Great Prayer of Thanksgiving | Lent 4C | March 6th, 2016

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Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

4th Sunday in Lent (Year C)

March 6th, 2016

Here's a Great Prayer of Thanksgiving for the 4th Sunday in Lent (Year C) - Lent 4C - inspired by the texts provided in the Revised Common Lectionary.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

God of all Goodness and Mercy,
your love breathes life into us day after day.
You are our hiding place.
You preserve us from trouble.
You surround us with glad cries of deliverance.
Like the Israelites, we are led through a wilderness
where we are forced to depend on you for our daily bread.
We rejoice that you saved them from harm and led them on the right path.
We pray that your righteousness may save us from harm on this Lenten path
and show us the level ground on which we can firmly stand.
For you alone are our refuge and our strength,
our sole source of salvation.
Hear us, gracious God,
as we join creation's song and sing your eternal praise:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.  Hosanna in the highest.

We remember, with thanksgiving,
the story of the prodigal son.
How he sinned and lost himself to selfish desire;
How he wandered alone in the wilderness of transgression;
How he repented of his ways and returned to a forgiving parent.
We thank you for this story is our story - 
it is ours for the telling and ours for the living.
May the grace embedded in this scripture
be embedded within our very souls
that we might rejoice with open arms
those around us who seek to be found.

The grace within today's story
is found within the body and being of your Son, Jesus Christ,
who, for us, came to this lost and lonely world that we might be found.
We remember, with thanksgiving,
that he was born in the flesh,
that he preached the gospel in word and deed,
that he ministered to and with people in compassion and inclusivity,
that he taught us and teaches us to embrace your Word,
that he sought out the lost and lonely and welcomed them with open arms,
that he brings us newness by reconciling us to the Godhead,
that he brings about a reconciliation that can only be found in his life, death, and resurrection.

We remember, with thanksgiving,
how he gathered his friends on the night he was betrayed,
how he took the bread, blessed and broke it,
and gave it to his disciples saying:
"take, eat, do this in remembrance of me."

We remember, with thanksgiving,
how he, likewise, took the cup and, pouring it, said:
"this is the cup of salvation, shed in my blood, for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this in remembrance of me."

For as long as we eat this bread and drink this cup,
we proclaim the resurrection of our living savior until he comes again.

As we wait the Lord and follow him on this Lenten journey,
we proclaim the mystery of faith:

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

We give thanks for your gifts of grace and goodness in this season of Lent.
May the gifts on this table nourish us for the long journey ahead.
May your Spirit abide with us to transform us to the presence of your risen Son.
As we continue to live as your disciples, 
hear us as we pray as you taught us to pray, saying:

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 debts as we forgive our debtors;
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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Stephen Fearing

Stephen was born in 1988 in Cookeville, TN, where his parents met whilst attending Tennessee Tech. Shortly after, they moved to Dalton, Georgia where they put down roots and joined First Presbyterian Church, the faith family that taught Stephen that he was first and foremost a beloved child of God. It was this community that taught Stephen that it was OK to have questions and doubts and that nothing he could do could every possibly separate him from the love of God. In 1995, his sister, Sarah Kate, joined the family and Stephen began his journey as a life-long musician. Since then, he has found a love of music and has found this gift particularly fitting for his call to ministry. Among the instruments that he enjoys are piano, trumpet, guitar, and handbells. Stephen has always had a love of singing and congregation song. An avid member of the marching band, Stephen was the drum major of his high school's marching band. In 2006, Stephen began his tenure at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC where he majored in Religion and minored in History. While attending PC, Stephen continued to explore his love of music by participating in the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Jazz Trio, as well as playing in the PC Handbell ensemble and playing mandolin and banjo PC's very own bluegrass/rock group, Hosegrass, of which Stephen was a founding member (Hosegrass even released their own CD!). In 2010, Stephen moved from Clinton to Atlanta to attend Columbia Theological Seminary to pursue God's call on his life to be a pastor in the PC(USA). During this time, Stephen worked at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Silver Creek Presbyterian Church, Central Presbyterian Church, and Westminster Presbyterian Church. For three years, Stephen served as the Choir Director of Columbia Theological Seminary's choir and also served as the Interim Music Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In 2014, Stephen graduated from Columbia with a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Practical Theology with an emphasis in liturgy, music, and worship. In July of 2014, Stephen was installed an ordained as Teaching Elder at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church in Shelter Island, NY. Later that year, Stephen married the love of his life, Tricia, and they share their home on Shelter Island with their Golden Doodle, Elsie, and their calico cat, Audrey. In addition to his work with the people who are Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, Stephen currently serves as a commission from Long Island Presbytery to the Synod of the Northeast and, beginning in January of 2016, will moderate the Synod's missions team.