Offertory Prayer

Invitation to the Offering
The offering you made last week empowered ministry within our congregation and in response to the needs of our community. It also helped support the work of ministries beyond the local church that reach people who are in desperate need to hear the good news of love and redemption. Ministries that bring medical care to the poor and elderly in our own communities, following in the footsteps of Christ who sought to heal and give hope. I invite you once again to give generously as we worship God through the sharing of our gifts, tithes and offerings.
http://www.umcgiving.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=qwL6KkNWLrH&b=3935565&ct=12937633&notoc=1


June 23, 2013 — Fifth Sunday After Pentecost

God of the universe and God of our hearts, speak to us this morning in our giving with your still, small voice. Remind us who we are; remind us whose we are; remind us why we have chosen to follow your Son Jesus the Christ. As we share in this offering today, remind us that when we feel as if we are the last ones left who have not turned from you, that we are not alone. What we do, and what we give is multiplied with the compassion of others. Keep us faithful in that knowledge. We pray this in the name that is above all others, Jesus the Christ. Amen. (1 Kings 19:1-15a)

Written by Ken Sloan, Director of Stewardship for GBOD. http://www.gbod.org/lead-your-church/offertory-prayers

Monday, September 17, 2012

Welcoming, a Reflection on Mark 9:30-37

In last week's lesson from Mark, Jesus had told the disciples about the suffering he was to undergo and the requirement that following him also meant suffering. In this week's lesson, Jesus again tells his disciples that he will be betrayed and killed and will rise again.

Mark tells us that Jesus restricted this knowledge to the disciples because he didn't want anyone else to know it. I'm wondering if he really needed to be so restrictive about the information. After all, the disciples not only did not understand what he meant; they were afraid to ask him to explain it all to them.

Something apparently they did understand was priority. They argued about who was the greatest. Jesus answered this concern by giving a lesson and an example. An example that told them what greatest meant to him.

He said "Whoever wants to be first must be last and servant of all." He then showed them a little child and said, "When you welcome the weak and defenseless, you are welcoming me."

Not only are we great when we help the weak, we also see him in the weak.
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