Tag: Lent 2

Lent 2, Lord Teach Me to Pray/Give Yourself to God

Lent 2 Themes: Breath Prayer, Orientating Yourself (to God) 

Breath Prayer you find yourself and then orient/reorient yourself. 

So you ground down and then ground up; Or Root down and then root down more firmly; Or Orient yourself up/then Outward, or orient yourself in yourself and then yourself in God; or figure out where you are and then where you are in community; or find where you are in community then differentiate yourself within the community. 

Mark 4:25-41 or Matthew 11:28-29
Psalm 150 or Psalm 46

Breath Prayer
Inhale: I am
Exhale: We are

Inhale: God loves us
Exhale: We are beloved

Inhale: God can work with emptiness 
Exhale: it is enough to exist today

Inhale: There is time
Exhale: God sits with us

Inhale: I am a Divine Image Bearer
Exhale: God creates through me

Inhale: Peace
Exhale: Love

Call to Worship
Praise God, we are in God’s sanctuary
Let everything that breathes praise the Divine
Praise God, the mighty firmament, grounding us down
Praise God to the heavens, the deeds that lift us up
Praise God with trumpets, with the gentle lute and heart
Praise God with every breath, for God is worthy of Praise 

Call to Worship
God breathed life in the first humans
It is enough to be present with God
Whether we need to feel grounded or more supported
God will orient us in the ways we need to go
Teach us to pray in the ways we need to pray
Breathe into us today God, Holy Spirit Come!

Call to Confession: God breathed life into us, and taught us to pray. Thus we are able to lay anything that troubles us at the feet of God, come let us confess ourselves to God. 

Prayer of Confession: God, I confess I do not yet know how to pray without ceasing. I confess that sometimes my breath catches in my throat, and I feel stuck. Remind me that your pneuma, breath flows through my body, and that when I do not know what to pray, the Holy Spirit prays on my behalf. Teach me the rhythms of breath and prayer I pray. (Silent Confession) Amen. 

Prayer of Confession: God, we confess that we struggle to feel present. Shopping lists, worries and distractions overcome and overwhelm us. We forget that you know all of these trouble, and that you want us to slow down, to take stock, and to breathe. Teach us to take the time to Sabbath and breathe we pray. (Silent Confession) Amen

Assurance of Pardon: God breathes forgiveness into all things, know the truth In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God breathes life into all things, reminding us that God is present in the empty spaces, and that some days existing is enough. Let us be present with God today. Amen. 

Taize: Holy Spirit Come to us

Prayer Activity: Body Prayer https://www.cascadialivingwisdom.com/body-prayer-julian-of-norwich or https://katyandtheword.com/2024/01/03/body-prayer/ (seated or standing)

Write a Breath Prayer

Breath Prayer: https://colearthurriley.com/writing/project-three-xdb2n

breath up with a gold heart on either side, breath out with a gold heart on either side

Lent 2 Prayers

Sustenance for the Journey (More nourishment when we falter)

February 28

Lent 2

Lament over Jerusalem

Luke 13:1-9, 31-35

Psalm 122

Call to Worship:

Gather us together Jesus

That we might take shelter under your wings. 

For I was glad when they said unto me, let us god into the house of the Lord

Our feet are standing within your gates, O God. 

Peace be within you family and friends

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, let us seek good!

Invitation: For all those who feel empty, God invites us to lay to God in confession too. 

Prayer of Confession: God, we confess that sometimes we feel like we don’t produce enough and we deserve to be cut down. We admit that sometimes  we view ourselves, or others as a waste of space. Remind us that some years are barer than others. That sometimes, like the fig tree, we need more room and care to grow. Help us to give ourselves, and others what is needed to grow we pray.

Assurance of Pardon: God will always welcome us home and gather us under her wings, so we may be comforted by the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God loves and cares for us, sending Jesus to nourish us and wrap us under the wings of the Holy Spirit Help us God when we are bare or barren, or sick or lament Help us not to chop each other down, but to build each other up we pray. Amen.

Communion Prayer: Dear Jesus, it is a blessing to be gathered here, like your brood under your wing, through the celebration of Communion. Before you left, you gathered one last time, and left it as an invitation for any or all who wish to join in the protection of the Lord. Send your Holy Spirit upon this communion so that we might experience a moment of peace, and bless us with the nourishment we need along the way we pray. Amen. 

Hymns: Be Thou My Vision, Jesus Thy Boundless Love to Me, My Hope is Built on Nothing Less, Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us

Taize: Bless the Lord, My Soul, that leads me into life

For the Complete List of Narrative Lectionary Lent Resources can be found here including a way to receive a doc copy

Lent 2 Topical Prayer

Topical Prayer: God, this the time when Jerusalem needs more love and care. Jesus, you have been wandering for three years, and know that the moment you go to the prophet’s home of Jerusalem, you will be killed. How do you come to terms with that Jesus? And yet, I know that you are planting trees, and tending the sick ones with more space and more nourishment. I know that you respond to hate with love. It is for this reason you long to hug us under your wing. Please wrap us in your wings today. Give us nourishment and sanctuary so that we have enough love to produce fruit. Let us journey with Jesus towards Jerusalem we pray. 

For the Complete List of Narrative Lectionary Lent Resources can be found here including a way to receive a doc copy