Prayers 2 5 2012
*Welcome
*Welcome Dr. Roy Medley, General Secretary of the ABC to our church this morning
*Annual Church Meeting, 1:30, sanctuary—plan to celebrate 2011 and envision what God is calling us to become in 2012
*Inquirers Class begins next Sunday, 11:30, Pastor Don’s office
*3 on 3 Basketball, March 11, 1:00-4:00; see registration form in vestibule
9:00
*Barnabas revealing next Sunday, Feb. 12
10:20
*Senior Center, Wednesday; Healthy Heart
Prayer Concerns
*Bill Chin—good news; things are moving through and will be discharged soon
*Pastoral Opening in our church that God is preparing that person to serve with us
Prayer of God’s People
Have you not known? Have you not heard? We serve the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth, who does not faint or grow weary and whose understanding is unsearchable. Let us pray.
Draw us closer, Lord today and every day, that our lively worship and our worshipful living may become one. We pray and celebrate the gathering of your people at this church who faithfully live in praise of you in where they work and the relationships they keep with their colleagues, in their relationships with their neighbors where they live, and in their commitment to this church as the beloved community of disciples where we all serve.
For those who are sick and suffering, those whose lives are not touched with compassion or mercy, those who seek healing, but have not found it, those for whom there are no clear answers, for those undergoing treatments still unsure of the outcome, for caregivers and those for whom they care, for the isolated, the lost, the struggling, we pray, begging you to make your presence felt, and pleading for the action of your healing Spirit. Intercede, and make us whole like the way you heal Simon Peter’s mother-in-law! Be with… We are thankful for the good news about Bill Chin and pray that he will continue to make good progress.
Today, we pray for the church annual meeting as we celebrate your guiding hand on our ministries in 2011 and to pledge our time and resources to your ministry in 2012. Show us to remain the hands of feet of Christ in San Francisco Chinatown and beyond. We continue to pray for a servant leader whom you are preparing to be our Associate Pastor in order to proclaim your good news in Christ and to shepherd our people. Remind us again that when we who wait for God will renew our strength, we shall mount up with wings like eagles, we shall run and not be weary, we shall walk and not faint.
For the diversity of the body of Christ, in which we see reflected the depth and breadth of your presence in our midst, we lift up our hearts in thanksgiving. For the opportunity to see you through the eyes of another, to sing their songs, to pray with their voices, to speak their language, we offer up our heartfelt thanksgiving. For the new song you write in the life of each person, with the prayer that that song may be sung by all of us together as one, we pray in Christ’s name who taught us to pray together, “Our Father…”
The Lord’s Supper
Roy’s image of an apple cart reminds me of how in all of our supermarkets’ produce sections, the apples are piled up like a pyramid. You have the red delicious, the fuji, the granny smith, the macintosh. Have you ever thought about taking the apple from the bottom of the pyramid? That’s turning over the apple cart!
When people get a fever in Jesus’ days like Simon’s mother-in-law without antibiotics, they usually die. Jesus turned over the apple cart of dying.
When Jesus healed many of their diseases and demons, Jesus turned over the apple cart of a demon-possessed world.
Even when Jesus got up early in the morning to a deserted place to pray, his disciples looked for him and were so excited about what he did the night before that Jesus turned over the apple cart of limiting his healing to Capernaum and went out to the neighboring towns throughout Galilee to bring good news.
On the cross, Jesus Christ turned over the apple cart once and for all to forgive your sins in order that we may have eternal life.
Benediction
Christ be with you, Christ within you,
Christ behind you, Christ before you,
Christ beside you, Christ to win you,
Christ to comfort and restore you!
Christ beneath you, Christ above you,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love you,
May Christ turn over your apple cart and make you whole.
Amen.