Tomorrow's Offering

We continue in the sermon series that highlights men and women in scripture who took difficult stands. Tomorrow we spotlight David who could have killed King Saul while he was alone in a Porta-Cave. He could have justified it as self-defense and as a simple claiming the throne that God had promised him. David refused.

The prayer begins with an adaptation of Psalm 57, which is a Psalm of David that the Bible tells us was written when he had fled from Saul by hiding in a cave. I thought this would be an appropriate linking of a Psalm to the sermon and the prayer.

Tomorrow is the last Sunday before we add the third service. Things will change dramatically in just one week. If you're a Grandviewian reading this, tomorrow may be the last peaceful, easy, Sunday for awhile. Once the new service begins things will feel a little hectic for awile (one month? two?) as we seek a new rhythm.


Here's the prayer:

Prayers of the Church for Grandview

17 August 2008

Have mercy on us, O God, have mercy on us,
for in you our souls takes refuge.
We will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
We cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfills his purposes for us.
You send from heaven and save us,
rebuking those who hotly pursue us;

You send your love and your faithfulness.
We are in the midst of lions;
We lie among ravenous beasts—
people whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
They spread a net for our feet—
We were bowed down in distress.

They dug a pit in our path—
but they have fallen into it themselves.
Our hearts are steadfast, O God,
our hearts are steadfast;

We will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
We will awaken the dawn.
We will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;
We will sing of you among the peoples.

For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth

Remember the sick, the suffering, and the dying. Remember all who serve our safety by putting theirs at risk. Give stable governments to those who don’t have the protection that a stable government provides. Bless this nation. Bless our enemies. Continue to call all of us together into the kingdom of God, a nation of priests before your throne.

Remember those who are on our prayer list this morning, and those we name before you in the silence:

silence

Pure and holy and righteous are you, O Lord most high. You accomplish your will through blameless and honorable action. Forgive us when we compromise the integrity of our faith, when we embrace sinful ways in order to get what we want. By your Spirit, help us to love the ways of Jesus Christ our Savior, who taught us to pray: