You have revealed a great love to us in a thousand different ways … in the bright bloom of a spring flower, the arc of a seagull’s wing silhouetted against the evening sun, the kindness of a friend, a fine glass of wine, a book we couldn’t put down, a musical that made our soul sing, a quiet walk with the love of our life, holding hands …
And when we think about it, O God, it’s you …
Your living, loving presence … all around us, and within …
In the flower and in the gull …
In the sky and in the sun,
In the kindness and the wine,
The book and the music …
The hands of someone we love …
You have revealed your love to us in the pages of the Bible … remarkable stories of faith and failure, hopes and dreams, sadness and sin – stories of folks just like us: finding their way and losing it and then finding it again – because you are the God who finds us!
You are the Good Shepherd leading us to clean water and through the dark valley of death …
You are the bright morning star; the promise of a new day.
You are the wind beneath our wings.
O LORD our God, you have made it possible for us to believe.
On our own, we could not, and we would not.
Our hearts are frightened and hardened.
Our minds steeled against you, even as we cry out for you.
On our own, LORD, we could not, and we would not.
But you have loved us to life.
You have given to us the gift of faith.
You have made it possible for us to believe.
To love and be loved …
To know the name of Jesus … and to follow him.
To live beyond our means, spiritually …
To accomplish great things … to share our daily bread, to forgive one another as you have forgiven us, to stand up for justice and lay our lives down for one another … to seek the welfare of our neighbor, doing unto others what we would expect for ourselves … to let our light so shine, that others could see our good works and give glory to you, our Father in Heaven.
Today, O God, we pray for our community of faith, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Covenant on the Corner … we give thanks for what has been, our journey thus far; and we thank you for what is at hand – these precious moments as we transition from one era to another:
Learning new ways of being the church …
For the 21st century …
Being faithful to you in our time,
Culturally relevant and spiritually alert …
Imaginative and conservative – preserving the ancient stories of our faith, even as we fashion new forms of worship and new ways of doing mission …
Laying the foundation for others who will follow …
Sometimes in our footsteps, and sometimes taking pathways we never dreamed …
LORD, help us to be travelers …to be those on the way … following Jesus …
To get up and get going, like Abram and Sarai, like Moses and Miriam, like Jesus setting his face toward the Holy City, and Paul the Apostle sailing for Corinth.
Help us to be creative and thoughtful … to welcome ideas that challenge the way we think; to think beyond what we already know; because there is always more to faith, hope and love …
LORD, we thank you for the Acts 16:5 Initiative …
A tool, a device, a process …
To help us along the way.
To discern your will for Covenant on the Corner.
Who are we, LORD?
What do you desire of us?
Where shall we go?
And how can we serve?
We are yours, O LORD.
We confess Jesus with all that we are.
We sing the songs of praise with heart and voice.
We study your word.
We love one another.
We are growing and we are learning.
We are Covenant on the Corner.
In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ who taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name …
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