There are several major religions in the world. Are they complimentary or conflicting? Today we shall be thinking about how Christianity and Islam relate to one another, especially in light of Islamist terrorism. We seek the guidance and wisdom of the God in whom we all believe, so that, as the Psalmist says, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!” Let us therefore worship God with renewed confidence in His love for all of us.
Pastoral Prayer
Praise be to Thee, O Lord our God, for bringing us together once again in worship. We thank Thee for all Thy blessings to us in the past week, and for the assurance of continued blessings in the coming week. We are grateful for all the people in our lives, both past and present, who have enriched our existence by their presence among us. We thank Thee that we live in a land where freedom of religion is guaranteed by our Constitution, where it has always been intended that no religion shall ever be enforced on us nor withheld from us.
We pray, O God, that Thou wouldst enable us to live in peace with other people with whom we may disagree religiously, politically, and culturally. Especially we plead for Thy guidance that there may be greater understanding between the two largest religious groups in the world, Christians and Muslims. Teach us how more effectively to respect one another and to seek to appreciate the things we hold in common among one another. Bless the clergy and leaders of Islam and Christianity, that they may influence their adherents to practice greater respect for one another during a time when there is an increasing need for and an apparent growing lack of such respect.
We ask for Thy blessings to be with anyone who at this time particularly needs the infusion of such blessings: the grieving, whose lives have been disrupted by death; the ill, whose lives have been turned upside down by crises of health; the forgotten, who have fallen through the cracks of the social safety net; the spiritually and psychologically buffeted, who have lost jobs or relationships or homes or hope, and who fear that Thou hast abandoned them. Uphold those who cry out to Thee in the distress, and restore them to a more stable and purposeful existence. These and all our prayers we make in the name of Jesus, by whose life and teachings we have been led into Thy presence. Now we pray together as Jesus taught us, saying, Our Father….