Offertory Prayers and Invitation for August 2018

Each month’s Offertory Prayers includes an “Invitation to the Offering” (see below) along with a digital image for those who might want to use it. We hope you will find this a helpful way to remind the people in your pews that their offering travels to many places to make a powerful difference in the lives of people they may never meet. You can find great stories of the difference our giving makes at http://umcgiving.org.

Invitation to the Offering

Your offering last week empowered ministry within our congregation and in response to the needs of our community. It also helps support the mission outreach of the global United Methodist Church through programs like The Advance (a unit of our Global Ministries agency), celebrating seventy years of mission empowerment this year. Founded at the close of World War II, The Advance has offered churches the opportunity to support projects around the world and to be directly in mission partnerships without having to leave their community. Feeding programs, schools, hospitals, and orphanages have all been recipients of the generosity of our churches through The Advance. Best of all, our regular giving to the World Service Fund has meant that 100% of Advance gifts go directly to the project named! This ministry happens, thanks to the way the people of The United Methodist Church live and give connectionally. I invite you to give generously as we worship God through sharing our gifts, tithes, and offerings.

We invite you to learn more from The Advance at 70 and to discover more about Global Ministries at: www.umcmission.org

Note: The following prayers relate to lectionary texts selected for use in Discipleship Ministries’ worship resources.

August 5, 2018 – Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost/in Kingdomtide

Holy God, source of all good things, you have blessed your children with many gifts, and each of us can serve and help build your kingdom here on earth. We know at times we have denied our giftedness and dismissed the impact our gifts can have. As we ask you to dedicate our tithes and offerings today, we remind ourselves that you seek not only that we open our wallets but open our hearts and our whole being to the work of making your love and compassion the norm, not the exception in this world. We pray this in Christ’s name. Amen. (Ephesians 4:1-16)

August 12, 2018 – Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost/in Kingdomtide

Creator and Architect of the Universe! You, Lord, created the night and the day, the weeks and the months. We convinced ourselves that one day was for worship, when we know in our deepest being that every day and every moment is a celebration in worship of your love. As we offer our gifts this morning, stoke in us a fire to live every one of our days as a testimony to your love. We pray it in Christ’s name, who in love died for us. Amen. (Ephesians 4:25-5:2)

August 19, 2018 – Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost/in Kingdomtide

Generous and loving God, you give and give to us and hold nothing back. In response, we often give meekly, worrying whether we will have enough to meet our needs and wants and falling short in our ability to trust in you. Help us to live more wisely and to give more freely, fully aware of your providence and trustworthiness and more in tune with your desires for our lives. In Christ, we pray. Amen. (Ephesians 5:15-20)

August 26, 2018 – Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost/in Kingdomtide

Mighty and everlasting God, you willingly equip us with the strength, the insight, and the courage to meet every challenge the world sends our way. Make us bold to live as Christ’s disciples, when it seems like foolishness to many. May the gifts we offer to you, the lives we live for you, the witness we make for you, be a testimony to the love that led Christ to the cross, his precious life given for each of us. When we leave this worship service, may our living bear witness to your giving. In Jesus’ holy name, we pray. Amen. (Ephesians 6:10-20)

August Offertory Prayers were written by the Rev. Dr. Ken Sloane, Director of Stewardship & Connectional Ministries, Discipleship Ministries, The United Methodist Church.

Photo: Global Ministries Photo by Paul Jeffrey