God is God, and God is good, and ultimately it is the goodness of God which brings us together each Sunday morning. We gather to sing God’s praises, to listen for His word, and to respond to Him as we go out to do His work in His world for the rest of the week. This is where we receive our spiritual fuel, where we are strengthened to become the people God wants us to be. Therefore let us, with confidence, worship God!
Pastoral Prayer
Loving and gracious God, by Thy goodness alone do we exist, and by that goodness alone is our existence filled with deep meaning, richness, and hope. We thank Thee for every facet of our lives which makes them invaluable to us: for family members, friends, neighbors, local, state, and national leaders, for people of unique talents in the arts, sports, politics, business, education, and science, for people whose names we do not even know but who perform daily services for us which enhance our lives in ways we too easily overlook but without which we would feel diminished and depleted.
In the most recent days we have been reminded of a possible change of seasons, whereby winter might be leaving us and spring in southern South Carolina might appear to be headed our way early, once again. We praise Thee for the cycles and systems and certainties of nature, by which the earth replenishes and renourishes itself. Help us as Thy primary stewards of nature to do our part to enhance rather than thwart the natural process. Bless the work of scientists and researchers who are striving to add carefully considered human improvements to what Thou hast originally provided by Thy loving grace.
We pray in these dangerous and disarming days for the many thousands of men and women in various nations of the world who are gathering in peaceful protest of despots who have long and imperiously governed their nations by brute force and the constant threat of imprisonment or worse. We pray Thy blessings to be felt by people in Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, South Sudan, Ecuador and other nations where autocrats use force to try to crush legitimate protests. We remember the people of Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and Israel who plead for international assistance and justice from Europe and America. May the aspirations of these beleaguered citizens be realized in mass demonstrations which convince those who have governed by coercion to give new rights, freedom, and hope to the cynically governed. Whatever the future holds, may it more accurately reflect Thy will for all Thy people in all these restive nations. These and all our prayers we make in the name of Jesus, who taught us when we pray to say, Our Father….