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, February 12, 2018

Pastoral Prayer (Feb. 11/Transfiguration Sunday) Athens First UMC



[Yesterday was Scout Sunday at our church. The scouts did a great job of helping to lead worship and serving as greeters. They are a blessing to our church! Also, when the pastor comes down with an illness the night before worship, it’s always great when someone can fill in even though it’s short notice. A big thank you to our Office Manager/Communications Director, Jenaye Hill for filling in by preaching and leading the worship services. She did a great job! Click here for the sermon.]


Dear God, we are wearing many different styles of clothing today. We’re wearing suits and ties, jeans and T-shirt’s, dresses and slacks, scout uniforms and choir robes. Thank you that we are a church where all are welcome and where outward appearances are not nearly as important as who we are on the inside. 

And so dear God, help us to not worry so much about what we wear on the outside but if we are wearing the clothing you care about like the clothing of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and most importantly, the clothing of love.

Lord Jesus, on this Transfiguration Sunday when we think about how your robe was shining as Moses and Elijah appeared with you on the mountain top, help each one of us to have a shining faith, a faith that reflects your glory, your splendor, and your majesty. Help us to have a shining faith that would lead others to not see us, but to see you and be drawn closer to you. O God, let us not leave church today without having touched your shining robe.

As we prepare for his upcoming Season of Lent where we will be exploring more of your robes and what they mean for us in growing in a closer relationship with you, bless our small groups, our Sunday School classes, our bible studies, and our daily time with you in scripture and prayer. Guide us in what it means in having a shining faith, a healing faith, a serving faith, a uniting faith, an honoring faith, a redeeming faith, and a living faith. Help us to touch each of these robes so that we would become the people you are calling us to be. 

O God, on this Scout Sunday, we offer a special prayer of blessing upon our scouts and scout leaders. Thank you for their presence each week here in our church. Thank you for their involvement in today’s worship service. Thank you for our outdoor prayer cross which they helped to build two years ago. Thank you for how they clean around our church every year as a service project. Thank you for all they do here in our community.

O Lord, you call us today to come and touch the shining robe of Jesus, even as we pray the words you taught us to say together…  “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

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