March 29, 2009 - Prayers of the People

Dear God in heaven, you are so very close to us, heaven is near unto us – eternity woven into time, and time enfolded by eternity – heaven and earth are partners - and so we pray this morning with Christ in the Garden “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

We kneel with Christ in the Garden.
We find comfort in his reluctance, because we’re reluctant, too.
We wonder if there are other ways of doing your will on earth as it is in heaven.
Ways that require slightly less of ourselves.
A tad bit easier, LORD.
But with Christ in the Garden, we cannot escape.
And finally, we don’t want to escape, LORD.
Where else would we go?

You have called us by your Holy Spirit.
You have awakened within us faith, hope and love.
You have brought us into the kingdom of light, into the fellowship of faith.
Your grace saves us … and none of this is our own doing … it’s all a gift from you, O God; your glorious love, your immeasurable riches … you have saved us, redeemed us, and reconciled us unto yourself, making all things new – you have put us into Christ, and Christ into us.
To him we belong, our dear Savior.
In him, we live and move and have our being.
He is our bright Morning Star.
He is the breath of our life.
He is the path upon which we trod.
He is our forgiveness, and he is our peace.
He is the way to life.
The truth of life.
And life itself.

Dear God in Heaven …
Dear God right here …
We are ever-grateful for Christ.
We’re glad to be here.
In your company, and in the company of one another.
The bond of love.
A band of brothers and sisters.
The church of Jesus Christ.
Covenant on the Corner.
Presbyterians true blue and bold!

Dear God, we can do no less than Christ.
But to give our lives again and again to your kingdom’s work.
Not our will be done, O LORD, but thine done.
Use us, mold us, shape us.
Conform us to the image of Christ.
Fill us with his light.
That we might have a light to shine before others, that they could see our good works and give glory to you, our Father in heaven.

You have shown us, O God, your will:
To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with you.
To love you with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
To do unto others as we would have them do unto ourselves.

To this end, O God, we pledge ourselves anew.
To Christ we surrender all the more.
LORD Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, we give ourselves to you in faith and obedience.

In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come …