Offertory Prayer

Redeeming God, we live in a world that is far too ready to say that you can’t be found, ready to choose punishment over mercy, judgment over compassion. Our world is too eager to put energy into exclusion rather than working to be inclusive of all your children. We confess to you that, like Saul, we have been blind, even in our sightedness, to what you are doing in the world. We need our eyes to be truly opened, Lord, to who you really are. Let our blindness fall away and let us see the good that we can do—through our prayers, presence, gifts, service and our witness—to help usher in your kingdom here and now. May the gifts we give this morning be just the beginning of our availability to be your tools for bringing about the world you desire. We pray it in the name of the risen Christ. Amen. [Acts 9:1-6, (7-20)]