Prayers 7 31 2011
*Welcome
9:10
*Thanks to Alex Quock leading music today and sharing about a conference called, Impact
*Youth Camp begins today—how many are going?
*College & YA Retreat, Sept. 3-5, Happy Valley; Nathalie and Kevin Hsu will be our speakers
10:20
*Register for Family Camp soon; Sept. 3-5, Happy Valley
*Church Picnic on August 28; tickets available from Social Committee
*Summer Series today—Redwood Glen Update with Joel Jang
*Alex Quock will be sharing about an upcoming conference called, Impact
Prayer Concerns
*Youth Camp this week
*Don Lam’s older sister, Judy with cancer
*US and its ability to balance the budget and raise the debt ceiling; non-partisan politics for the good of the whole and not the gain of a privileged few
Prayer of God’s People
Dear God, you call each of us to this place of worship. We thank you that we have been fed with your Word. We thank you for songs to sing your praises and brothers and sisters with whom to join our voices. We are grateful to be the Body of Christ, joined together by the blood shed on the cross. May we become fearless witnesses to Christ and his love, that others will also join in singing your praises as the result of our words and deeds.
As a people who have received much from the blessings of this bountiful country, we seek your forgiveness when we were unwilling to share your abundance with others. We live in fear of want, and are willing that others should starve so that we might hoard a surplus, regardless of how much we actually need. We pray that the small and tight circle that we have drawn can be expanded and enlarge to include more of your children so that we may break bread with people close at hand and far away. On this threshold of our country facing the inability to pay its bills, we pray for the end of partisan politics and for our elected leaders to think first about the needs of the people to whom they are called to serve. Multiply your blessings as you multiplied the loaves and fishes so long ago. We find there is enough to share. Your generosity knows no bounds, and for this we are grateful.
We pray for this week of Youth Camp when junior high and senior high young people will learn about your precious word in the Bible and be challenged to have compassion for our neighbors. Bless them with your life-giving Spirit to permeate and empower them to make faith decisions to know Christ Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Strengthen and support the counselors and staff to model servant leadership so that through their acts of service, they imitate Christ among us.
For those who’s lives are threatened by illnesses, we pray for healing and wholeness; those with uncertainties, we pray for clearness and security and those with instabilities, we pray for vision and a firm foundation.
All these things we pray asking you to cultivate the loving hearts you have blessed all of us with, so that the inner voice we hear that comes from you will guide us beyond times of insecurity into eternal gratitude and praise.
This is our prayer offered this day as we pray together as Jesus taught us to say, “Our Father…”
Benediction
Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes long time ago.
God has multiplied your gifts and talents too.
Go out and feed the world.
Give them something to eat!
You have more than enough! Amen.