Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of November 1, 2023
Rev. Catherine Nance
O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ….
We often begin our prayers recalling our spiritual roots began before the birth of Jesus
O God, Creator of the Universe …
We often begin our prayers recalling your love and desire for humans began before there were any names to call.
O God, Revealed to us in Jesus Christ …
We often begin our prayers acknowledging that You and the Savior are One.
O God, whose Holy Spirit hovers over us and in us ….
We often begin our prayers acknowledging the mystery of your omnipresence
But now, O God, we will just leave it at that: O God.
O God, who understand the limits of our language. And the complexities. And the tyranny.
If we say God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob … some will hear we are making a political statement about Israel;
If we say God of the Universe, some will hear that we do not believe you are involved in our daily living;
If we say God who is in Jesus, some will think we are excluding prayers for those who do not call on the name of Jesus.
O God … how did even prayer become so weighted and measured and suspect?
How about …. O God, who knows the name of every child.
Surely that is a way we can all begin our prayer. O God ….
You know the name the name of every child who has died in war or from illness or violence or hunger.
You know the name of every child who is afraid.
You know the name of every child who is struggling at school
You know the name of every child who has experienced joy this day.
O God, who knows our name, we pray for the children whose names we do not know.
O God, who knows their names, we pray for the children who are close to us.
O God, who welcomes the least of these, hear our prayers.
We pray for all children everywhere and for these requests from our church family ….
We pray for ….
- Friends who are going through difficult times
- A member recovering from surgery
- A husband who is now under hospice care; prayers for wife and friends
- A family grieving the death of husband/father after a long illness
- Continued healing and strength for a husband/father as he recovers from procedures and treatments
- A couple praying and hoping for a baby
- Those who are caring for aging parents and the struggles in relationships that occur
- A member recovering from emergency surgery out of town; may she regain her strength!
- The violence to stop in our world! We pray for peace in all the world. Dear God, please take the hate out of people’s hearts!
- A couple managing the ups and downs of living with dementia and adjusting to new medications.
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for …
- A college student who is having a good semester and has come such a long way; thankful for parents and support group
- Scientists who do research that brings healing to our bodies and hope for our world
- My Sunday School class
- Granddaughter is recovering from surgery
- That a young father/husband is back home with family
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.
All are welcome at Church Street! We believe every person is of sacred worth and created in God’s image. We welcome and celebrate the gifts God has given to all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender, disability, status, economic condition, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious affiliation. We respect diversity of opinion and expressions of Christian faith. We believe God loves everyone unconditionally! As God loves us, so let us love and serve in the name of Christ.
Behold, Your God!
advent, FeaturedDaily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Tuesday, December 5
By Rev. Jim Bailes, Retired Associate Pastor
Behold, Our God!
Read: Isaiah 40:9
“The way we conceive of the future sculpts the present, gives contour and tone to nearly every action and through the day. If our sense of future is weak, we live listlessly. Much emotional and mental illness and most suicides occur among men and women who feel that they have no future.” – Eugene Peterson, The Message, Introduction to 1 and 2 Thessalonians
We just may know the profound truth of Eugene Peterson’s life observation. From scripture, reason, tradition, and especially our personal life experience, we just may know the connection between despair of the future and pain in the present. Looking ahead and anticipating conflicts, sufferings, injustice, death, whatever, may stifle if not thwart any possibility of present peace and joy. Moreover, at times it may seem near impossible to anticipate the future with anything but fear, anxiety, and despair. Personal, family, societal, political, global, and environmental fears seem to be racing into our present.
The Biblical people consistently had life reasons to have a weak sense of a positive future, obviously so in the prophetic book of Isaiah. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophetic books are written in the context of exile. God’s covenant people have again been invaded, defeated, with many of them taken into exile by the Babylonians. Historian John Bright says, “At this point darkness descended upon the people of Israel.”
Then God speaks through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 40. “Comfort, comfort, my people, says your God! Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” (40:1-2). God later says, “get up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, BEHOLD YOUR GOD!” (40:9).
God invites God’s people to look out into the future, to view what lies before them. God proclaims they will behold, they will experience God!
