Prayer for Today – March 19

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

March 19, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Believer in Humankind, the green earth outside our windows speaks of your hand of creation and re-creation. Even within the solemnity of Lent, blossoms, berries, and birds in flight paint the vivid story of your renewing grace. How welcome are these signs of eternal hope! Still, there are those among us whose burdens prevent their gazing upon your spring. Attend especially, we pray, to those who battle illness, those who care for the sick in mind and body, those who are overwhelmed with work, family, or financial pressures, the unemployed, those who cringe behind locked doors, and for all of us who are lost in one way or another. Help us to find our way back to our pure faith of former times, we pray, for indeed, you do believe in us.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

We lay before you this day these petitions on behalf of our church family:

  • Thanksgiving for a sister’s successful colon surgery yesterday
  • Safety for caregivers who work in nursing & retirement homes
  • Gratitude for all who serve our Soup Kitchen guests today
  • A longtime companion undergoing painful cancer treatments this week
  • Friends grieving a dear friend’s death; he succumbed to cancer Monday
  • Guidance for all whose weddings are being postponed due to COVID-19
  • Wisdom for government officials making decisions to protect the health of populations across the globe

Hear now as we recall those wonders you have brought about in our individual lives in recent days . . . . . . . .

and accept our confessions for our private misdeeds and regrets . . . . . . . .

Forgive us and free us for Christ’s sake.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O Great Protector, let all our prayers join with all those offered to you around the globe this day; and may they be received by the whole company of heaven, and especially by our Savior 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?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – March 18

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

March 18, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Master of Life, the ground beneath us seems to be shifting these days and we strive to regain our footing. Just when we think everything is under control, we feel ourselves slipping again, inch by inch. How unsettling it is when answers come so slowly. Still, we remember our Lord Jesus lived courageously in a time of great danger and uncertainty. He remained the calm amid the storm. Grant, O Holy One, that we might also reflect such inner calm that comes from our trust in you. For we know in our hearts that nothing can separate us from your love. And this day, may we practice courage by reciting the words of the psalmist who sang:

The Lord our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea. . . The Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge! (Ps 46:1,2, 11)

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

We lift up this day to your holy gaze these particular situations expressed by our church family:

  • Gratitude from a member who recovers from successful surgery
  • A mother who worries about an ill adult son in California
  • Healing for a father grieving his broken marriage
  • All who are devising plans to help the needy in our community
  • Protection for healthcare workers who risk their lives to help others
  • Thanksgiving for safe travel of family members returning home

Hear now our private confessions and concerns . . . . . . . .

and also our praises for the joys you have brought about in our lives . . . . . . . .

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Receive our prayers this day, O Eternal One, for you indeed are our Source and Center; and all these we offer in the name of our Lord Jesus, 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?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – March 17

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

March 17, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Holy Mystery, the prophets tell us that you search for us. And we long for you as well. We search for you, yet you often seem hidden and elusive. Perchance you know that we have sought you in unlikely places. We wait for lightning to flash when we are most in need. We fashion harried schedules, then expect to hear your booming voice break in upon our crowded lives. In this Lenten Season, and particularly in this time of inordinate stress, help us to learn that you are with us already. You abide in the shadows of our souls, and you live within the very beating of our hearts. Amid the cacophony of voices around us and our frantic pace to remain safe, may we become still and know that you are God – ever loving and ever faithful.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

We lift up this day these particular friends in our church family who have asked to be remembered:

  • a young woman whose fiancé tragically perished in a fire
  • a member who sits by her dying father’s bedside
  • three women who have been widowed in recent weeks
  • our homeless friends in need of food and shelter
  • an adult son in desperate search of work

Hear now our private confessions and concerns . . . . . . . .

and also our praises for the joys you have brought about in our lives . . . . . . . .

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

These petitions we offer this day, remembering the Son who loves us more deeply than we can understand, and it is in his name we make our prayer:

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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Covid-19 Plan and Youth Ministry

Youth and families,

As you know, Church Street events as well as the activities of many schools and businesses have come to a screeching halt in response to the spread of the coronavirus. There are so many aspects of this that are challenging, and I imagine that you, like I, might be battling with fear, frustration, and fatigue. (I didn’t mean for that alliteration to happen, but sometimes life is just works out that way.)

I want to share with you our preliminary plans and hopes for moving forward. While our opportunities to meet together as a group in the coming days are uncertain, I am hopeful for some creative and unconventional ways for us to participate with one another as the body of Christ. Below are some things you can look forward to from us:

  • Digital NightLife – I am currently researching the best ways for this to happen. We use some software such as Zoom or Google Classroom to create a remote space to be together.  More to come!
  • Regular Blog Posts – We will have more content than usual going out in this space to provide our students & their families with resources during these trying times. And if you are a student who would like to contribute to these posts, please let me know!
  • Resources – I will be working to share links and digital downloads of various resources for our families to use at home. These could include links to videos, song titles, downloadable art prints, prayers, scripture reading, or liturgy. The options are endless!
  • Service Opportunities – I am working to compile a list of local organizations who need specific support during this time.  There will be a variety of options so that you can choose an action that is most fitting for your family.

