Prayers 5 11 2008
*Happy Mother’s Day!
*Bay to Breakers next Sunday—join the 20 of us who will meet at 7:00 at the corner of Market and Spear
*Men’s Fellowship, Saturday, May 24, Learn about and experience a therapeutic massage; sign-up with Wes Chan; flyers available
*Senior Center, Wednesday with Wallace Chu on “Financial Planning for Seniors.”
Prayer Concerns
*Paul Fong had a minor stroke last Sunday afternoon; was in the hospital for 3 nights and is home with a little loss of use of his right arm and fingers
*Fred Hee is still recuperating at Kaiser; gradually gaining strength from his heart surgery and dealing with dialysis
Mother’s Day
There’s a Hebrew proverb that goes like this: “God could not be everywhere, so therefore he made mothers.” Today we recognize all the mothers and women in our church for giving us life when we were born, for dressing us when we went to school, for preparing food on the table, and most of all, for loving care that reminds us of God’s love for the world. (Pass out carnations.)
*(Share with your neighbor one thing you are thankful for when you think about your mother or another nurturer in your life. Close in a brief prayer.)
Prayer of God’s People
Great God of power and love, you have created a wondrous world for us, and we give you thanks for the beauty and majesty of the earth. All down through our human history, you have shown yourself to us and moved heaven and earth so that we may know you as Creator God. In Jesus, you have come to us as God Incarnate, teaching us to live by the loving rules of your kingdom. In Jesus, you have walked in our human shoes, suffered, died and risen for us that we might know how far your love will go. And on this day of Pentecost, you blew into the lives of your discouraged church, with the mystery of wind and fire, to reveal yourself to us as Holy Spirit. With a mighty breath, you broke down the walls of language separating people, and empowered the young church to carry the Gospel to the farthest ends of the earth. We give you thanks and praise.
Gather our prayers together now as we name before you those who are near and dear to us. We lift up our friend, Fred Hee as he continues to get stronger everyday in the hospital after his heart surgery. Bless him with mercy and healing to restore his strength and health. Reassure him and Carolyn that we are always in your hands and that nothing in this world or in the next would ever frighten us because of Jesus Christ. We give thanks for the relatively minor effects from a stroke experienced by Paul Fong last Sunday. Bless him and be with him as he undergoes some rehabilitation to regain all of his right arm and hand functions. We give you thanks for the nurturers and providers in our lives and particularly our mothers who made it possible for us to be in this world to serve you, dear God as well as to care for humankind. May we find it always in our hearts to honor and appreciate our mothers and our fathers.
We give you thanks for this day of Pentecost, for the gift of the Holy Spirit, and for the promise of new beginnings. We thank you for the renewed energy given to those early disciples that gave birth to the church and provided us with the legacy anchored in the Spirit’s power. We give thanks for the gifts of the Holy Spirit creates within us, the unique talents and abilities revealed in our lives that allow us to work together for the common good in our congregation. We continue to pray for the Search Committee and the process of calling a new Pastor of Chinese-speaking Ministries to work with us to the end of making the Good News of Jesus Christ known.
On this day we give you thanks for all who are gathered in this house of prayer, seeking for forgiveness for those things that we have sinned against you knowing that you are merciful and compassionate. May our guilt turn us toward you, and may we see mercy in your eyes. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior who taught us to pray together, “Our Father…”
Benediction
Called to believe by the Holy Spirit, we are now sent to serve.
Gathered for worship, we are now scattered to work.
Confessing Jesus as Lord in this sanctuary, we are now prepared to profess his name in the world.
Go forth with God’s blessing.
Amen.