Communion Statement Christmas Day 2016

On this Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of a baby in the lowliest circumstances.  Born away from home in a stable, our Savior makes clear that material wealth is not his starting point.  Love is, a mother's love, a step-father's love.  Grown, Jesus' message is simple.  Love God and love people.On this Christmas Day, we need only obey Jesus command to love.

I was a Deist for many years, but today I believe in Jesus, God Incarnate, God in the flesh.  I started out on a Christian path to belief.  I was baptized as a baby in the Presbyterian Church thanks to the beliefs of my Presbyterian-Christian Scientist grandmother.  Later, I was dunked in a Baptist Church thanks to my Southern Baptist mother.  Unfortunately, that church destroyed my blossoming faith.  I walked away from Christianity as a teenager firmly believing that no intelligent person could be a Christian.

I was an adult holding a doctorate in chemistry before I found God in Jesus and intellectual challenge in Christianity.  I joined a liberal Baptist church that promptly split. With a dozen or so others, we started a new church.  The first Sunday, there were 60 people present.  Now it is a congregation of six thousand.  Over time, I found I was no longer in tune with the beliefs of that very vibrant, but theologically conservative, church.

I left and spent a year never going to church, but studying and contemplating my faith.  Eventually, I realized I needed a church home. God's grace led me to Central Christian.  Here I am accepted, just as any of you searching for a church home would be accepted.

My church is a Christian Church (Disciples of  Christ). We are part of a denomination that started in the United States in the early 1800's.  Our founders were Scottish immigrants who wished to break down denominational barriers.  Our church welcomes all who accept Jesus the Christ as their Savior, a Savior who as a child was refugee fleeing with his parents into Egypt. 

We are here on this Christmas Day to take Communion.  Disciples celebrate Communion every time we worship.  Everyone is invited to the Table because it is not our Table, it is the Lord's Table.  Jesus opens his arms to everyone to come and be one with him. 

God and people meet at the Table and something happens.  At the Table, we touch eternity. At the table, God gives love, forgiveness, acceptance and we receive.  In prayer we go to God.  In Communion, God comes to us.  We are not learning something, or remembering something, but doing something–we are meeting God.

(The last paragraph is adapted from A Communion Meditation by Myron J. Taylor.)

Offertory Invitation July 3

Giving to the church is a very private exercise, especially nowadays when we can give electronically.  Yet, we perform a very public act of worship every Sunday when we collect offerings.  Some churches invite persons who make their gifts electronically – weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually – to participate in The Offertory by simply dropping a one-dollar bill into the plate each week.   It is a celebratory practice in those churches, in one called the Hallelujah Dollar.  In this way, the church benefits from electronic giving, yet encourages a meaningful way to make giving an act of worship.   I have resolved to be a participant in The Offertory every Sunday by putting a dollar in the plate.  I urge you to do the same.  With that dollar, I will be part of this worship experience, this offering.  The deacons will now collect the offering.

Offertory Prayer July 3, 2016

Dear God, eternity's proprietor,  
Today's offering is yours 
Before it is given 
Because all creation is yours. 
Teach us how to first think of you

When we think for ourselves,
Let us understand that being able to give monetarily,  
No matter the amount, 
Is a gift of your grace. 
With our offerings we pay homage to you, 
Creator, Word and Love.

Amen.

Communion Statement on Memorial Day

How fitting on Memorial Day we come to the Memorial Table. When it is my opportunity to give the Communion Statement,I prefer to share something positive, something uplifting. I cannot today because on Memorial Day I remember my generations war,a war that claimed over 58,000 lives.  I remember Vietnam.  I remember a young man, just out of high school,wwho chose to volunteer instead of going to college or waiting for the draft.  He died on patrol one week after being deployed in Vietnam.\

On Memorial Day, we remember service men and women, who like my high school friend, gave their lives to secure and protect the freedom we have in this country.  As we come to the Lord's Table, we remember Christ gave his life for us. In remembrance, let us live to be his hands in this world today.

Communion Prayer for January 10, 2016.

Join me now in prayer.

Creator, the center of all existence,

Holy Spirit, our Companion while we live,
I treasure your love.

But the man in the upper room
Sharing bread and wine with his friends,

Chose to live as we do.

To pour as much of himself as he could
Into a human vessel.

Fully God, Fully human.

He gave himself to us

In the simplest necessities of life:

Food and drink,
So that we would remember him.

Jesus, Savior.

We remember you now.

Amen.

