Christian practices (hospitality, social justice, Bible  study, generosity, etc.) are ultimately practices of growing in our awareness of the presence of God. 

During the season of Lent, you are invited to engage intentionally and creatively in the practice of prayer to grow in God's presence. 

Each day, a new prayer will appear here from many sources including the Bible, church members, saints who have lived before us and saints who are living the Christian faith right now. I am thankful to our church members for sharing their prayers that we may learn from their life with God.

Before you read the prayer, I would suggest preparing yourself for how God will use prayer to speak to you. Are you sitting well? Are there distractions that will keep you from focusing? Center yourself with our theme prayer from the disciples in Luke 11:1, "Lord,  teach  us to pray." 

The prayer you read may be short or long or in between. The time you have to read/pray it is up to you. Read it once. Read it again. Come back to it many times during the day. Engage this practice as you are able with the goal that 40 days of prayer will make you more aware of God's presence in your life and what God is doing in you and through you.

God is preparing us for the good news of resurrection through these 40 days. May the practice of prayer open you up to the new life that God intends.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Hallelujah! He is risen. He is risen indeed!

Sunrise Service: 6:20 a.m. @ Wilkens’ Farm

8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. @ FPC Yorktown

Lord Jesus Christ, we come to you with a deep sense of gratitude, care, concern, devotion, love for you, and desire to live responsively to you. We sense that we’re with friends in your company of follower and friends who share the life of resurrection and want others to get in on it, notice it, and begin participating at the center of what you’re doing rather than on the periphery. We pray for strength and discernment to understand the culture we are in and the deadening effects, the seductive lures…We ask your blessing on the church, scattered and dispersed and so much of it in despair. We pray that wherever we are and whatever places we go back into, whether it’s pew or pulpit, we may be part of this resurrection life, knowing that you are present and doing your work. You’re not anxious about what is going to happen or whether this is going to work or not. It’s worked a long, long time and will continue working. Mostly, keep us faithful, attentive, adorational, sacrificial, and personal. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

~Eugene Peterson, “Living the Resurrection”

Join us starting Wednesday, April 14th for a weekly look at “Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ” by Eugene Peterson