the way the world and other people treat us, we are loved by the One who matters the most (Vince Antonucci, VerveLV).” We come to You today with our whole truth because You know our life story.
You spoke us into being and You know every moment of sin, shame and inconsistency. Yet, Your love for us never fails. We’re forever struggling to know You more, so please give us the wisdom to understand that You already know us. You see us, You hear us and you still love and forgive us no matter what. You take all of our messes and create the most beautiful work of art, called life, for You are with us always.
The way of the cross is not forced its given. The Lord isn’t asking us to walk across a continent; He’s asking us to walk across the street” (M. Russell Ballard) or towards the broken souls in this very room and love our neighbors as ourselves with the same love that God gives to us. So let us begin.
Tags: Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, M. Russell Ballard, Prayer, VerveLV, Vince Antonucci
Original Painting by Jason Manlapaz
Lord, “because You bend down to listen, as long as we have breath, we will pray (Psalm 116:2).” “Guard our speech from evil and our lips from deception (by) open(ing) our hearts to Your word (Episcopal Church).” Guide us through these questions and doubts that are rooted in the gravity of our human brokenness.
As sinners we all have a past, but as saints we also have a future to fully live in the experience that is Jesus Christ who is the truest expression of God’s love for all of us. It is Jesus, and Jesus alone, who goes before us and takes our place on the cross so that we can know that God is always for us, no matter what.
We are here today because “our conscience is captive to the Word of God (Martin Luther)” and it shocks us and it frees us each time we confront the cross. Lord, we look for You, we reach for You but most of all we simply seek to know You, to really know You.
Tags: Christian, Church, ELCA, Episcopal Church, Jesus, lutheran, Martin Luther, psalm 116, Word of God
New Song Church
We come here today to hear Your Word and to be reminded that whatever it is that we have lost is nothing compared to what is found in Jesus Christ. We pray that You would help us to read and then look up from the pages of the bible so that we can stare into the face of Jesus and confront the truth and the impact of the cross. Infuse us with what we cannot see during this journey to Gethsemane, to Golgatha and the resurrection.
Remind us that even though we revel in Epiphany we do not live there, but we remain forever in Emmanuel, God with us. “The Law says, ‘do this,’ and it’s never done. Grace says, ‘believe in this,’ and everything is already done.” (Heidelberg Disputation). So even if we do not have perfect faith let us have honest faith in a God that we so desperately need.
We are people of bread and water who hunger and thirst because we are limited by our own humanity and beholden to confront our need for the cross. You have called us to this place, and not one of us knows what our journeys will do but we pray that we will commit to those journeys knowing that the greatest guide that we have is the guide of love: the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
(This prayer was based on a sermon by Pastor Stan Mitchell of Gracepointe Church in Franklin, Tennessee)
Tags: Christian, Church, ELCA, gay christian, GLBTQ Christian, Gracepointe Church in Franklin Tennesse, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, love of God, Pastor Stan Mitchell
Cross at Community Lutheran Church, Las Vegas NV
Lord, we come into Your presence today with all of the joys and sorrows that come with this life. Open our hearts so that we can talk with You about the intimate feelings of our heart. Let the prayers and questions that need to be said rise up to You like incense. Silence the whispers of ego and self-righteousness. Help us to forgive what needs to be forgiven and to let go of whatever holds us back from receiving and reflecting Your love. Give us the faith to know that You will “restore what is broken and change it into something amazing” (Joel 2:25)
“Faith is not believing in (our) own unshakable belief. Faith is believing in an unshakable God when everything in (us) trembles and quakes” (Beth Moore). There are no easy answers in this life but there is a God who will not forsake us. There is the Word of God that will not return void. And there is the love of God that knows no end. So Lord, give us the wisdom to be able to preach the gospel with our life and not our lips.
Tags: Beth Moore, bible, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus Christ, Joel 2:25, lutheran, Prayer, Son of God
St. Joseph Catholic Church, Las Vegas, NV
Lord we come into Your presence as “citizens of a kingdom that cannot be shaken and as children of the (One who knows) no limitations” (Godfruits). We lay down our burdens at Your altar for we all come with scars of a broken heart or of regrets of the things we did or didn’t do. We release all these things to You because You are “merciful towards our iniquities, and (because of the intercession of Your Son) You will remember our sins no more” (Hebrews 8:10). We’ve failed a thousand times and will fail again but You’re always there to pick us back up to face the world knowing that our mistakes do not define us: our salvation does.
