prayers

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		prayers from the unworthy


	by Bill Butler 1989 et al. Before the taking of the Offering
1.	Lord, we thank you that you require no special qualifications of us to become your children. - not rules to follow - nor tasks to perform - ours simply is to accept your forgiveness how wonderful that is. Out of this spirit of gratitude we now come to return a portion of what you have so richly given us. Bless these offerings and purify them as they are used in your work. And Lord, bless us too. Amen
2.	Lord, we thank you for your many blessings upon us: for this season of rebirth for the freedom we enjoy in this country and for your most important gift to us -- your Son Lord we now return to you a portion of our financial resources. Accept these offerings in the spirit in which we bring them. In the name of your son we pray, Amen
3.	Listen to our words, O Lord and hear our sighs. Listen to our cry for help. Our God and King. We pray to you O Lord. We come to you unworthy--yet loved We come often unrepentant--yet your forgiveness is always waiting We come unthankful--yet knowing you are the true source of our being. Accept now our gifts, O God. And accept our selves. Remold us to be your children. In the name of your Son we pray, Amen
4.	Dear Lord Today, melodies of spring and summer dance through our heads. Fresh air, and birds, and flowers and grass are back. And we like it, and I like it. It makes me feel good again, alive, new. Once again warm air bathes our town. Your warmth has always been there, I know. But in my humanity, ironically, the very thing that makes me like You, I sometimes let myself forget. Thank you for this magnificent and awesome reminder of your constant presence and power that we call spring. It is in this spirit of thanksgiving that we now offer back to you just a part of what you have given us. Bless it, and us this day. Amen.
5.	Lord, sometimes we meet life, and life meets us with a great big resounding YES, and there is no question that life is good and You are real. Then at other times we just plod through the mire and wonder why God even bothered creating us in the first place, if this is what life is going to be like. Then - Someone thanks us for doing something that was hard to do. - Or someone gives us a hug that says "you really are a significant person to me." - Or we hold a newborn baby: that sometimes quiet sleeping little miracle. And then up through the mire, so softly we almost don't notice it, comes a quiet steady yes. Thank you God for the quiet steady yeses. Take our gifts, Lord, bless them more than we deserve. Amen.
6.	Lord, do you have servants less perfect than I? Are there people -- who pray less than I? -- who think less often of others? -- whose lives are less organized? I guess the answer is yes. but a more important answer than not being your worse child, is that it doesn't matter. You don't love us because of what we do, or even who we are. You just love us. Thank you. One way we can show gratitude for your love is by the gifts we now offer. Bless them and help us direct them to the advancement of your kingdom. In the name of your son we pray. Amen.
7.	We are reminded today of how delicate life is. Help us protect it's innocence and nurture it's gentleness. We are also reminded today of how robust life is. Help us rejoice when it surprises us with it's resilience, and help us take strength from it's consistency. Help us take strength from Your consistency. Help us to be thankful for Your consistency. Accept these gifts as thanks for that consistency, and hope for surprises in the days and years to come. In the name of Your son we pray. Amen
8.	Lord, How appropriate that in this season of anticipation of your coming... We anticipate the programs and missions of this church for the coming year. On this Advent Sunday of joy... May we know the joy of giving, the joy of being a financially nurturing part, of this contregation. Help us to put our treasures where neither moth nor rest doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: May we walk the "Way of Holiness" with our financial resources. Accept those that we now offer and bless us in response to our spirit and joy of giving. Amen
9.	Creator God, We come before you now asking you to bless the gifts we bring. We earn money, and we buy food and clothes for our selves. We buy houses. We rent apartments. We buy cars. All these things we need. All thes things we deserve. We give gifts to this church, we contribute to other charities, and yet people still go hungry, people still are cold, people are still lonely. Give us wisdom to know how much to give, Give us insight to know how to help. We come before you now asking you to bless the gifts we bring. In your sons name we pray. Amen.
10.	Lord, help us to see. Help us to see the need around us. Help us to see the resources that we have. Help us have the will to act. We ask blessings on these gifts that we now bring. We pray you bless them to be used for your work in your name. We pray you bless us, too. In your sons name we pray. Amen