Worship FOCUS,

Sunday, February 5, 2012,

Westminster Presbyterian Church, Tiburon, California

 

     Visit the church website: www.wpctiburon.org, 415-383-5272

        240 Tiburon Boulevard, Tiburon, California 94920

 

This weekly study guide seeks to help members, friends, and visitors prepare for the upcoming Sunday service and teaching.  Questions about worship can be directed to the church office at: 383-5272, ext. 10 or secretary@wpctiburon.org.   

 

                         

THEME FOR THE SUNDAY REFLECTION –

The theme this Sunday is about prayer and its importance for us in Christian tradition. Prayer is often thought of as lofty, yet it is also very ordinary, since it relates to our everyday human experience. For many, prayer is one of the less considered yet most potentially valuable faith practices.

 

TEACHING      Your Brain On Prayer                                       Ted Scott

“All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer.” Acts 1:14

 

SCRIPTURE 

Psalm 63 (John Long Version)

“Creator, my soul thirsts after you. My flesh longs for you.

In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water for the soul.

I have felt you in the sanctuary but I crave the sight of you in the streets.

Your eternity may be better than life, but I am living.

Let me see your power and glory.

Satisfy my soul with your presence, fill my mouth with the joy of your being.

I remember you in my intimacy, and I meditate on you in the night watches

Because you have been my help.

In the shadow of your power, I would rejoice.

My soul follows hard at your heels, your right hand upholds me.

Satisfy my cravings for union with thee.”

 

 

Acts 1: 12-14

“Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem. And when they had entered they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot Judas the son of James. All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”

 

QUOTES  

 

“Prayer is the desire to possess God, the Source of all life. The true spirit of prayer does not consist in asking for blessings, but in receiving God who is the giver of all blessings, and in living a life of fellowship with God." Sadhu Sundar Singh

 

“Everybody prays. People pray whether or not they call it prayer. We pray every time we ask for help, understanding or strength, in or out of religion.” Ann Ulanov

 

QUESTIONS FOR CONTINUED REFLECTION, MEDITATION, AND PRAYER

Thinking about the theme of prayer, read through the two scriptures and the quotes below them, pausing between each to listen for God’s inspiration to you in these words. 

In what ways do you pray, even when you do not call it prayer?

What times or occasions stimulate you to pray?

Some have likened prayer to power, water or rain. How might more prayer deepen your life?

 

For our Children and Youth -

 

This Sunday, our children and youth will be hearing about how Jesus healed Simon's mother-in-law, as recorded in Mark's Gospel.  They will consider the many ways Jesus served others - including healing those who were sick - and think about how they serve others in their own lives.