Each Sunday we gather in praise of a God who, through Jesus Christ, bids us to applaud purity of heart in those who have it.. Because of who we are, and because of who others are, that is often a very difficult assignment for us personally. Today we shall be looking at the sixth beatitude, and in so doing, we shall attempt to understand what purity of heart might mean for each of us. Let us therefore with open hearts and minds worship God.
Pastoral Prayer
We bow before Thee, Creator of the universe and everything that exists, on the Sunday following National Prayer Day. As we do so, we pray for our nation in all aspects of its existence. We thank Thee for our history as a nation and people, and for all the many positive influences which have been made by Thy guidance of wise and resourceful people in the past. We ask Thy blessing upon us in the present, especially for our President and for the candidates who seek to become our next President. On this Mother’s Day, we particularly thank Thee for all the beneficial influences of our mothers. We remember with fondness their care and concern for us, their willingness to forgive us when we were wrong, and for their continual efforts to inspire us to do the right. We pray for new mothers, who are just beginning one of the most difficult roles in the world at one of the most difficult periods of human history. Grant them courage and wisdom for their journeys.
We praise Thee for the earthly environment in which all of us live. In Thy creative purposes Thou didst intend for all plants and animals to live together in harmony, with humans as the primary stewards of the environment. Inspire us to be more careful as environmental custodians than we have been, and enable us as citizens of the world to strive together for the good of all people rather than for the mere economic advantage of certain already advantaged nations. Grant to the people who have unique positions of power to exercise that power for the entire cosmos, so that together we may care for this planet as Thou dost intend.
As always in our prayers, we remember particular people with particular needs: the sick, disabled, and pain-wracked; the mentally ill, who fight demons within which seek to disorient or dislodge or destroy them; the spiritually assaulted, who once having lived with strong faith now live with little or no faith; the fearful and fretful, the discouraged and disappointed, the hopeless and the helpless. O God of power and might, may Thy power be felt by those who most need to feel it, and may Thy healing spirit enter into the hearts of those who cry out for health in the midst of illness or constant disruption. We make our prayers in the name of Jesus, whose prayers we attempt to emulate. Now we pray together as Jesus taught his followers, saying, Our Father….