Epiphany

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea

In the days of Herod, the king,

Behold there came wise men from the east..."

The Bible does not count the wise men,

But we do.

Why?

Are we so determine to quantify the world

That we ignore quality?

We look to wealth 
To define standing in our community. 
God looks to how we treat
The least among us.

The wise men brought three gifts:

Gold for virtue and kingship
 Frankincense for prayer and priestship. 
Myrrh for suffering and death.

Christmas is over,

But this is the day to offer gifts to Jesus.

What can we offer God, 
The author of Creation? 
What he most wants: 
Love,

Faith,

 Obedience. 
Our prayer this day must be:

Lord, make me a servant in your image,

Today, tomorrow and forever.

New Year's Resolutions

"Finally, brethren, what ever things are true,

Whatever things are honest,

Whatever things are just,

Whatever things are pure,

Whatever things are lovely,

Whatever things are of good report:

If there be virtue, and if there be any praise,

Think on these things."

Paul speaks to us through the ages

With his guide to New Year's resolutions.

In 2015,

Let us search for truth,

Focus on being honest, not only with others,

But with ourselves.

Support justice

For the least of these brothers of mine.

Strive to not be harsh or cruel

To those around us

And affirm the hopes and dreams of others.

Let us

Focus on the beauty within,

Fill our minds with hope,

Shun that which diminishes others,

Praise those who do right.

May we turn to God in prayer 

When our world grows dark

And

Remember

That we are not alone.

Christmas Invitation to Communion

I come to invite you to join us

In Communion.

Our statement of identity says that:

"We are Disciples of Christ

A movement for wholeness

In a fragmented world.

As part of the one body of Christ,

We welcome all to the Lord's Table

As God has welcomed us."

When I think of Christmas,

The baby in the manger,

I am not surprised that we all love this holiday

Despite its commercialization and too often, frantic pace.

We remember that

God came as a baby.

We  can hold a baby.  We could hold God.

I think deep within in each of us
Is the desire to be in control.

God as a baby gives us control

And sets Christmas in a special place.

But Christmas leads us to Easter,

And a Savior who did not conquer by might

But became the Lamb of God,

A living sacrifice,

Out of our control.

When we take the bread and wine,

We follow Jesus' command:
"Do this in remembrance of me."

In Communion,
God is in control.

I feel at peace with myself

When I take the bread and cup

And know that I do God's will.

That now the Christ holds me.

Join us at the Lord's Table.

Let Jesus cradle you.

Communion Prayer November 2,2014

Dear Lord,

Creator, Word, and Love,

You spoke creation into existence.

Chose to walk this earth in human form,

And to dwell with us now.

As we take this bread and wine,

We follow our Savior's command

To do this

"In remembrance of Me."

Bless this congregation

And make those in it the servants you need.

Let us work together in your love,

To make the world around us what you want

For we are your hands in this place.

In Jesus name we pray,

Amen.

No More Disease

Creator of Life,
Whose being fills the Universe,
You fill me with awe.
All creation bows to you.
Nourish me with knowledge.
Protect me from the fear of the unknown.
Help me protect others from society's created fears.
Deliver me into eternity
As my mother delivered me into this world.
Let the learning that you impart

Through the toil of countless scientists,
Deliver a world free of disease, of suffering.
For you are the Infinite Mind,
All knowing, all powerful,
All Love.

The Lost Sheep

"The Lord is my Shepherd..."

Those words echo in the soul of every Christian.

But too often I feel

Like a sheep that has wandered astray:

Alone,

Lost,

Afraid.

Let me be a sheep in God's fold:

Warm,

Secure,

Surrounded by others.

If that cannot be,

Then let me remember

The parable of the lost sheep:

That the Shepherd will leave the ninety and nine

To look for the lost one.

Look for me, O Lord.

Offertory Prayer August 24, 2014

Romans 12:1-8 

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. ³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness

 

Dear God, Speaker of Life,
Today's offering is yours
Before it is given
Because all is your creation.
Teach us how to not think too highly of ourselves
But to use so sober judgment to know our souls.
Let us understand that being able to give monetarily,
No matter the amount,
Is a gift of your grace.
With all our offerings we pay homage to you,
Creator, Word and Love.

For yours is the infinite
Time unending.

Amen.

Communion Prayer for June 15, 2014

Dear God,

Forgiver of our sins,

As we take the bread

And the wine,

Let us remember
Christ's unrelenting love.

Help us to forgive others

Because we have been forgiven.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.

