Infinitely glorious God, we come to you this morning. We praise your name. We confess our sins knowing that in Jesus Christ we have forgiveness and pardon and peace and forever joy. How glorious and gracious you are, O Lord God Almighty.

Your Word tells us that thanksgiving glorifies your name. So, this morning, we give thanks. We thank you for life and breath. We thank you for food to eat and clothes to wear. We thank you for rays of sun and drops of rain. We thank you for songs to sing. We thank you for your perfect Word, the Bible. We thank you for budding flowers and blossoming trees. We thank you for the beauty of art and those who are creative. We thank you for the coherence of math and for those who understand it. We thank you for the various tastes of our tongue: sweet, sour, savory. We thank you for the smell of lavender and of freshly baked cookies. We thank you for this church family and the many ways you are at work in us and through us. We thank you for the 50+ ladies that went on the women’s retreat.

Father, We praise you for your mercy and for your justice!

Father, in your mercy you created a people for yourself, a people made of people who did not deserve to be loved, a people made of people who did not know what it meant to be a people, a people of people who didn’t belong together. Father, you created your church to show your glory and to share your love. In your mercy, you sought out rebellious sheep and had mercy on them when they themselves didn’t want to be saved or desired you. You were fed up with their misery and saved them.

Father,

We praise you that your words are true. We can be sure of this because of the fact of the resurrection. Christ overcame death, and we can have great hope this morning.

According to your word, the profile of world history is defined by the massive turning points of the fall of humankind, Christ’s earthly life, death and resurrection, and his future return and promise of a heavenly kingdom.

Lord, so much was lost in the garden when our ancestors chose to reject your good word and go their own way. On that day, death entered our world through their first sin. And subsequently, the beauty and wonder of your world has been stained by pain, suffering, sin and death. All of us know and experience this on a daily basis - and yearn for it to be different.