Relationships and Community on Labor Day

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Labor Day Prayer

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Isaiah 58:10, Colossians 3:23-24, Proverbs 31:8-9, Micah 6:8, Galatians 6:9-10, James 2:45-17

O God, Father of us all, we praise you for so binding humanity together that we must each lean upon the strength and labor of others. We ask your blessing on all men and women who have worked to build...

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O Lord, we remember before you all the

Author

John Baillie

Keywords

O Lord, we remember before you all the workers of the world: Workers with hand or brain: Workers in cities or in the fields: Those who go forth to toil and those who keep house: Employers and employee...

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Blessing the Women: A Prayer for Mother’s Day

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 139:13-14

Loving God, You knit us together in our mother’s womb and breathe us into being. Thank you for the gift of life and for bringing us into this world through our mothers. We recognize the risk they took...

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Slinging Chow and Fruitless Trees

Author

Hannah C. Hall

Keywords

An empty-nester friend of mine was recently reflecting on the long days at home with a growing family. “You just gotta keep slinging chow,” she said with a laugh. I laughed too . . . but not quite as ...

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God of mercy, we come before you with open hearts

Author

Keith D. Schroeder

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:9, 2 Corinthians 4:1, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 80:3, Matthew 16:18, Isaiah 43:19

Leader: God of mercy, we come before you with honest hearts. We bring not only our praise, but also our pain. We confess that at times we have lost heart. Hear now our lament, and kindle in us your ho...

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Prayers of the People, Form V

Scripture

Luke 15:11-32, Psalm 51:10, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 103:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, John 17:21, Ephesians 4:3-6

Deacon or other leader In peace, let us pray to the Lord, saying, "Lord, have mercy" ( or "Kyrie eleison"). For the holy Church of God, that it may be filled with truth and lov...

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Loving God ~ Father, Son and Holy

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

James 1:17, 1 Peter 5:6-7, Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 15:13, John 14:27, Isaiah 40:31

Loving God ~ Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We are a people who are waiting: waiting to celebrate Messiah’s birth; waiting to see what this day–and every day–holds as Your blessings for us; and waiting ...

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Sabbath-Keeping and Legalism

Author

Walter Brueggemann

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:1-3, Exodus 20:8-11, Deuteronomy 5:12-15, Mark 2:27-28, Matthew 12:8, Luke 6:5

For the most part, contemporary Christians pay little attention to the Sabbath. We more or less know that the day came to reflect, in U.S. culture, the most stringent disciplinary faith of the Puritan...

Quote

Author

Abraham J. Heschel

Keywords

The Sabbath...is more than an armistice, more than an interlude; it is a profound conscious harmony of man and the world, a sympathy for all things and a participation in the spirit that unites what i...

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Recognizing the Laborers

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 1:1-6, Nehemiah 3:, Proverbs 22:29, Psalm 90:17 , 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Colossians 3:23-24

In most cities, statues are reserved for founders and the famous, but in Stockholm, Sweden, things are a bit different, at least in one place. Stockholm’s town hall stands as a masterpiece of architec...

Quote

Author

A. J. Swoboda

Keywords

The Sabbath is a gift we do not know how to receive. In a world of doing, going, and producing, we have no use for a gift that invites us to stop. But that is the original gift: a gift of rest.

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Parenting and the Sabbath

Author

MaryAnn McKibben Dana

Keywords

Our Sabbath project grew out of a desire to reclaim some of the unhurried wonder of those early days of parenthood—to see what would happen if, on one day out of seven, we stopped working, striving, a...

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Eternal Father, we come to you at the

Author

W. E. Orchard

Keywords

Eternal Father, we come to you at the close of day (change as applicable) , when from long ago men and women have always turned aside to seek your face. Wearied by the conflict of life, worn by the b...

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A General Thanksgiving

Scripture

1 Samuel 2:1-10, Luke 17:11-19, Job 1:21, Acts 16:25, John 6:11

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery ...

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The General Thanksgiving

Author

Edward Reynolds

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 100:4-5, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalm 136:1, Colossians 3:17, Ephesians 5:20

Leader and people: Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants, give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you ...

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Prayer for the Festival of Harvest

Keywords

Almighty and most merciful Father, giver of every good and perfect gift, we give you thanks for blessing us so richly with your good Word and the holy Sacraments, and supplying so abundantly all our d...

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Going Against the Grain of the Universe

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11, Mark 2:27-28

When we fight this work-six-days, Sabbath-one-day rhythm, we go against the grain of the universe. And to quote the philosopher H. H. Farmer, “If you go against the grain of the universe, you get spli...

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Returning to a Better America

Author

Ken Wytsma

Keywords

Scripture

Amos 5:21-24, Micah 6:6-8 , Ecclesiastes 7:10, Psalm 146:3-7, Matthew 23:23-24, Philippians 3:13-14

There are many people who will always want to return to the time when America was great. But was there ever a time when America was a wonderful place for everyone? As I saw on a Facebook meme recently...

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Blessing College Students as They Leave for School

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Consider offering this blessing during worship the second Sunday in August. This is often the last Sunday college students are in worship before they return to school. This prayer could also be used d...

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The Three Annual Festivals in Israel

Author

Christopher H. J. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 16:11, 14, Exodus 12:24–27 , 2 Chronicles 30:21–23, Acts 2:1–4, 42–47, Luke 15:22–24 , Psalm 100:1–2

There were three annual festivals in Israel—Passover along with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and the Feast of Tabernacles. You can read about them in Leviticus 23 and...

Quote

Author

French Proverb

Keywords

That day is lost on which one has not laughed.

liturgy

A Thanksgiving Litany

Keywords

Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so freely bestowed upon us. For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea. We thank you, Lord. For all that is gracio...

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Guide us, O God, by your Word and

Keywords

Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover your peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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God of grace and glory, compassion and

God of grace and glory, compassion and power—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: You meet us right where we are at—not asking us to put on any masks, false fronts or airs. You love us just as we are while a...

Quote

Author

Robert Browning

Keywords

Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.

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God of freedom, whether we like to

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

God of freedom, whether we like to admit it or not, we do not treat everybody with equality. We silently judge others based on appearance, social status, and even race. Please give us the courage to m...

Quote

Author

Cardinal Meymillod

Keywords

A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.

Quote

Author

R. C. Sproul

Keywords

The day of one's birth is a good day for the believer, but the day of death is the greatest day that a Christian can ever experience in this world because that is the day he goes home, the day he ...

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The Closing of Distance

Author

Alvin Toffler

Keywords

Never in history has distance meant less. . . . Figuratively we “use up” places and dispose of them much in the same way we dispose of Kleenex or beer cans. We are witnessing a historic decline in the...

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O give thanks to the Lord, for he is

Keywords

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, and his mercy and truth endure forever. Thank the God of heaven, because his goodness endures forever. Let Israel now say that his mercy endures forever. ...

relationships and community on Labor Day

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