Advent means coming, specifically God’s coming. Something is about to happen! Someone is about to come! God! Ours is an Adventist faith. That is, we not only remember God’s activity in the past, we not only experience God in the present, we also faithfully anticipate God’s coming in the future! In the Christ-child! In the Kingdom of God! In each and every future moment through God’s Holy Spirit!
Eugene Peterson continues his introduction, “The Christian faith has always been characterized by a strong and focused sense of future.” Indeed! May God in Christ grant us “a strong and focused sense of future.” May we go forth in Advent expectation, anticipation, and hope. May we look into our future and proclaim, “Behold! God!”
Prayer
Gracious God, grant us the faith to accept, to believe, and to live in Your promises of Your Advent. Enable us to anticipate joyfully your Advent in the Christ child, in the Kingdom of God, in the very next months. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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What Are We Waiting For?
advent, FeaturedDaily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Monday, December 4
By Steve Richardson
What Are We Waiting For?
Read: Mark 1:1-4
… As it is written in the prophet Isaiah … “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
Waiting. It’s one of those things encountered by every human being. Waiting is not only frequent and unavoidable throughout our lives, sometimes it’s not desirable. Maybe one of the things in heaven that will be different than Earth will be the nonexistence of waiting. Even better: Because heaven is an eternal realm, waiting won’t really matter!
Some waits can be expected. Those can be easier to deal with, compared to waits that are unforeseen or seemingly unnecessary. When waits are expected or predictable, we can plan for them. We arrange other things on the schedule around the waiting, and we line up other things to make good use of the time while waiting. (A good example: When waiting to see a doctor, I worked on this devotion). For such times, you might say we actively wait.
There’s also the notion of expectant waiting. After all, waiting implies that something else is going to come or happen. Like a shadow, the future attaches itself to waiting. Waiting and a future expectation are inseparable.
The season of Advent can be energized and enriched when we make it a time of active and expectant waiting, especially when our activities and expectations are keyed to the blessing of God coming to dwell among us. As Mother Teresa advised: “At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving others with God’s own love and concern.”
There’s no shortage of ways to love and serve others. Even prayer and/or meditation can be active and productive. There’s no need to wait to get started. May our days of Advent be blessed by acts to further build God’s kingdom on Earth as it is in heaven.
Prayer
God of grace, even during our idle times, lead our minds and hearts to ways of glorifying you through prayers, presence, service, gifts and witness to others. Amen.
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Christmas! Umm, No, Wait
advent, FeaturedDaily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Sunday, December 3, Evening
By Rev. Andy Ferguson, Retired Senior Pastor
Christmas! Umm, No, Wait
Read: Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God… to a maiden engaged to a man whose name was Joseph. The maiden’s name was Mary.
When Celia told me, years ago, that we might be having a baby, my mind began to race. Will this be a boy or girl? What name will we give the child? Do parents have a right to impose a name on a child? (Yes, I actually wondered.)
Our two children were born before the gender was easily discovered during prenatal check-ups. The women, of course, had ways of predicting whether boy or girl; mainly their guesses were just to pass the time. We could not know until delivery. Gabriel told Mary that day that her child would be a boy – the first gender-reveal party in history.
Gabriel further told Mary, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High …” He assured Mary that the world will be changed by her child. But on the day Gabriel appeared to Mary with this wonderful news, all the promises of greatness were just that: promises. In the meantime … For the coming nine months …” For years and even lifetimes to come … the world will look pretty much the same. Problems, bills, pandemics and worries will roll over her (and us) until the child is born. After that, she will wait until he steps onto the world stage.
We begin Advent today. It is a season of such promise! But, umm, no, wait. Wait for Christmas Day. Wait for the Cross. Wait for Christ to return in fullness. This is the season of waiting. God’s promise has been given, and hope was conceived that day. Now, we wait for the fullness. We wait busy with hopeful patience.
Prayer
Lord, your great promise has been given by the angel. Wait with us until we see the promise of Christ in all its fullness. We wait impatiently to sing with the angels, “Joy to the world; the Lord is come!”
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Magic Word
advent, FeaturedDaily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Sunday, December 3
By Rev. Catherine Nance
Magic Word
Read: Isaiah 64:1
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence!
My mind goes back to early 70’s Saturday morning TV. For us pre-teens and early teens, there was a ‘real people show,’ – not a cartoon. Billy Batson was the main character, a teenager, who was granted powers from the ‘immortals.’ Whenever there was a crisis at hand or some wrong that needed to be set right, Billy would hop out of the RV that was being driven by his mentor, run to an open space, look up to the heavens, close his eyes, and yell, SHAZAM!
