Prayer for February 26-March 4, 2017 

Sermon Text: Matthew 17:1-9

That we may keep moving in the direction You send us

We have had glimpses of your glory, O Christ. Sometimes they give us renewed energy for lives of bold witness and service. Sometimes they merely baffle us and leave us wondering what we should do in order to respond adequately to your majestic presence.

Help us to recognize that your presence and your glory are not within our control. Help us to open our ears, hearts and minds in order to hear you fully as You speak to the circumstances of our lives and guide our efforts to live in deep fidelity to You.

Our faith is often weaker than we imagine, but energize us, each day, to keep moving in the direction that You send us. Enable us to follow courageously even when it seems clear that the way ahead may include suffering.  

We believe the Voice that claimed You as beloved, pleasing Son, and so we follow no matter what. Amen.

Prayer for February 19-25, 2017 

Sermon Text: Matthew 5:38-48

That you will transform us beyond our violence, revenge, hatred and miserliness

Christ Jesus, You challenge us beyond our favored practices! We are accustomed to protecting ourselves and attempting to manage our own security. How can we turn aside from the revenge that has become such a valued practice among us? How can we allow ourselves to be shamed? How can we allow our resources to be confiscated, yet give more than asked? How can we walk side by side with our oppressors? To whom shall we lend with our resources that never seem to be enough?

You must work a deep transformation within us if we are to move beyond our violence, revenge, hatred and miserliness.  You must transform us if we are to overcome the distance we create between ourselves and those who wrong us. You must make us new people if we are to practice the prayer and love for enemies to which You call us.  

We are deeply flawed. And most of the time we don’t want our flaws healed or corrected. But we do want to follow You in fidelity, so we submit ourselves to the transforming work that You must do in order to shape our lives so that they reflect the perfection of God—your Father and ours. Amen.

Prayer for February 12-18, 2017
Sermon Text: Matthew 5:21-37

That our lives may pulse with vitality that echoes your own

O Christ, we are continuously tempted to push the limits to see how close to the fringes of fidelity we can come without courting judgment or catastrophe.

You call us to another way. You call us to lives in which hearts and minds are deeply tuned to the desire of God and in which obedience is offered as a response of gratitude and gladness.

Tune our lives so that they pulse with vitality that echoes your own. Remove violence from our hearts. Remove our lust for control over others, especially those who appear more vulnerable than us. Eliminate our desire to treat relationships as disposable commodities when we grow tired of them. Enable us to speak truthfully, without qualifying our words in ways that manipulate others. 

Enable us to follow You in every practice of faithfulness. Amen.

Prayer for February 5-11, 2017 

Sermon Text: Matthew 5:13-20

That we may flavor the world with humility, justice, mercy, purity and peace

Christ Jesus, we rejoice that You have come as the embodiment of the Law and Prophets. You have come as the fullest expression of the divine will and have practiced fidelity to God’s desire in the fullest possible measure. You have done what God’s people had been unable to do and what we can only approximate by your example and assistance.

Enable us to be your faithful followers. Enable us to practice fidelity that reflects the depth of your desire for the world.

Enable us to be salt and light in the world, particularly by our unity as your people, which has great power to convince others of your presence and reality among us. Let our lives flavor the world with humility, justice, mercy, purity and peace that reflect your reign and move us toward the complete reconciliation of all things for which You have come among us.  

We rejoice in your presence among us! Amen.

Prayer for January 29-February 4, 2017 

Sermon Text: Matthew 5:1-12

That we may receive your good news and generous gifts with gladness

Christ Jesus, when we hear your words of blessing, we find it very difficult not to turn it into a string of commands about how we should be living our lives. It is much easier for us to think in terms of obligation and obedience than it is to receive good news and generous gifts. We want to feel as though we have earned our way into your affection and your reign.

We know obedience is part of the life of discipleship, but, in this moment, enable us to hear the gospel as your word of blessing, your promise of renewal and restoration of the world of human relationships, your work of creating a new community out of people, including us, who often seem to lack qualifications to be your people and experience your blessing.

Enable us to receive your reign among us rather than grasping for everything we can get our hands on. Comfort those who grieve among us. Make us just and holy people. Let mercy and peace flow from pure hearts. Enable us to see God’s presence in you and in your people as we await the day when we shall see God face to face. Enable us to endure insult, rejection and abuse with patient hope. 

We rejoice in you! Our hearts are gladdened by your presence! Amen.