Prayer for Today, Tuesday, January 10

Divine Presence,

Some of us have been in our church from a long time. Others are new on the scene and they move easily into shared mission and ministry. Other newcomers find it difficult to “plug in”. Some come with high hopes, expectation and energy, only to encounter the necessity for levels of “approval” or the phrase “we never did it that way before”. Their enthusiasm and hope quickly fade and they live on the margins or move elsewhere. Forgive us, Loving God, when we think “our way” is the only way and our response to new possibilities is unyielding. Forgive us, Giving God, when we become impatient with the status quo and demand changes. May Your spirit dwell with us. May we celebrate the wonderful tradition we have inherited, but may we also embrace the moving and flowing aspect of faith as we pass the baton to future generations. When our experience of You is static, then our faith is weak. When our experience of You is dynamic, then our faith is alive and contagious, regardless of our years. Be present to us in all consuming ways , we pray. May the fire of the Holy Spirit abound in our midst. We pray this prayer in Jesus’ name. AMEN.

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Gary Hula was dismissed from St. Mary’s yesterday and is now recovering at home. I have yet to hear about Bertie Krausse. Please continue to pray for Gary and Bertie.

Ila Crain is in St. Mary’s and will move to the skilled nursing unit, probably today. She is battling a severe infection. Please pray for Ila.

We continue to lift up Randy Conrady in our prayers. He is at Greenbriar Nursing Home. His family is seeking other opinions concerning his condition and treatment.

Will and Judie Stocks moved to Oklahoma City a few weeks ago. We received word that Will recently received a pacemaker.

Also a neighbor is facing difficult decisions about a daughter with a drug addiction who also has three children. Please offer special prayers for this family.  

Remember your assignment. Please write a paragraph answering the question “Why am I a Christian” and a second paragraph answering the question “Why am I a part of Central Christian Church?” Bring or email your responses to me. I know it isn’t easy and I am not looking for flowery answers, just answers from the heart.

I really want 2012 to be the year of “Sharing our Faith”. In that regard I am doing a sermon series entitled “Talking Faith”. These sermons that I preach (in the sanctuary or R & R) are being recorded. I am repeating the link of Sunday’s sermon in this email. It is  “Talking_Faith:_What_I_Need_To_Know?” .

I discovered the link works only when you view this email in your browser. To do that click on the link at the top, right side of this page. Once you are viewing the email in your browser you can then click  “Talking_Faith:_What_I_Need_To_Know?”  to hear the sermon. This is a way for me to share my thoughts with the entire congregation.

The scripture for today is Mark_4:35-41

Grace and peace,

John McLemore