On the Eve of Christmas

It is almost time, O God.
Immanuel, God is with us.
It is nearing the time of renewed wonderment and awe.
It is nearing the time of praise and adoration for the Christ-child who was born.
The work of your hands lay before us.
We pray for the wisdom and the vision to see the glory that has come our way.
His name is Emmanuel.
God is with us.

Christ the King Prayer

To Christ our Sovereign King
who exists as the world's salvation,
all praise and glory we bring to you,
and thanks and adoration.
May your authority
seen through the acts of a suffering servant,
be noticed by every land and nation;
For in your kingdom we discover your goodness, our weakness,
and the love for a King who faithfully responds to our needs.
To you and only you we pledge our hearts and minds
until that final day before your throne
as we sing in endless joy.
For Christ the Victor is indeed
Christ our Lord and redeemer.

Prayers of the People

Yes, the following words are from the prayer that I accidentally prayed 30 minutes too soon one hot Sunday morning in August. I just wanted to make sure we were adequately prepared for the time of giving. ha.

Loving God, indeed we take many things for granted. Whether it is the air that we breathe or our confidence in tomorrow, we find ourselves leaning too much on our own understanding. Therefore, we ask that your indwelling Spirit teach us how to gain a confidence that depends only on Jesus Christ. As we worship you in this gathered community, may we be directed on how we can love you with added strength and purpose. And may the offerings we give be a reflection of what WE believe YOU would like to see changed in our world. May our gifts bring justice to the ones who need it and meaning to the ones who stand firm against it.
Almighty God, continue to change us so that our hearts and minds are set on things above.

The Silence of Saturday

Almighty God,through your Son Jesus Christ You overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life;grant us so to die daily to sin,that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection:
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,one God now and for ever. Amen.

Today calls for reflection on the silence of Saturday. Or maybe it was a spirit of meaninglessness. Betrayed by his friends. A problem solved by the Romans. A threat extinguished by the masses.

Good Friday Prayer

Today, on the quietest day of the year, we have come to sit in the presence of one who was fully who God created him to be every day of his life--who loved God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength, and with all his mind--and who loved his friends so much that he stepped into the oncoming traffic of death in order to push them out of the way. He furthermore did it all with no more than the basic human equipment--a beating heart, two good hands, a holy vision, and some companions who could see it too--thereby showing the rest of us humans that such a life is not beyond our reach. Whatever else happens on Sunday, here is enough reason to call this Friday Good. Amen.

- Barbara Brown Taylor

Maundy Thursday

Creator God,we thank you for the nourishment
you give us.For bread and fruit of the vine.God of freedom,we thank you that you do not leave us in bondage,but act in power to liberate us from all oppression.We thank you that Christ,acting in courage and faith,has won for us the victory over sin and death.May the bread and winebe signs of your renewed covenant with us,and may we be ever faithful,until the coming of your final Peace. Amen.

The other day I mentioned to someone that we were having a Maundy Thursday service at church. You would have thought that I had bicycle tires for ears. But that is OK. It may very well be the way I prefer it to be. If every congregation of believers gathered for Maundy Thursday it would no doubt turn into something that it should not be. Too much creativity and competition can steal the message away from the original purpose. Maundy Thursday should remain in the shadow of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It is a day for remembrance and solitude. It is a service that should never be held around every corner. Maundy Thursday is something special that would lose its meaning if it ever made the headlines of the local newspapers. Let us all love one another, gather, and reflect on the small group of imperfect believers that Jesus referred to as friends.

Holy Week

The cross looms ever closer.

And Jesus moves forward.
Yet, through death comes life.

Out of darkness comes light.

‘My God, my God.’ Those are the words you cried. Somehow those words are a comfort to us all. May we truly see the sacrifice, the love, and the message of the cross.
May we truly experience the power, the hope, and life of the resurrection.