Claps of thunder! Lightning flash! SHAZAM! Billy was transformed into Captain Marvel! And all was right with the world. Well, at least in the community where Billy was.
It is hard to put away childhood fantasies, especially this time of year. We want flashy miracles and quick resolutions to problems. I imagine the prophet, Isaiah, looking up to the heavens with arms outstretched, fists clenched perhaps, and yelling, “Just come down here!! TEAR OPEN THE HEAVENS!”
Isaiah accuses God of hiding from the people because of how we have sinned; God must be angry with us and is staying away. On this first day of Advent, I trust in a God who is not hiding. I trust in a God who has already forgiven and redeemed us. I trust in a God who desires to be with us.
God did in fact tear open the heavens, but there was no lightning! Only moonlight. No sounds of thunder. Only a baby’s cry and the lowing of animals. I look forward to our Advent journey together as we stay alert and watch for how God is already at work. The word of power is Immanuel. God with us!
Prayer
O God who continues to reveal yourself to us, open our eyes that we might see you ways that the world does not expect. Thank you, for always seeking us. May we be ready! In Jesus’s name, Amen!
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Weekly Prayer – November 29, 2023
Featured, prayer for todayWeekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of November 29, 2023
Rev. Jan Buxton Wade
Holy and Elusive God, we enter your presence in these moments because we desire to know your truth. We seek to comprehend the whole of you, often trying to define you with names and attributes. Yet our spiritual impulses never quite reach their goal, for you are always the “otherness” beyond our comprehension. You, O Lord, cannot be contained. Still, when we gather as one body in the quiet of your sacred space, we sense your loving presence. And somehow, it is enough. Cloak us with that same loving presence this night, we pray. We may be scattered, but ever remain one body, fixed by Christ himself.
Holy and Unwavering God, in this mire of mixed messages, we often feel overwhelmed. At times we barely find our own voice amid the clamor of each day’s discouraging news. Help us, we pray, in this time of war and unrelenting troubles, to pay attention. Help us notice which words and images are forming us and our families. Help us use our ears to hear words that uplift, never disparage. Help us gain courage to challenge falsehood, to distinguish honesty from hypocrisy. Help us live as those who carry the handprint of Christ upon their hearts.
Holy and Astonishing God, whether we perceive it or not, truly you are hidden in the pockets of our everyday lives, ever offering your benevolence. We praise you for that closeness that does not disappoint. And so we bow before you in gratitude now, acknowledging the ways in which you stir our hearts:
Accept also these petitions from our congregation who have asked to be remembered:
We pray for ….
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for …
Holy and Timeless God, gather up all the prayers of our hearts, and use them to bind us securely to you. Remembering the call of your prophets, the commitment of our ancestors, and our very own promises of loyalty to you alone, we re–dedicate ourselves to you in this hour, offering all our prayers in the name of Jesus, the Ever-Present One, who taught us to pray:
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.
Have a Prayer Request?
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December Update
YouthSunday Schedule:
Worship – 8:30AM & 11:00AM
Sunday school – 9:45-10:45AM
NightLife – 5:00-7:00PM (begins 8.27)
At a glance…
Advent Craft Festival
This coming Sunday, our Children’s Ministry is hosting the annual Advent Craft Festival. This is a fun event for the whole family, and you’ll leave with some fun crafts to help you prepare your heart and home for the Advent season.
We’ll begin with a potluck dinner in Parish Hall at 5:00 and move to the Gym for crafts at 5:45. There are lots of crafts to complete, so Ms. Katryn needs lots of hands to help our younger friends! If you are interested in serving, contact her kbancroft@churchstreetumc.org or (865) 256-46-36.
Youth Christmas Party
On Sunday, December 10, we will have our annual Christmas Party in the Youth Area. We’ll begin immediately following 11:00 worship and pick up will be at 2:30.
We’ll have a pasta lunch, sing Christmas carols, and have a White Elephant gift exchange ($5-$10 limit). See you there!
P.S. Any parents who would be willing to help set-up, please let Jenny know!