Our “faith (in God), is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light” (Helen Keller). “So (let us) be careful how we live. Don’t let us live like fools, but (let us be) wise (so that we can) make the most of every opportunity… Don’t (allow us to) act thoughtlessly, but (allow us to) understand what (it is that) You want us to do” (Ephesians 5:15-17)
Tags: Christian, Church, ELCA, Ephesians 5:15-17, Godfruits, Hebrews 8:10, Helen Keller, Jesus Christ, lutheran, Prayer, Son of God
Poster at VerveLV
“Because You turn Your ear to us, we will call on You for as long as we live.” (Psalms 116:2) You alone can see into the window of our minds and understand the snapshots of our life. You see the joys and the fears, along with all of the victories and the losses. “Though our feelings come and go. God’s love for us does not.” (CS Lewis) So when everything we know falls down to the ground, let us remember the hand that will pull us back into the possibilities that God has planned for all of us.
In a world gridlocked with fear and confusion “we need to be brave with our stories so that other people can be brave with theirs.” (Katherine Center) Reveal to us just how much of an impact our lives are to others. Because “now is the chance to choose the right side. (For You, Lord,) give us that chance…(but) we must take it.” (C.S. Lewis)
Tags: bible, C.S. Lewis, Christ, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, Katherine Center, lutheran, Prayer, Psalms, Son of God
Artwork at St. James Lutheran Church in MN
Lord God, we stand at a new doorway with new possibilities and challenges. Help us to start believing in Hope again so that we can do what You have written on our hearts. As we leave yesterday behind, remind us that “Your mercies are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-24) and that You hear more than we say.
Everything changes all around us except You. You are the constant, so quietly descend into our hearts and give us the courage to face these giants that our fears create. Remind us that “the giant in front of us is never bigger than the God who lives (with)in us.” (Christin Caine)
Let everything we do lead others to the cross and to the path of grace, mercy and love. “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. (So) Let us begin.” (Mother Teresa)
Tags: Christian, Christin Caine, Church, ELCA, Jesus Christ, Lamentations, lutheran, Mother Teresa, Prayer, Son of God
Stained Glass from St. James Lutheran Church in Mounds, MN
Eternal One, because “Your love is better than life, we glorify You” (Psalm 63:3) and lean on Your compassion. Guide us so that we may “move from illusion to truth, from darkness to light, (and) from ignorance to wisdom…” (Varun Soni). Lead us and we will follow.
For wherever we go, wherever we are…it is You who goes with us. It is You who provides rest. It is You who soothes our fears. You make us complete again by restoring us through Your grace, mercy and love. Our faith in You, Lord, doesn’t just change our reality. It reveals it.
You enthrone the truth of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ. The truth that You compare us to no one else and that our mistakes have been paid for in the life of the Son of God. “Despite all (our) flaws, (it is God who) continues to write (our) story. (And) it’s beautiful (Rochelle Griffin).
Tags: Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus Christ, lutheran, Prayer, Psalm, Rochelle Griffin, Son of God, Varun Soni
Lord God, “You are near to all who call on You” (Psalm 145:18). And we will sing of Your love from one generation to the next. (Psalm 89:1). So many memories flood our minds as another year closes and a new one begins. We pray that You would continue to bless us beyond imagination.
Don’t let us stare too long at doors that have been closed, but instead prepare us for the doors that will be opened to us because “we will not find peace by rearranging the circumstances of our lives…” (Eckhart Tolle) We have peace because Love found us right where we are, and God was born as one of us.
Faith tells us that no matter what lies ahead, God is already there. “Love has a name; Jesus. Love has a place; our hearts. Love has a story and it’s not finished yet.” (DAYSTAR)
Tags: Christian, Church, DAYSTAR, Eckhart Tolle, ELCA, Faith, Jesus Christ, lutheran, Prayer, Psalm 145:18, Psalm 89:1, Son of God
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