A note to graduating seniors:

I am so sorry that this has uprooted many of your plans and hopes for the end of your high school career. We don’t know what is coming down the pike, but I do know how valuable our senior traditions are each year.  While I can’t provide you with specific dates or action plans at this time, please know that I am working diligently to ensure you get to experience your rights of passage in some way, shape, or form.  Also, you are so loved.  None of us are going to let this time of your lives pass by without adequate celebration.  Great – now I have tears in my eyes thinking about you.  I am sure no one is shocked.  Suffice to say, I am going to do everything I can to make this special and meaningful for you.

Words for Reflection

As we close, I want to provide you with some Scripture, a quote, and a prayer. If these are at all helpful, please use them. Start a group text with some friends or with your NightLife small group. Talk about them around the dinner table. Use them to do your own quiet time. Take these words to heart and know that you are never alone.

In John chapter 10, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees after performing a miracle. During this talk, He spends time using farming metaphors and shares one of His “I Am” sayings – I am the Good Shepherd. In verse 10, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” We have the offering of abundant life in Christ. And while these days might make you feel anxious or upset, my hope is that we cling to the Promise that Jesus is with us. I am working hard to strike a balance between appropriate precautions and unnecessary fear, and trusting in Jesus is making all the difference.

I have shared the following quote in several places over the past few days, but these are words that are giving me such comfort and encouragement.

“I am one in whom Christ dwells and delights.  I live in the strong and unshakeable kingdom of God.  The kingdom is not in trouble and neither am I.” – James Bryan Smith

Prayer for Uncertainty

Holy God, we believe that You are in our midst even when your hearts are troubled and our minds race with anxious thoughts. Calm our fears and remind us that You are our Refuge and Strength. We ask You to be a source of Light and Peace. Shine in the darkness. Send your Spirit to offer Hope. Teach us how to trust in You.

Amen

Friends, I want to be accessible to you during these hards days. Please let me know if there is anything I can do during this season to provide support to you. And if you have anything you think the group might like to hear about, just let me know!

All my love,

Jenny

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Church Street’s Response to COVID-19

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Dear Church Street Family and Friends,

We are living in an uncertain time, but we can be very certain of God’s love for us all. Our clergy, staff, and Parish Health Ministry Team (PHMT) are continuing to monitor the increased number of cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and locally. As of today, there has been one identified case in Knox County.

As we have monitored the spread of this disease, we have considered both the size of our corporate worship and the vulnerability of many of our members to COVID-19. Today, Holston Conference Bishop Virginia “Dindy” Taylor shared the following with the Conference:

 “…I strongly urge the churches of Holston Conference to suspend worship and large-group gatherings beginning today for the next two weeks.”

(read the entire letter here)

Thus, Church Street will suspend all large group gatherings, including Sunday worship and Sunday School, beginning Sunday, March 15 until Tuesday, March 31, and church leaders will re-evaluate and communicate next steps no later than March 31. All events, activities, and meetings are also canceled through March 31.

 

Here are some additional details:

  • “Attending” Worship: You can watch Rejoice! on WVLT each Sunday morning at 8 am. Clergy are working on ways to continue to share scripture and a homily or sermon through video. Please watch for further communication so that you can connect with the Word.
  • Staff: Church staff will still be working at the church at their discretion (otherwise, they will work remotely). Our custodial staff will use this time to do some deep cleaning of our space. The church will be closed, however, to any non-staff persons.
  • Outreach Ministries and Missions: All of our populations served by our missions will continue to be served in amended ways, and each outreach ministry will enact plans to protect both those serving and those served. This, too, is fluid and may change. Contact Rev. Cantler if you have questions.
  • Offering: The operations of the church move on! If you choose, you may still mail your offering to the church – staff will be on site. This might be a good time to set up your online giving. It’s simple – you may go to the Give section of our website, linked here, or download the Give Plus App.

Rest assured, we will continue to provide updates and communicate from the church when needed, and we will re-evaluate and communicate our next steps with you through as many channels as possible.

 

We offer this prayer for you to use at home or with family, as we continue to move through these uncertain times:

Lord God, hold those who have contracted this virus and their loved ones in your mighty hands, as well as those who are in vulnerable populations. We pray for our health care workers around the world who are exposed and working tirelessly to treat and care for our brothers and sisters. We pray, too, for all the leaders of governments, organizations, businesses, and service providers of all kinds who are making hard decisions with serious repercussions in all directions. And Lord, we look forward to the time when we will worship together again at Church Street, having moved through this uncertain time hand-in-hand with you. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.

 

Sending you and your family prayers of hope and healing, and assurance of God’s love for us all.

Your Church Street Family

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God’s Grace is for All

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Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned—sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

 

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Children’s Sunday

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Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

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.”

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God Gave the Growth

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And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

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Great Expectations

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When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

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Kingdom of Heaven

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Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.”
From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

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