Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC
O God, as we begin the Season of Lent, thank you for your cross in which we glory because it shall never fail or forsake us. Lo! It glows with peace and joy.
We pray that our focus on your cross during these 40 days will lead us into a deeper appreciation for what you have done for us when you offered your life for the sake of the world. As our hymn writer, John Bowring so beautifully expresses, may we each glory in the cross of Christ.
Your cross is what reminds us that you gave your all for us. Your cross is what reminds us that we are each a blessed, beloved, and beautiful child of God and there are no exceptions, asterisks, fine print, or loopholes.
May all of the different shapes of crosses that we focus on during these six Sundays of Lent; the Latin Cross, the Jerusalem Cross, the Tau Cross, the St. Andrew’s Cross, the Celtic Cross and the Crucifix, remind and reassure us that there is nothing that can ever separate us from your great love for us through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Today, we lift high the cross because it is the supreme symbol of your redemptive love for the world. We lift high the cross on behalf of those who are on our hearts and minds this day; those on our prayer list, those we have named, those who are in need of healing, those who are grieving the loss of a loved one, those who are feeling alone, those who are in need of guidance, those who have overdrawn bank accounts, those who are without hope. We pray that your cross which glows with peace and joy would remind all who see it of just how much you love them and care about their needs.
We pray all of this in the name of Christ who died on the cross, who rose again, and who invites us to pray together…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
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