Prayers 3 10 2013
*Welcome! You remembered to turn your clocks 1-hour forward!
*Senior Center, Wednesday; Managing Arthritis with Aileen Dillon of Kaiser; contact Dick and Anna Wong to register
*All-Church Spring Clean-Up, Saturday, beginning at 8:30; please come to represent your fellowship group!
*Membership Meeting next Sunday; testimonies from 4 persons who will be joining our church
*Church Yosemite Trip, April 20-22; sign up today
Prayer Concerns
*Women’s Retreat this weekend
*Thailand Mission Team, 17 persons from our church preparing for June; support them by your contributions and fundraisers
Prayer of God’s People
Gracious God, the journey of Lent comes to us as a gift. It is a reminder to us to slow down, unplug ourselves, and be still and quiet in your presence. Lord, it takes discipline to do this. We are addicted to instant access and immediate response. We are so used to being “on” that we have lost sight of our need for rest, for renewal and especially for being with you. So, we thank you for the spiritual discipline of Lent. We lay aside our calendars and “to do” lists and focus instead on your gifts and blessings. We stop long enough to say, “thank you” instead of running hurriedly and unappreciatively through our day. We acknowledge the work of your grace in our lives—and the reality that it is anything but worthless. So we wait, Lord. We wait expectantly and patiently for you to speak and to make yourself known to us in new and surprising ways.
We pray for the women who are on retreat as their part on the journey of seeking your direction during this season of Lent. May their experiences bring them closer to you, O Lord. We lift up the men, women, and youth who have committed themselves to go on mission to Thailand this June. As they trust their lives in your hands and offer their gifts and talents in partnership with the Hill Tribe people that through this adventure, they would bring you glory and praise. And we pray for the 4 individuals who will be sharing their faith with the Deacons this afternoon and then with us next Sunday that this is a beginning of their long journey in discipleship of following Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Thank you, Lord for the blessings we received that were never earned or deserved as the result of our efforts. And in those times when we have sinned against you, we ask for forgiveness for we have done wrongly and not lived up to your expectations of us. We ask this because we believe that if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away’ see, everything has become new.
Bless us in this time of Lent as we shed the old ways and are reborn in new life in the name of Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together, “Our Father…”
Benediction
God says, “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
Acknowledge your sin.
Confess your transgressions.
Be glad and rejoice and be happy
because God has forgiven you of the guilt of your sin!
Amen.