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


Sunday, June 12, 2016

Pastoral Prayer (June 12) - Athens First UMC


[Emily helps at our Honduras mission trip pancake fundraiser at church this morning. I ordered mine, medium rare. This mission team will be be leaving for their trip on July 9.]

Yes, O God, make us servants so that we can make a new headline that reads that the hungry are being fed, the brokenhearted comforted, the homeless finding shelter, and injustice being overcome by your righteousness. Make us servants so that we can be the change that you want to see in our broken and hurting world.

Thank you for pancake fundraisers, for our First Saturday Community Outreach, for food pantries, for outdoor prayer crosses, for nursing home worship services, and for Sunday morning offerings that all help to make this world a better place. Help our church to be a place of hope in this community where there is so much need.

We are grateful to be part of a connectional church where our West Ohio Conference was able to contribute 3.6 million dollars to help stop the preventable disease of malaria, where we have been able to start new churches and revitalize existing ones, where we are able to deploy missionaries all around the world, and where we can do far more good together than we would ever be able to do alone. Thank you for being part of your connectional church, O God.

We continue to pray for families who have recently lost loved ones, for those who are feeling lonely or discouraged, for those who can barely make ends meet, and for those who are just in need of a friend. Help us to be that church where lives are transformed and where we are making a difference in our community and world.

We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ whose life, death, and resurrection makes all the difference in the world, and it is in his name that we pray together in unison the prayer that he taught us…

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”


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