Prayers 1 2 2011
*Happy New Year!
*Annual reports are due today so that we may have enough time to publish our annual reports for the Church Annual Meeting on Feb. 6th
*All-Church Leaders Kick-off meeting on Saturday, Jan. 8th, 8:30-12:00; all board members (Deacons, CE, and Trustees) and church officers are encouraged to attend; if you are on a church committee, check with your chair person if your group will be meeting
*EFG, this Saturday, 4:00 at Dick & Anna Quan Wong’s
*Mission to Vietnam, next Sunday, 1:00-2:30, sanctuary, led by Kenley Mew and Steven Ng
*CCU Annual Dinner, Sunday, Jan. 16, Ticket available from Dick Wong
Prayer Concerns
*George Gee, Mic, Nancy, and Victor’s brother-in-law with pancreatic cancer
Prayer of God’s People
Creator of time, Sustainer of the seasons, for this time, for this season, for this moment, and for all moments, we thank you and praise you for the gift of time.
For the gift of a new year, for an opportunity to start anew, for the chance to resolve once more to serve you as faithfully as you have blessed us; to love as we are loved; to choose life over death, joy over despair, we thank you and praise you for the gift of hope.
For the promise of your justice, that you consider kindness to the least as the greatest gift to you, and that you challenge us with the assurance that wasted opportunities to serve cause us to miss the chance to serve you personally, we thank you and praise you for the gift of purpose.
For those who seem to have little time, for those who are aware that their own personal clock is winding down. For those who have no perception of time, for those who suffer from dementia or who see that suffering is coming. We pray that we together as your beloved community serve as caregivers to love and to care and to offer hope in the future that you dwell in every moment we live in your name.
For those who have no appreciation of time, who consider it their right and possession, who spend time foolishly as if they manufactured time or own it, without any real sense of time’s abiding value. Help us to appreciate the urgency of time and wonder at our perception of its duration, which allows us to love each other more fully, and you, God of time, God of season, most of all.
For all the church leaders, board and committee members who are willingly dedicating their time, talents, and energy in the vitality and mission of this church often at the expense of their families, work and personal time, we thank you and praise you for the gift of mission.
For all these things, and for ourselves, we pray, now in this hour, the way our Lord, Jesus Christ taught us to pray together, “Our Father…”
Offertory
Our time of offering, like our entire Christian ministry, is a calling to a radical way of life. Let us no longer walk in concert with the world but in step with God.
God of time, accept this offering today as we once more dedicate ourselves to the enduring work of this church in the world. Bless us in our giving, and send us forward equipped for ministry and mission. Amen.
The Lord’s Supper
Folk singer Pete Seeger wrote a song for today’s scripture, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 in which he interspersed the phrases with the words, turn, turn, turn. After one concert, one irate audience members cornered Seeger and told him that song was probably written by some radical who wore robes, long hair, and a beard. Seeger admitted that was probably true. When that person demanded to know just who wrote such subversive lyrics, Seeger told him the words came straight out of the Bible.
The New Year is a time for resolutions, for people to make changes in their lives, and to improve themselves. Improving your biblical literacy by reading the Bible daily or committing yourself to attend a Bible study group is just one offering you can make to God, and to yourself. Another resolution that you may make is to dedicate yourself to Jesus Christ as he gave himself up for us in order for us to have eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. Every time we receive the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded of the sacrifice Christ made for us.
Benediction
To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.
In this season, in this time, take hold of the opportunity to serve the least of these as you would serve our Savior, Jesus Christ.
It’s time to get up! There is still time for you to do great things in this New Year!
Amen.