Lord God, our life and our eternity belong to You and to You alone. Open our eyes to see the glimpses of heaven all around us. Reveal the signs that lead us to the embrace of Your truth. You stepped into our story, those many years ago, so that the courage of God would be revealed in His Son as proof that God stands beside us throughout every joy and sorrow in this life. Help us to grab hold of Your promises that grace and forgiveness are real, so that we can have the courage to just show up in this life and stop performing with the crowd. Don’t let us see just want what we want to see, but expose what we need to see. We exist in the here and now but You, Lord, have always existed and the doors to Your love have always been open to us through Christ Jesus. We can’t wait for anyone to give us permission to practice our faith. We just need to live out our faith in Christ, anywhere and anytime. And whether or not the crowd jeers or cheers, we serve only Him today, tomorrow and forever.
Tags: bible, biblical, champion, Cheers, Christ, Christian, Church, Crowd, Diversity, ecumenical, ELCA, End of Lent, episcopalean, forgiveness, Freedom, God, Gospel, grace, Jeers, Jesus, Joy, love of God, lutheran, mercy, Palm Sunday, Praise, Prayer, Rejoice, Religious, Reveal, Spirit, Spiritual, UCC, Worship
I saw this picture at an office complex. You can see my reflection behind Jesus. I like that statement!
Lord God, we are grateful that You hear us…that You listen to each and every prayer that we lift up to You in this place and in our hearts. Speak life into the darkness of death and prepare us now to receive Your forgiveness, grace and the new life that is given to us because of the sacrifice of Your only son, Jesus Christ. Show us how this life works and let our hearts beat with the same pulse of Almighty God. For it is You, Lord, who gives us worth because You value us. You took on everything that is ugly about us and You put on all of our burdens on that cross. You give us redemption. You give us escape from the limitations of this world. You give us life. And even though we don’t have it all together, and probably never will, You still look on us with love and remind us “that no matter how much time we’ve wasted in the past we still have infinite tomorrows with Jesus Christ.” (Billy Graham). So as we confront the reality of the cross, let us remember, “it is not how many days we have left in our lives but it is how much life we have in our days that count.” (Ed Ly Stevenson). Help us to live as You live in eternal grace. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Tags: bible, biblical, champion, Christ, Christian, Church, ecumenical, ELCA, episcopalean, forgiveness, Freedom, God, Gospel, grace, Jesus, Joy, life, life's worth, love of God, lutheran, mercy, Praise, Prayer, redemption, Rejoice, Spirit, Spiritual, value, Worship
Chalk Art on New Song Church’s Parking Lot
We are here and we are smiling because there is nothing that can compare to the time spent in the presence of the One true God. So open the doors of this place and our hearts by revealing Your truth for our lives because we are ready for You but You have always been ready for us. We can’t ignore what makes us human with all that we had to go through and will have to go through. Just remind us today that You do not sleep, You do not grow weary and Your light of hope never fades. Everything else goes away but we are never alone because Your love remains. Teach us to have that same love for one another by choosing to accept each other rather than just tolerating each other. Help us to go beyond the polite conversations so that we can see the details that the Creator has set in each and every one of us. Please be patient with us because we are still learning that we are all children of God and that our differences pale in comparison to the gospel truth that we are all sinners and saints who are redeemed by the Son of God who lives and reigns in our hearts now and forever. Amen.
Tags: acceptance, bible, biblical, Christ, Christian, Diversity, ecumenical, ELCA, episcopalean, forgiveness, Freedom, God, Gospel, grace, Jesus, Joy, lutheran, mercy, Praise, Prayer, Rejoice, Religious, Spirit, Spiritual, tolerance, unity, Worship
from New Song Church’s parking lot street art
Lord God, breathe into us new life today and lift our eyes off of the daily rubble so that we can magnify You in this place. Whatever circumstances we are in (financial, emotional, spiritual, or personal), take us to the place that is the presence of Jesus Christ. Don’t let shame or guilt stop us from experiencing Your grace and salvation. Just make Your presence known and print Your word on our hearts. Take away any doubt of our worth because the cross at Calvary shows the cost of Your love for all of us, and by taking Your first steps on this earth You changed our history forever. Help us to see Your greatness. Help us to hear Your word. And help us to live Your love. For “no matter what comes, we will always taste victory through Him who loved us. For (we) have every confidence that nothing – not death, life…the present, the future…nor any created thing – can come between us and the love of God revealed in the Anointed, Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39).
Tags: bible, biblical, Celebrate, champion, Christ, Christian, Church, Diversity, ecumenical, ELCA, episcopalean, forgiveness, Freedom, God, Gospel, grace, Jesus, Joy, love of God, lutheran, mercy, Praise, Prayer, Rejoice, Religious, Spirit, Spiritual, trinity, Worship
From Northwest Community Church UCC in Las Vegas, NV
Holy One, Emmanuel, God with Us…We come into Your presence today with prayers for those who matter most to us. We seek guidance, comfort and hope in an upside down world that needs You to turn it right side up. Today millions of voices and thoughts race past us but we need to hear only one. We need to hear the Word of God speak truth into our lives. The truth that is the sacrifice of the cross and the joy of the resurrection of Jesus Christ separated us from our transgressions. And as we confront the reality of Jesus, in our lives today, we need to understand that we are not defined by our sins or mistakes. We are defined in Christ as children of the most-high God. Let’s give thanks to Him because we don’t know how many more tomorrows we have, but we do know that we are citizens of heaven and not products of this world. So let’s do something special…let’s do something great, right now, for God and His Kingdom here on earth because if we don’t plant the seeds of faith in Christ, so that others will know of the good news, then who will? If not now, then when will we start to just give what we have been given? We have been grace-sufficient for every obstacle in this life. Amen.
Tags: bible, biblical, Celebrate, Christ, Christian, Church, Diversity, ecumenical, ELCA, episcopalean, forgiveness, Freedom, God, grace, Grand Canyon Synod, intercession of Christ, Jesus, lutheran, Northwest Community Church UCC Las Vegas, Prayer, Rejoice, Religious, Spiritual, transgressions, UCC, Worship
Lord God, Open the window that reveals Your truth so that we can breathe in Your grace, mercy and forgiveness. Bring joy back into our lives, into our jobs, and into our relationships so that we will be so overwhelmed by the awareness of Your presence, that we can’t help but experience the joy that only comes from knowing Jesus. Just simplify the complexity of the world into Your truth: That the battle has already been won and that God lives in this moment and so should we. So as we receive Christ today, at this altar, let us all remember that He also goes with us into the world that He so loves and that we can only share what we have an abundance of. So let us be full and overflowing with the joy, love and compassion that has already been given to us by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Tags: bible, biblical, Celebrate, Christ, Christian, Church, ecumenical, ELCA, episcopalean, forgiveness, Gospel, grace, Jesus, Joy, lutheran, mercy, overflowing, Praise, Prayer, Rejoice, Religious, Spirit, Spiritual, trinity, UCC, Worship
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