Tomorrow's Offering

Tomorrow's sermon will focus on the impact Jesus had on John the Baptist. It's the first in a series of sermons what contact and/or a relationship with Jesus did to people. There is much left to be done on this sermon, but it will get done.

I spent a big chunk of yesterday at the emergency room. Please be in prayer for Micheal. He was working on his car when it backfired and caused a gasoline fire. He received 2nd and 3rd degree burns on the back of his hands, on his face, and on the top of his head. They flew him to Winston-Salem for further treatment. He has three beautiful daughters and a son (who had surgery this past week). Come to think of it, don't just pray for Micheal, pray for his wife and family as well. Special thanks to Fred Norris, Gene Nix, and Craig Hardy for coming to the emergency room as well. We are blessed at Grandview.

I've got to get back to work now (I'm missing the work day at church this morning). Here's tomorrow's prayer:

Prayers of the Church for Grandview
January 10, 2008

O God, surrounded by the rumble of your approval, the caress of your Holy Spirit, and the punctured heavens, your Son, Jesus, and your servant, John, shared a taste of your glorious light. Oh, that we might enjoy such visions of your presence! When we are in the wilderness of despair we yearn to see you roll up your sleeves, peal away the sacramental veils of heaven, and give us a glimpse of your grandeur. For such moments we give you praise.

O God, surrounded by the deafening absence of your voice, the empty touch of death, and the gaping loneliness of a prison cell, your servant, John, wondered aloud whether or not you were at work. Dangling from timber, cruelly configured as a cross, as you turned your face away, your Son wondered why you had forsaken him. Even for such moments as this we give you praise, even if we struggle with the faintness of that praise.

Lord, remember the promises of life and joy that you made to your people. Deliver on those promises; even as you help us to remember our promises to you; even as you give us the strength to be faithful to the promises we made in our baptisms and the promises we make when we gather around your table.

Forgive us when we mistake glitter for joy; when we exchange fidelity for fun; when we pursue your gifts instead of you.

We come before you with our usual requests. Some of them seem to go unnoticed and we grow weary. We don’t quit asking. Give a peaceful and timely death to those whose who are dying. Give strength and health to those who have grown weak through sickness. Give new life to those who have grown weary. Give comfort and peace to those who have suffered the piercing pain of grief. Give respite to your servants who have depleted themselves in your service. Give grace to sinners. Give fortification and protection for those who are standing in harm’s way.

Those are the gifts we seek. More than all of these, we just need you. In the silence, please give us of yourself.

silence

We gather our resolve and ask that you would bless our enemies, be they personal enemies or the kind that seek utterly to destroy us. May your grace flood their souls and ours as with one voice your people pray the prayer that your Son taught us: