Prayers 5 11 2014
*Welcome—Happy Mother’s Day!
*Senior Center, this Wednesday on “Memory Lapse or Loss?” with Joycelyn de la Torres of Kaiser
*Golf Tournament, Friday, June 6th, Metropolitan Golf Links, near the Oakland Airport; come and join me for a round of golf!
*Senior Retreat, October 7-9, Brochures are available today
Prayer Concerns
*Long-timed church member Betty Olsen passed on Wednesday, May 7th; Pastor Lee conducted the funeral yesterday
Prayer of God’s People
Great and Gracious God, on this day we gather to offer joyful worship, for we serve the risen Lord! You did not leave Jesus in the tomb, but as the sun appears to die and then rise again, so Christ who was crucified was raised from death. On this “sun” day we give you thanks for Jesus who is alive and present in our midst.
As the Good Shepherd, we thank you, Lord for your continuing, sustaining, providential care of us. In all circumstances and challenges in life, you lead us, care for us, guide and guard us. And like the Good Shepherd, we lift up and pray for all the mothers and all nurturers in our lives. We thank them for our births and the many ways they have sacrificed for our wellbeing. For all the mothers who are no longer with us, we remember them today with the confidence that they are with you, O God. For all the mothers who are still working and making a house a home, we express our gratitude and love. And for all women who care and love and nurture others to grow up in the faith, we praise you for your generous heart.
Thank you, Lord for the life of Betty Olson who served you faithfully through this church. Bless her family as they gathered to remember her life as a mother and may those memories continue to reveal your loving mercy and grace.
As your children, Lord, we confess that we often come with matters in our lives that we are ashamed about. Our relationships with our friends and colleagues may not have been kind and mutually supportive. Our relationships with our spouses and family members may not have been loving and trusting. Our relationship with you, O God may have fallen short of our intentions. Forgive us when we live in contradictions rather than the affirmation of our Christian faith.
Help us, during this time of worship, to hear your voice calling your sheep, to commit ourselves more faithfully to follow you, that we might be led by you in the path of eternal life. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together, “Our Father…”
Benediction
You only live once.
Let us go out to be love incarnate, to live, to give, to work, and to witness to God’s wondrous deeds in Christ Jesus.
We have only one life to live so let us continue our worship in the world to the honor and glory of God’s holy name.
The blessing of the victorious God, the risen Christ, and the incarnating Spirit is upon us. Amen.