Easter 2014

My church day started with communion preparation.

Nine trays to be filled.

My duty this Sunday.

 My church celebrates the risen Christ

With the bread and wine

Of remembrance.

Next came an Easter egg hunt

Open to all in our city.

We are a church with few children

Except on Easter morning

When young voices echo

Through our old building.

Finally, organ music swelled.

The most joyous service of the year had begun.

Christ is risen!

The minister proclaimed from the pulpit

As he opened with a prayer.

I waited for the joy

That comes on Easter,

But it was not there.

Had I been too caught up

In the mundane

To know this day's exultation?

Then the choir sang

"He Is Not Here!"

As that anthem echoed through sanctuary,

My scalp tingled.

I stood outside Jerusalem

Gazing at an empty tomb,

Knowing that the world had been transformed.

He is risen!

And we all rise with him.

 

The Saturday before Easter Death Reigns

On this day,

Jesus is dead.
His body lies
In a dank, stone hole
Sealed against the light.
A part of God is dead.  
The Trinity is broken.
The Creator holds the breath of life,

But the stench of death

Fills the tomb. 
Without the Word, 
The Comforter is bereft.
Tomorrow,
Life will conquer death.
Jesus will rise
With the promise
Of resurrection for all,
But not this day.
This day death reigns.

Good Friday 2014

Why is it called Good Friday?

I have heard many answers.

None satisfy.

Jesus, the Word made flesh, God incarnate,

Died on a Friday, 
The day after he shared the Passover meal  
With those closest to him.

Fully human.

So human that he suffered just as we would

Nailed to a cross 
After a brutal flogging.

We recoil in horror

At his death

And think it took so long.

Six hours.

Most crucified took days to die.

Was Pilate's flogging a blessing

That gave a swifter death?

Fully God,

Who had never known death.

All creation gone before had drunk

Of that bitter cup,

But God had not.

God died on that first Good Friday,

As much of God

As could exist in human form.

A maimed, lifeless body was laid in

The cold stone tomb.

Love's breath stilled.

 Heaven wept.

Creation waited. 

Palm Sunday 2014

Children scurry down the aisles

Of churches small and large

Waving green palm fronds in the air

In memory of 

Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem
On what we now call Palm Sunday. 
On that day so long ago

The crowd spread cloaks and palm leaves

Before  Jesus' donkey's feet.

 People exulted.

Hosannas filled the air.

Soon the Romans would be gone,

They believed.

Jerusalem would be theirs alone.
But Jesus had warned them
That was not his message.
He came to usher in  God's kingdom
Not to fight the Romans.

As the days passed,
The cries of joy faded,
Turned to shouts of anger

By the High Priest's perfidy.

Christ was

Arrested,

Condemned

And

Crucified.

His body placed in a tomb.

Did Jesus know what was to come

As he rode into Jerusalem?

I think he did.

And still he came to Jerusalem

For God.
For us.

Communion Prayer for April 6, 2014

Romans 8:6-11

⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life^[a] because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of^[b] his Spirit who lives in you.

Dear Lord,

We come to share the bread and wine

In celebration and remembrance of you.

     The passage from Romans we read today 

Reminds us that You sent Your Spirit

To dwell within us and

Give us life and peace.

So we know

As we eat the bread and drink the wine

The Comforter joins us.

Amen.

Communion Prayer March 2, 2014

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. ² And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³ Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I^[a] will make three dwellings^[b] here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved;^[c] with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” ⁸ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead. (Matthew 17:1-9

Transfiguration by Alexandr Ivanov, 1824

Dear Lord, 

We come on this Transfiguration Sunday

To share the bread and wine

In celebration and remembrance of you.

The Creator called you :" Beloved."

We call you "Savior."

Let this bread and wine remind us

Of your glory,

Of your love,

Of your sacrifice,

Of your words to Peter, James and John:

"Do not be afraid,"

Amen.

Offeratory Prayer March 2, 2014

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. ² And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³ Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I^[a] will make three dwellings^[b] here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved;^[c] with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” ⁸ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead. (Matthew 17:1-9 )

Transfiguration by Alexandr Ivanov, 1824

Dear Lord,  I know

That when you came down

From the Mount of Transfiguration

You entered into a world of suffering

And immediately healed a young man,

We cannot heal as you did,

But we can give our treasure and our time

To your service.

Bless what we lay before you,

And use it for the benefit of your kingdom.

In Jesus name I pray.

Amen.