Resurrection Registration
Each January, we travel to Pigeon Forge for Holston Conference’s youth event, Resurrection. Join us January 19-21 as we join other youth groups for worship and fellowship. We’re staying in the Big Elk Lodge with Hearthside Cabin Rentals.
Earlybird Registration: Dec. 6 – $115
Final Registration: Dec. 13 – $135
To learn more, visit resurrectionyouth.com. And for questions, contact Jenny!
Resurrection Registration
Have you viewed our page on Church Street’s website? Check it out!
Jenny Cross, Youth Director
jcross@churchstreetumc.org
Weekly Prayer – November 22, 2023
Featured, prayer for todayWeekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of November 22, 2023
Rev. Catherine Nance
God is great; God is good. Let us thank God for our food. Amen.
We learned this prayer at an early age, O God. Eyes closed, head bowed, hands folded. We were not even sure who ‘God’ was, but we knew we were supposed to say this before we ate.
We thank you for children’s prayer books and Sunday School teachers who later explained that it was you, O God, who made corn to grow and who gave the farmers strength to harvest the land. As we have grown in years and wisdom (hopefully) we understand that you are the Source of Life. We also know you care for each person who has a hand in preparing our Thanksgiving meal this weekend … farmers, migrant workers, truck drivers, warehouse employees, scientists, nutritionists, restaurant owners and workers, chefs, grocery store owners and workers and stockers ….
Thank you, God who knows each name, for inviting each of us into your love. When we pause to say God is great, may our gratitude open our hearts even more to receive your love and your vision for your world.
We pray fervently for peace; we pray for those leaders who are negotiating a break in the fighting for release of hostages. We pray fervently for those who have opportunity to gather in conversation and find ways to live alongside one another. We pray with tearful hearts for children, babies, that they might know safety and comfort. God is great, God is good. O Lord, we do believe that! May your spirit move in the hearts of angry and bitter leaders so that they might bring healing to their communities.
God is great; God is good. We know so many who are praying for healing. We pray that they would know your peace first of all. We pray that they would trust that you desire wholeness for them and are working in and with others. We thank you for doctors and health care professionals who take the time to listen to us and hear about what ails us.
God is great; God is good. Even for folks who are grieving this holiday, may they trust even in grief they know that love does not end. We hurt so much when a loved one dies; thank you for understanding that hurt and not asking us to pretend otherwise.
God is great; God is good. We are grateful for opportunities to feed others in our community. We pray for all who are worried about food this season. Forgive us when we assume that ‘there is plenty of food,’ also means that distribution is possible. Help our agencies and ministries work together to ensure that all have enough to eat.
God is great; God is good. Thank you for the relationships we hold dear.
We pray for ….
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for …
Thank you for this church and for all the saints who join us in praying, Our Father, who art in heaven …
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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Weekly Prayer – November 15, 2023
Featured, prayer for todayWeekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of November 11, 2023
Rev. Tim Best
Gracious Lord,
Thank you for the overwhelming abundance of your love. In your love we discover that we need not try to save ourselves. We hear the voices of the world around us speaking doubt and fear. It is so tempting to place our trust in ourselves alone. We hear words like “self-reliance” and some of us brim with pride thinking of all that we have accomplished. We can list our strengths with speed skill. Others hear those words and are overwhelmed by shame and defeat. Those who have required more help, more support, and more effort feel less than a full self, because they have had to rely on others.
Help us all discover, with a sense of great joy, the gift that is your support and care. We have been created for community, for relationship, and for belonging found in you. You have Created us, and sustained us through the trials and difficulties that we have encountered. Through Christ you have delivered us from the power of Sin and Death. Where our efforts ended in no way, you in your mercy made a way and brought us into abundant life. Where we see others struggling, alone, and suffering, use this church family and its members as witnesses to your salvation.
We pray for our community. We pray for those that are ill, suffering, or alone. Be with all those who feel helpless or desperate. Reveal in each of us, now matter how strong
we might feel, our need for you. We pray for those who grieve and mourn. We pray for those who do not have enough to eat, and for those who may have plenty to eat, but have no one with whom to share it all. We pray for those who look towards Thanksgiving with pain and anxiety in their hearts. We pray for those who will long to be with loved ones, but cannot, and for those who are worried up gathering with those they are not sure really love them. Grant each of these your peace.
