Tag: 1 Corinthians 12

God Bless the Church, a Prayer!

This is a prayer

for all the babies in church

loud and crying,

breastfeeding or stinky

sleeping and beautiful

and for all of the kids,

squirmy or cute or talkative or shy

and the people who can’t sit

and the ones who can’t stand

and the people who whisper throughout

and the elder who falls asleep

and the ones who can’t hear

and the faithful who always sit in the same spot

and the teen who scribbles or is on the phone and seems to ignore everything

You are a part of the Church and you are Blessed!

…

This is a prayer for Easter/Christmas attenders,

the one time attenders,

the homebound church members

the ones who attend every week but will never ever, ever join!

You are a part of the Church and you are Blessed!

…

This is prayer for the livestreamers

who some say “aren’t really” at church

for the latecomers who enter by the inconvenient door

for the Pastor who forgets the words to the Lord’s Prayer

for the one responsible for the misprinted bulletin

You are a part of the Church and you are Blessed!

…

This is a prayer for the worship service that was too quiet

or too loud

or whatever.

This is a prayer, for those who couldn’t give for offering,

for the ones who dressed differently, or immediately felt rejected

for the ones who felt left out–or overwhelmed when they walked in the door.

You are a part of the Church and you are Blessed!

…

This is a prayer for all those

who came to church and didn’t feel welcome

Because there is no apology for that

…

This is a prayer for the church

The invisible, miraculous Body of Christ–

however you are a part of the church,

for you are Beloved, and always Blessed!

…

We are made up of all of these pieces.

The eye cannot say to the hand, you are not a part of me.

Praise Jesus.

Praise Jesus, that this is true of the Church of Jesus Christ!

…

Let us continue to be the Body of Christ,

This thing we call Church

and continue to Bless us, in all of our parts we pray.

Amen.

Feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Stuck in a Room: Contemplating Pentecost

Lord,

I am imagining the disciples, stuck in a room together.

Staying safe.

Lonely.

Yet sick of each other at the same time.

Stuck.

So stuck, they had nothing to do. And didn’t know what to say.

Can you imagine, followers of Jesus not knowing what to say?

But Jesus was gone, peacing out to heaven, to work from home, Jesus ascended back to his Father.

Telecommuting was just not the same.

So here were the disciples, stuck.

And, somehow, they were given gifts–arriving like packages in the mail.

The disciples unwrapped:

the words they couldn’t find,

the wisdom to take the time they needed

the knowledge to think on their feet

the healing to pass on to others

the miracles to see God at work in the toughest times

the prophecies to tell the truth to power

the discernment to see how spirits work

the interpretation necessary to understand tongues,

and the learning needed to speak in tongues.

All of these gifts were given, according to the disciples’ abilities, one body, one spirit, one baptism;

many gifts.

As we are stuck, remind us that we too are disciples, we too are gifted according to our abilities.

Empower us to be the body of Christ we pray.

Remind us of our gifts….

Point us to the need…..

And invite us into ministry and discipleship as you do every Pentecost we pray.

Amen.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit Plea/Prayer

Meditation on the Body of Christ

Pentecost Resources

All Resources can be used with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Pentecost, Gifts of the Spirit Seeds of Faith narrative Lectionary

Gifts of the Spirit

Acts 2:1-4; 1 Cor 12:1-13

(Mark 1:4-8)

Body of Christ

Stuck in a Room: Contemplating Pentecost

Gifts of the Holy Spirit Plea/Prayer

Bulletin and other Resources by Rev Dr Barb Hedges-Goettl

Another Resource for NL http://sacredise.com/lectionary-resources/pentecost-a/

Call to Worship

Lord we come here to celebrate our baptism

One Body, One Spirit, One Baptism, One Body of God

Bathe us once again, in the Holy Spirit

Come let us gather and greet the Lord

Call to Worship

Lord remind us that we are one in the Spirit

Help us to recognize your gifts, we pray

Let us use our gifts today and everyday

Let us use them to glorify the Lord

Confession: Lord, God we are feeling trapped and uninspired. We are weary. What do we say in times like this? How can we help those in need? How do we heal from this mass trauma? We feel alone. Breathe on us once again–give us live and inspiration and strength. Encourage us. Ennerve us. Energize us. Advocate for us, we pray.

Assurance of Pardon: God’s grace breathes upon us like a soothing breeze in the scorching heat. Know that God always loves us. Live into the refreshing forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Communion: Lord, before we even existed, your Spirit danced upon the water, blowing it’s presence across the earth. Then you formed us out of clay and breathed us into being. Then your Holy Spirit accompanied Christ: sometimes encouraging him, sometimes becoming the driving force behind him. Then when Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit was sent to the disciples, as an advocate. So we ask for you to breathe once again here, upon these common elements. Transform them through the power of the Holy Spirit to carry the body and blood of Christ. Commune us together Holy Spirit: with all those who have celebrated communion, all those who are celebrating and all those who will celebrate communion. Create with us the invisible, present and virtual Church made real in Christ. We pray this is the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication/the Day: Lord, bless us so that we can be a blessing we pray. Remind us of our gifts. And when our gifts feel like a burden or a curse, remind us to rest and eat and to breathe, so that we might once again do our work in joy, we pray.

 

All resources can be used with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

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Eastertide Preaching Narrative Lectionary

Virtual Communion Resources

Pandemic Resources

 

Body of Christ

Indeed the Body of Christ consists not of one member but of many members.

The doctors cannot say to the retail workers: You are not necessary. For one feeds the body and the other mends it.

Neither can the CEO’s say to the custodians and trash workers: I have no need of you. For one hand must wash the other.

And we are all the body of Christ.

We cannot say to one another: “it’s ok for this part of the body to become sick and die.”

We cannot chop off any part of our body, because every single part is important.

We cannot tell the teachers and childcare workers that we do not pay you well, because your work is not essential for they tend the seeds of life.

We cannot ignore the truck drivers & postal workers, for they are the circulatory system.

The government cannot say to the immigrants, you are not a part of us: for they stitch society together and gather the nourishment that we need and innovate life itself.

The protestors cannot say to the nurses, your work does not matter. And that your needs are less important than my needs.

The members that we pay the least and ignore the most, are the bones of the body.

Those who we honor and decorate the most, are the least use in a crises.

God has arranged the body, blessing it extravagantly. Inspiring us to work together. For if one part of the body suffers, we all suffer together with it.

If one member is healed and this free to live, then rest is healed: and then freed, with them.

We are of one body, my existence is wrapped up in yours. Let us continue to be the body of Christ, I pray.

Amen.

 

 

Pandemic Resources

Eastertide Resources