Today's Offering

It's been a busy week around here. Lots of hospital style visits and follow-up. Rollin R's father died this past week, Fred N is in the hospital this morning, Neal V fell and busted his knee cap, Judy N spent time in the ER this week (is home now), little Parker C had a seizure and wound up in the PICU, and that's just the stuff off the top of my head this morning. You are welcome to pray for them all.

The sermon this morning will be my second in a row without any funny-ish anecdotes. Sorry! Sometimes a sermon doesn't lend itself to those things. I've never figured out if the funny story quotient is more determined by the topic or by the mood of the sermon-writer.

We will look at Mark's accounts of (or lack thereof) Jesus as a teacher. Mark's gospel often calls Jesus "teacher," but includes very little of Jesus' teaching words.

Today's prayer people are Dirk DiSantis (welcome, Dirk! @ 9:30, Bob Hall (welcome back, Bob) @ 11, and Craig Hardy continues to carry the load at the Table. Below are the prayers of Bobby and then Dirk.

Prayers of the Church for Grandview
1 February 2009

11am Service:
God of peace, God of creation, you control all. The sun that shines upon us, the cold that makes us bundle up, the wind that makes us seek shelter, the rain that falls on each of us, they are your creation and we are in the middle of it all.
We thank you for the Holy Scriptures, words of life, words of truth. In them Jesus speaks with authority, personal authority, Godly authority, and he acts swiftly, strongly, he knows what is right and addresses evil with the power of your name.
This is how we want to be, too. We want to be like Jesus. We want to be righteous. Our hearts aren’t pure by any means, but our intentions are often good, often lofty, often selfless. Our intentions…so often we talk a good game, but when it comes time to stand up against evil, we shrink away. When it comes time to acknowledge you and your kingdom, we find excuses, we are busy, we have other priorities…sometimes even inside the church.
Satan, himself, recognizes your greatness. Demons shriek and cry in your presence. They know where the true power lies, but we fool ourselves. We say that we follow you and then we go off like little children and focus on us.
Thanks be to You, O God. Thank you for your love, your forgiveness, that when we go off, you wait eagerly for our return. Thank you for your Son, Jesus the Christ, whose perfection was manifested in both word and deed. Thank you for his teachings, thank you for his strength, thank you for his compassion and his grace. His life and teachings continue to bless us daily. Help us become mature Christians, loving God, let our words and our deeds reflect each other. Let our words and deeds reflect Jesus Christ. Help us be people of action, people who know you and know your will and allow it to guide us.
Bless our enemies, Lord. Let them see your strength and power. Let them feel your love.
Turn your face toward us, Father. In the silence, we bring to you our Thanksgivings for you are a mighty God; we bring you our sorrows because you are a gentle God; we bring you our weaknesses and failings because you are a loving God; we lay before you our sins, because you are a merciful God.

Thank you for the mature Christians who serve your kingdom here and around the world. Bless the Downtown Christian Church. Bless them as they seek to serve you in word and deed. Bless their leaders and bless their ministries. Shine your light upon our missionaries, Lord, and let them know you are with them through their trials and joys. Allow your love to shine on them through us.
And now we pray together as Jesus taught us to pray:

9:30 am service:
Most gracious heavenly Father, Lord of all creation, we gather together before you now with humble spirit. We praise you and exalt you Father, for you are our strength and our song. Each day we have the privilege to behold the great and awesome wonders of your works with our own eyes. We get to experience the joy that comes from basking in your blessings. Thank you for these gifts.
God we offer ourselves in service to you, and we pray for your guidance. Grant us the courage to confess our sins and to seek your grace and forgiveness. And let your Spirit guide us in everything that we do and say. Integrate our actions, our behaviors and our words, let them be harmonious so that every single aspect of our lives is a reflection of your grace and love.
We desire to extend the good news of your kingdom to all people as you have commanded. Father use us here at home, or anywhere in the world, to seek out those who are living a life outside of Christ’s salvation. Instill in us a passion for reaching out to others in Christian love, so that many will come to know you.
We thank you for Johnson City’s Downtown Christian Church. We pray for your blessing on their ministry, their congregation, and their minister Eddie Fines. We pray too for those missionaries who have answered the call to go far away from home, who have left friends and family behind, in order to serve as you have called them. Please bless their ministry, and provide them with health, safety and security.
And though it may feel difficult, we pray with sincerity that you will bless our enemies. Let them know your love, because true peace is found only in your presence.
God please provide comfort against our pain; and grant us peace and strength against our suffering. You know so well the struggles each of us are dealing with, the problems within our families, our church, our community, our country, our world. Some are much greater than others. But your unfailing love is our comfort, and so we bring all burdens to you now, and lay them at your feet in this silence.
Guide our steps in the important work planned for us while we live our lives here on earth. Reveal your will for us so that our service brings glory to you almighty God.
Now we pray together using the prayer Christ taught us:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
They kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever, Amen