Lent 5, Lord Teach Me to Pray, Give Yourself Up to God

Lent 5 Prayers of the People & Joy

God plants and tends joy as a space of sanctuary in our lives—it is not a feeling of happiness, but rather a place of safety and Sabbath to visit when you are happy or sad. It is the space that allow us to celebrate with others, even when we are in a different place in our own lives. 

Psalm 97 or Psalm 122
Mark 4:30-34

Breath Prayer

Inhale: God be with me
Exhale: God enjoys me

Inhale: I am God’s image
Exhale: God created me

Inhale: God loves the world
Exhale: We are God’s beloved

Inhale: Justice is God’s joy
Exhale: Justice is Love Out Loud

Call to Worship: God is our righteous rule, let the earth rejoice
Clouds and thick darkness surround the Divine, Righteousness and Justice are the foundation of God’s throne
God’s lightenings light up the world, the earth sees and trembles
The mountains melt like wax before God, et all who hear rejoice
Light is sown for those who love justice, Joy lives in those who have equity in their heart
Come let us give thanks in the name of our God!

Call to Confession: God plants the seeds of joy in us, let us confess where we feel we fall short, so that we rest in God.

Prayer of Confession: God, I confess that I often confuse joy with being happy. I confess that I want everything to be easy and that the formula to be “Smile Jesus loves you.” I do not want joy to be a seed that is planted and grown for the birds to nest in. I do not want to be glad to come to church, because it is the place of sanctuary where I can safely be unhappy. I confess, that sometimes I miss the point of tending and growing joy. Teach me how to tend to the needs of joy and the gardens of your kingdom work I pray. (Silent Confession) Amen.

Prayer of Confession: Jesus Christ, I confess that sometimes we as a culture are too obsessed with happiness. We feel like we need something to be happy—money, the perfect profession, a partner. Teach us that we do not have to be happy or joyful all of the time, that lightening moments of joy followed by moments of Sabbath, rest and simple companionship are enough. Teach us to be the birds that nest home in your mustard seed Kingdom we pray. (Silent Confession). Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Jesus Christ promises us peach and love within the Kingdom, and so we know that our confession is seen, heard and accepted. Let us proclaim the Good News, In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. 

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God help us to appreciate and celebrate the joy as we see it in our lives. May we tend it, and let it grow. Help us to laugh with those who are laughing, even as we might weep with those who are weeping—providing sanctuary for all those in need we pray. Amen.  

Taize: Laudate Omnes Gentes

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Author: katyandtheword

Pastor Katy has enjoyed ministry at New Covenant since 2010, where the church has solidified its community focus. She now works at Capital CFO plus as the Non Profit Director. All opinions expressed on this blog are her own and do not reflect those of Capital CFO plus. Prior to that she studied both Theology and Christian Formation at Princeton Theological Seminary. She also served as an Assistant Chaplain at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital and as the Christian Educational Coordinator at Bethany Presbyterian at Bloomfield, NJ. She is an writer and is published in Enfleshed, Sermonsuite, Presbyterian's today and Outlook. She writes prayers, liturgy, poems and public theology and is pursuing her doctorate in ministry in Creative Write and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She enjoys working within and connecting to the community, is known to laugh a lot during service, and tells as many stories as possible. Pastor Katy loves reading Science Fiction and Fantasy, theater, arts and crafts, music, playing with children and sunshine, and continues to try to be as (w)holistically Christian as possible. "Publisher after publisher turned down A Wrinkle in Time," L'Engle wrote, "because it deals overtly with the problem of evil, and it was too difficult for children, and was it a children's or an adult's book, anyhow?" The next year it won the prestigious John Newbery Medal. Tolkien states in the foreword to The Lord of the Rings that he disliked allegories and that the story was not one.[66] Instead he preferred what he termed "applicability", the freedom of the reader to interpret the work in the light of his or her own life and times.

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