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Christ Church
United Methodist
Last updated:
October 27, 2008
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Prayer for Today
For strength to stand faithful - and not to fear,
For courage to commit to living love - and not to waver,
For wisdom to know words to speak - and words not to,
For measures to mercy to be giving - and not to grasp,
God of all time, in the name of your Son,
Send your Spirit, our Source for strength,
And make us equal to this time.
Amen.
By Roberta Porter
 I am depending
too utterly on my own strength. I act as if my knowledge were
complete and my own power sufficient. I forget to remember that
God is my strength and the source of the power without which
nothing is possible.
.
. . There is strength in God sufficient for my needs, whatever
they may be.
-
Howard Thurman |
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O
God of All the Ages
—
From time when water covered the earth
And life formed in the seas, depositing their treasures
fashioned into fossils and coral and layers of stone,
until today when we can delight in all creation.
We give you thanks.
 For
waters deep, canyons grand, caves mysterious;
For rocks sculptured as though a master carver had fashioned a
fantasyland,
Mountains painted as though an artist had used all the colors
on the palette,
Trees glimmering in the sunlight as though they were set on
fire,
Sunsets so glorious that there are only sighs of wonder,
Rolling waves that speak of eternity . . .
How can we creatures say . . .
Awe?
We grieve the plundering and pounding of
the earth in our time,
Digging and drilling the finite resources deep within this
treasured creation,
Spilling our waste into the seas,
Filling to overflowing our dumps with our greed,
Polluting the skies with our manufactured exhaust.
Forgive us, Lord.
We delight in the beauty of the
land,
The grandeur of the rugged peaks, the brilliance of red-rock
canyons,
The gurgling of mountain streams, the placidness of peaceful
lakes,
The gentle rocking of wind upon the water….
We give you thanks, O God.
We revel in the rest and renewal you
offer,
Space for the heart to care, freedom for the soul to
praise,
Still moments for spirit to speak, Sabbath for the mind, body
and spirit.
We give you thanks.
 O
God of all the ages….
You still are God –
A Presence,
A Source of Radiant Love,
And Wondrous Grace.
Gayle Pickrell
October 2003
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You
asked for my hands
That
you might use them for your purpose.
I gave them for a moment then withdrew them
For
the work was hard.
You
asked for my mouth
To
speak out against injustice.
I
gave you a whisper that I might not be accused.
You
asked for my eyes
To
see the pain of poverty.
I
closed them for I did not want to see.
You
asked for my life
That
you might work through me.
I
gave a small part that I might not get too involved.
Lord,
forgive my calculated efforts to serve you,
Only
when it is convenient for me to do so,
Only
in those places where it is safe to do so,
And
only with those who make it easy to do so.
Forgive
me,
Renew
me,
Send
me out
As
a usable instrument
That
I might take seriously
The
meaning of your cross.
-
Joe Seremane
,
South Africa
From Prayers
Encircling the World |
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