Prayers

Life versus Love

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
A Supreme Court ruling has raised the bar of civil discourse

Lord of Life, Lord of Love,
whether we’re pro-life or pro-choice,
we’re amateurs
when it comes to disagreeing agreeably.
Help us learn to love our enemies as You taught.

Regardless of our views on when life begins,
may love begin anew each day
as we voice our opinions
without malice or spite.
May we resist attempts from either side
that would seek to abort
the spirit of Christ within us.

Protect us from killing one another
with words… or worse.

May Your Kingdom come.
May Your will be done
on earth as it is in Heaven.

Summer Sundays

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Summer getaways allow for creative Sunday worship experiences

Sundays in the summer
often find us missing church.
The family cottage beckons. Grandkids, too.
We’re hiking in the mountains
or we’re camping by the beach.
Time away is what we all need to renew.

And yet we still can worship
even when we aren’t at home.
There is cause to praise God in the great outdoors.
The backdrop of creation
prompts the lyrics of our hearts
as we dodge the rain or see an eagle soar.

On each Lord’s Day, let us seek Him.
In the silence He will speak
as we hear a call to worship from a lark.
Summer Sundays can be sacred
if we praise God where we are
near a campfire at dawn or after dark.

Robbed of Life

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Another mass shooting finds us hugging our kids and looking to God

Uvalde grieves.
We all grieve
for children robbed of life
at Robb Elementary.

Children who came to school in a bus
and left in a hearse.
Could anything be worse?

It’s hard to imagine.
It’s hard to comprehend.
It’s hardly elementary.
It’s complicated.
It’s evil.

It’s a duplicate snapshot
of our wounded nation
that continues to hemorrhage from the inside out.

It’s a faded photograph
of a broken hearted country
still unable to breathe
on this second anniversary
of another
senseless act of violence.

It’s an image
that violates the value
with which those
made in the Creator’s image
were born.

Imago dei.
You and me.
In Uvalde and everywhere.
A human being
one with another.
A human being
enraged by violence.
A human being
open to the voice of God.

Speak, Lord, Your people are listening!

Waiting for Worship

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
What does God have in mind for me today?

As I sit in silence
for the service to begin,
I wonder how the living Lord
might speak to me again.

Will it be the songs we sing
or in the pastor’s prayer?
It just might be the sermon
or a need somebody shares.

Maybe God will touch my heart
through laughter or a sigh,
or even through distractions
like a newborn’s hungry cry.

Whatever means God chooses
as He bends my ear His way,
I will worship God expectantly
for there’s something He will say.

Praying for a Ukrainian Mother

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Standing with those on the run

You crane your neck to glimpse your flag
while fleeing for the border.
You shield your kids while on the run
from Molotovs and mortars.

You grieve for what you’ve left behind.
You don’t know what’s awaits you.
May God protect you as you flee
from one who hunts and hates you.

Oh precious mother on the run
we stand with you while praying
that God will guide and open doors
to where you’ll next be staying.