A United Methodist Pastor's Theological Reflections

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory (nikos) through our Lord Jesus Christ." - I Corinthians 15:57


Monday, September 28, 2015

Pastoral Prayer (September 27) - Athens First UMC


God of amazing grace, thank you for always offering us your unconditional love in any given moment. Even when we err from your ways, you never stop loving us. You never stop offering to us your grace that is greater than our sins. You give to us more than we deserve, O God, and we are grateful.

Whenever we begin to think that we have a corner on your grace, remind us that your love extends to every single person, including the people who we consider to be outside our circle of beliefs. Whenever we see goodness being done by those who are within the faith and those who consider themselves to be outside the faith, may we rejoice in knowing that your grace and love are at work in many different ways throughout the world.

Thank you for sending Pope Francis to our country this past week and for his encouragement to be a blessing to all people and especially to those who are poor and who have little or no voice. May our country that is filled with so many material resources be good stewards of what we have been given. We long for the day when it won’t matter where a person is born to determine if that person will live or die at a young age. We long for the day when every newborn will have access to the basic necessities of life.

On this Sunday that we will be receiving an offering with the goal of providing ten PET bikes to people who are in need of transportation, thank you for calling this church in Athens, Ohio to make a difference. Thank you for calling us to share our gifts with others; not so that we can be awarded gold stars for our efforts, but so that we can share your grace with others.

In these moments, we also offer any personal joys and concerns to you silently…


We offer these silent prayers to you in the name of Christ who taught us to pray together saying, “Our Father…”

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