Seasons come and seasons go, winter turns to summer in less than a week, and we observe in nature an intricate, interconnected pattern by which we are all sustained. Each Sunday we come together to praise the God who created us, sustains us, and redeems us. He bids us to come, but it is up to us to accept the invitation. Let us therefore, with the confidence of Christians who know themselves to be numbered among all God’s people, worship God.
Pastoral Prayer
We thank Thee, loving creator of the ever-expanding universe, for creating us as travelers on this ever-revolving planet. We thank Thee that the earth itself is capable of sustaining us and all other species for vast lengths of time, and that nature is essentially kind to all living beings. We ask for Thy guidance of us, who are the primary caretakers of the earth, to remain good stewards of creation, and to do all we can to increase rather than decrease the health of the planet. Help all of to see that we, individually and corporately, are accountable to Thee for the ways in which the earth renews itself on a continuing basis. We especially ask Thee to move within the hearts and minds of government leaders all over the world who have the most power to give the most benefit to the sustenance of the earth.
We thank Thee for people of old whose life and actions continue to influence our lives many centuries after they lived. We praise Thee for Thine influence on biblical men and women whose devotion to Thee has affected our own devotion. Help us to benefit from their wisdom and to learn from their mistakes. May we be guided in our own struggles by the ways in which Thou didst guide them in their struggles. Forgive us for knowingly or unknowingly wandering from Thy paths, and keep us as close to Thee as is humanly, and divinely, possible.
Once again we pray for many families in South Florida whose lives have been torn apart by another very disturbed young man. We pray for everyone who lost a daughter or son, brother or sister or friend. We pray for those who were injured in the lethal mayhem, for all who escaped physically unharmed but who shall never again be the same mentally or spiritually. We pray also for the shooter, whose life already has been one of pain and loss, and who likely shall never again know a moment of joyful liberty. We pray for those who have the political power to reduce such massacres, but who have thus far refused to exercise that power. God of peace, we pray for all of us in the obvious, subtle, and hidden warfare which nips at us every step of our life’s journey. Prevent us from giving in to despair, and give us sufficient strength to make it to our journey’s end. We ask all our prayers in the name of Jesus, through whom we have been led into Thy presence. Now we pray together as he taught his first disciples, saying, Our Father…