confession: commodity god

Submitted by Rev. Scott Cervas, Meadowthorpe Presbyterian Church, Lexington, KY

God,
we’re not really sure what Simon and the others meant
when they told Jesus that “everyone” was looking for him.
Maybe they were trying to protect Jesus…
trying to keep him safe within their grasp…
as if he were some sort of commodity that belonged exclusively to them.
It would certainly make sense.
We often do that to you, as well…
as if the creator of all that is would be doomed without our witty, theological
comebacks to put the naysayers in their place.
Maybe we should spend less time trying to own you,
and more time trying to fully belong to you,
even now…as we offer our silent confessions…

Pastoral Prayer – Based on Psalm 111

Submitted by Laura Viau, Orlando, FL (MDiv student at University of Dubuque Theological Seminary)

With our whole hearts, we praise you, Lord.
We lift up our alleluias as people who gather to sing and proclaim,
As people who gather to confess and to remember Your redeeming work
As people who gather read and tell of your mighty works,
of your faithfulness and
of your grace.

All glory belongs to you, God.
You are gracious and compassionate.
You provide for us all that we need,
Remembering your promise to hear when we call,
To answer when we knock, and
To reveal yourself when we seek you.

You have revealed your power to us in so many ways:
You heal the sick
You calm the frightened
You bring peace to the grieving
You change the course of our lives

We ask that you reveal you power again today for those on our hearts and minds….

We lift these names to you. To you they are much more than names-
They are your precious children
They are parents, sisters, brothers, children, bosses, employees, aunts, uncles…
They are yours. You know every detail of their lives, far better than we do.
You know their needs.

We can trust you with our prayers,
not only because we know you have the power to answer,
but because we have seen that you are faithful and just.
The promises we claim today are the same as those your
people have claimed across the generations

Through your Son, you have redeemed your people.
You bring beauty and good from what we -in our brokenness and ignorance –
have intended for evil.
And in time, you will redeem the world,
Bringing an end to death
And the beginning of an eternity of worship
When every tribe, tongue and nation will sing songs of praise

Until then, we wait.

Help us not to spend our days looking up at the sky.
Send your Spirit that we might see the world as you do,
Fill us with your compassion for those in need
Of shelter, of a friend, or of an advocate
Send us to the brokenhearted, the discarded
and those who are hungry for the transformation only you can bring.

While our hearts cry Come Lord Jesus,
let our hands reveal your presence in the world we inhabit.

We ask these things in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray saying
Our Father, who art in heaven….

illumination: either way

God of newness,
we want to be ready…
we want to make room for you…
we want our lives to be changed by your advent.
So speak to us in our busy-ness and our quietness…
our uneven-ness and our level-ness…
our roughness and our smoothness…
so that, either way, your glory might be revealed to us.
Amen.

confession: speechless

We are filled with words;
and yet, it often seems as if we have nothing to say.
We like to speak when it serves our own purpose…
but we clam up when we’re asked to be prophetic.
We make excuses about disrupting the status quo…
or not wanting to risk our safe reputations.
The truth is…we are encouraged to speak out…
but all we can manage to say is, “What should I say?”
So give us transforming words…and empower us to speak them…

illumination: light

Holy God,
At times, we feel as if we’re completely in the dark.
We don’t recognize that your light is always around us,
Until we realize that it’s not that we’re standing in the dark…
It’s that our eyes are shut tight…
And our hands are placed firmly and completely over them.
So give us the courage to remove our hands from our face,
And to open our eyes…
So that we may see clearly, live fully, and serve freely…
Amen.

confession: passing blame

submitted by Rev. Scott Cervas, Meadowthorpe Presbyterian Church, based on the epistle reading, Romans 7:15-25a.

God…sometimes, there is nothing more freeing than to utter those six innocent words…The Devil Made Me Do It! Life is so much easier when we can avoid the blame for our own mistakes. The sooner we can turn everyone’s attention away from our weaknesses, the better. That’s what we think, anyway. We don’t like to be accused. We don’t like to be wrong. And we certainly don’t like to be guilty. So we pass the blame, and fail to get to the heart of the issue. Help us to claim our mistakes, to learn from them, to grow out of them, and to be transformed by your vision for our lives…

illumination: as if we are ready…

Submitted by Rev. Scott Cervas, Meadowthorpe Presbyterian Church

Holy God,
speak to us, as if we are ready to listen;
show us, as if we are ready to see;
and send us, as if we are ready to go and be and do.
Amen.

confession: move!

Submitted by Rev. Scott Cervas, Meadowthorpe Presbyterian Church

Spirit of God,
you move around us and we wave you away
as if you are a fly getting too close to our heads.
You move among us, but we all have different ideas…
different ways of doing things…
and so your perfectly chilling harmonics
are drowned out by our chaotic dissonance.
You move within us,
but sometimes we just aren’t willing to risk our own reputations
to embrace your radical vision.
But, deep down, we know that we need to move beyond ourselves…
we know that the church needs to move beyond itself.
So keep moving…keep moving around us, among us, and within us…
keep moving us so that we can be creators of movment in the world…
Amen.