Prayers 5 23 99
Call to Worship
This is the day for a new Pentecost.
We hear the message that all can understand.
How amazing are all the works of God!
May our meditations please our Creator!
Prayer for God’s People
Dear God, you send your Spirit to every spot in the universe including our church to sustain your creative work. May your mercy on us continues forever as we seek ways to live out our faith in Jesus Christ in this world. You have blessed us with a variety of spiritual gifts that we dedicate to the building up of the body of Christ. Help us to become more interdependent with each other—learning how to trust and believe in each other’s skills and promises.
We pray today for those in our community who are in need of your loving and healing presence. We believe that when we have done everything we can to bring wholeness and recovery to life’s challenges and there just doesn’t seem to be any other answers, we must never give up. O God, you never gave up on us so we must not give up on each other either. Help us to have the faith in you that what we may not be able to do, all things are possible with you. We ask that you be with Bill Chin’s mother who fell and broke her arm. Grant your love and care for Doug Yow’s father who is sick and struggling with the simple task of breathing. Be with those who are unnamed but are in our minds and hearts. Cradle them with your power of comfort, hope, and healing.
Abide in us today, dear God, as our country continue to wonder what has terribly gone wrong with our children, youth, and families that rage and violence are expressed in the injuring and killing of friends and fellow students. Help us to develop strong assets in our kids so that they may see that life is worth living and that there’s hope in the future. Help us to guide them to stand firm for what they believe in front of their peers. As parents and guardians of the next generations, strengthen our convictions to resolve the deterioration of our society. We pray for the families and young people who were hurt this past week near Atlanta.
Dear God, the rushing wind of the first Pentecost enabled diverse people to be able to understand each other. They were able to hear what the disciples were saying about Jesus Christ. We need that rushing wind today to cool off the continuing conflicts in Yugoslavia and Kosovo; to cool down the anger and hate that we see in China after the bombing of the Chinese embassy; to cool out the flying bombs that are maiming and killing innocent people. Make this rushing wind blow all of the world’s leaders to come together around the negotiation table and to hear from each other and understand. O God, we need peace today.
We come this morning also with celebration in our hearts. We give thanks for the dedication of church members like Albert and Elaine Lee who responded to answer the call to teach English to parents of our Sunday school students. Bless them and the many others in this church who give week after week to the mission of this church. We pray for those who are leading the basketball teams this summer as they teach youth cooperation and teamwork. We give thanks for those who are working tirelessly on the retrofit and renovation project so that we will have a safe place to serve. And we pray for patience and confidence as we will soon embark in rebuilding our church home to continue 120 years of vibrant ministry in Chinatown. Thank you God for the many blessings that you have gifted us with.
Almighty God, there is more to life than the things that we can see—and more in the things that we see than our eyes can discern. God, you are more than we know or think. Infuse the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives in the name of Jesus Christ we pray and who taught us to pray together to God, Our Father…
Benediction
May the empowerment of Pentecost continue with us.
May the Spirit lead and guide us every day.
We are one body with many members.
When we work together, much good is accomplished. Amen.