We pray for our world. Our hearts break and our heads hurt as we wrestle with the ongoing violence and suffering in our world. We turn to your son, the prince of Peace and the Lord of Life, and wait for that day when he will end all war and death. Be at work in the hearts of every leader of every nation. The only peace we can trust is the peace promised through Christ’s kingdom. Deliver us from our slavery to war and violence, and initiate your reign of peace.
As you delivered your people from Egypt and sustained them in the wilderness, deliver and sustain us. Grant that we would wait with faithful expectation for the day when we shall be led out of the wilderness. Until that day, nurture and protect us.
We pray for ….
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for …
We pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who taught us to pray…..
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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Weekly Prayer – November 8, 2023
Featured, prayer for todayWeekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of November 8, 2023
Steve Richardson
God in heaven and in our midst, we come to you with our prayers, trusting fully in your grace and mercy to receive them.
Your handiwork placed this Earth in its position so we can thrive from the brightness and energy of our sun. As you arranged, on our half of the globe we continue to see the daylight shorten and the nighttime lengthen, and we know the coolness of fall and winter seasons will surround us for the next several months. Still, God, we delight in the changing seasons. Each one brings its beauty and majesty of your creative design. Thank you, God, for the richness of your creation.
Yet, we are troubled, God. Across the world – and even right here in our own neighborhoods – undeserved unrest and suffering afflict so many people. We look to you to fix things. But keep us mindful that we are instruments of your peace, and we are capable and equipped to help fix many problems, especially those that are stained by injustice, selfishness, greed, lack of compassion, oppression, neglect, abuse and other forms of human-infused iniquity. Forgive us when we may be complicit in causing such problems. And inspire us to get to work – – to the fundamental work of loving one another, just as Jesus told us to do.
As you certainly know, though, other forms of suffering are beyond our capacities to resolve. Be it illness, grief over loss, hurt and brokenness caused by forces of nature, personal crisis or other despairs, we pray for your presence, comfort and assurance of showing us paths forward.
Lead us, Lord, to lift and sustain Church Street United Methodist Church through our gifts. Just as the seasons of nature journey through their cycle, so does your church. The current year is almost over, and a new one will soon begin. Members’ financial support is needed for the present, as well as the future. Awaken each of us to the soul-filling joy that comes with giving (especially when it comes to giving generously to your church, where lives are transformed). May all members experience this joy of giving!
Thank you, God, for your many blessings: Blessings known, blessings we tend to take for granted, blessings we don’t even realize, and blessings to come. Lead us to respond to these through sharing your grace with others and through living our lives in ways that demonstrate praise to you.
Most merciful God, hear these needs and expressions of others in our church community. We pray you surround each person with your loving embrace and peace that extends beyond all understanding…
We pray for ….
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for …
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.
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
Weekly Prayer – November 1, 2023
Featured, prayer for todayWeekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of November 1, 2023
Rev. Catherine Nance
O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ….
We often begin our prayers recalling our spiritual roots began before the birth of Jesus
O God, Creator of the Universe …
We often begin our prayers recalling your love and desire for humans began before there were any names to call.
O God, Revealed to us in Jesus Christ …
We often begin our prayers acknowledging that You and the Savior are One.
O God, whose Holy Spirit hovers over us and in us ….
We often begin our prayers acknowledging the mystery of your omnipresence
But now, O God, we will just leave it at that: O God.
O God, who understand the limits of our language. And the complexities. And the tyranny.
If we say God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob … some will hear we are making a political statement about Israel;
If we say God of the Universe, some will hear that we do not believe you are involved in our daily living;
If we say God who is in Jesus, some will think we are excluding prayers for those who do not call on the name of Jesus.
O God … how did even prayer become so weighted and measured and suspect?
How about …. O God, who knows the name of every child.
Surely that is a way we can all begin our prayer. O God ….
You know the name the name of every child who has died in war or from illness or violence or hunger.
You know the name of every child who is afraid.
You know the name of every child who is struggling at school
You know the name of every child who has experienced joy this day.
O God, who knows our name, we pray for the children whose names we do not know.
O God, who knows their names, we pray for the children who are close to us.
O God, who welcomes the least of these, hear our prayers.
We pray for all children everywhere and for these requests from our church family ….
We pray for ….
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for …
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.
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.