Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Fresno, California
Sierra Pacific Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

PRAYERS of the PEOPLE
 Sunday, March 7, 2010

Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, and for all people according to their needs.

God is patient with humankind. God is patient with us because he is not willing that anyone should perish… and without him we are all on the
road to perishing. Like the owner of the fig tree in our lesson, we ask for a little more time to bear fruit for God’s kingdom. We will work harder,
be more responsive to God’s call. Next year we will be productive for our Lord.  Thank you, Lord, for your call to obedience, for your mercy,
and most of all, for your patience with us. Lord in your mercy…

The Church of Jesus Christ needs your mercy and patience, too, Lord. We hunger for those things that the world calls attractive. We let you down
in our attempts to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth in word and deed. Lord, make our lives good seed, growing into maturity, spreading branches
of care and protection to a world that is exposed and raw in sin.  Lord in your mercy…

We pray for our nation, state and city; our president, governor and mayor. May the work of protection and care begin with our leaders. Give them a vision
of your kingdom where righteousness reigns and harmony dwells among all people. May your people share the goodness of God in the land of the living,
improving the lives of all with whom we come in contact. Protect our servicemen and women wherever they defend freedom. Lord in your mercy…

Remember our congregation, its pastor and people. May our work provide shelter and protection, as we share the love of Jesus. …Touch those who have
asked for prayer that they might see the power of God performing miracles. …And for what else do the people of God pray or praise? 
Lord in your mercy…

We all experience pain. Paul reminds us that in our daily struggles, “No testing has overtaken [us] that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and
he will not let [us] be tested beyond [our] strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that [we] may be able to endure it.”
Lord, thank you for your mercy, your patience and your deliverance. We ask these things in the name above all names, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.                                                               

CAROLYN LINN

GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH

PRAYER CONCERNS
March 7, 2010

We pray the Holy Spirit would work among us at church and lead us forth in the tasks that God would have us do.

We rejoice in the Lord's answers to prayers and thank God for His goodness and the Good Shepherd Family for praying.

Pray for God's Healing Presence in the lives of:

Members:

· Tom Rogers and his mission group for June 2010

· Carol Smithey

· Penny Fey

· Paula Schnee

· Doug Schnee (son of Paula Schnee)

Friends & Family:

· Pray for peace and comfort for Ruth Johnson and her family upon the loss of Janet Gochnauer, Ruth's sister-in-law

· Matt Rogers (husband of Rachel, son-in-law of Ruth Johnson)

· The Carl Brisendine family (son of Susan Brisendine, grandson of Neil and Verna Walden)

· Tracy Riddle (niece of Marilyn Woodward)

· Sandy Johns (friend of Pat Hayner)

· Ron Enger (father of Kristin Niemi)

· Kathy Rahn (neighbor of Richard & Kay Schumacher)

· Melanie Johnston (daughter of Marilyn Woodward)

· Manya Tamez (friend of Adair Johnson)

· Mary Fey-Long (from Penny Fey)

Ongoing Concerns:  Alma Johnson, Jo and Ruben Bitter, Louise Boyden, Sue Brisendine, Barbara Clark, Penny Fey, Bob Gerster, Karen Kubar,

 William Kuester, Ian Maltos, Ben Matthew, Jocelyn Miller, Vince Robbins Jr., Carol Smithey, Otis Strong, Zella Summers

Armed Forces:  Major Scott Rowley, Army; Major John Lemay, Army; Tim Dueker, Marine Corps; Specialist Jonathan Elsasser, Army;

Amanda Gookins, Air Force; Theresa Rojas, Army; Steve Rowley, Army National Guard; Alex Arnold, Army.

Please contact the church office or fill out the Prayer Request Card in the back of the pews and place in our offering plate if you wish names

added or taken off the prayer list.   Please re-submit after three weeks to keep your loved ones in our church prayers.  Call 225-2092 (church office)

 or 439-4237 (Diane Fake, prayer chain)

.

Pastor Ted & Kristin’s new baby boy, Kurt Enger Niemi,

was born February 4, 2010, weighing 7 lbs. & 13 oz.

Kim & Eric Frankian’s new baby boy, Alexander James Frankian,

was born February 10, 2010, weighing 7 lbs. & 9 oz.

Myra “Tutu” Frazier

November 22, 1934 - January 31, 2010

Prayers:
 

Prayer Requests

Meditation

Prayer for healing

Prayer resources

Devotions

Can be found at:

http://www.elca.org/prayer/

Free Daily e-mail Bible Readings from the ELCA:

http://listserv.elca.org/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=bible-readings&A=1

Update from Karnataka (October 7, 2009):

     Dear our Pastor Ted and Randy Nelson
Praise the Lord.Here in our state of Karnataka condition is very bad.Many people lost their house and so many people died,because of heavy rain (floods)Almost in our state more then
50 thousend houses felldown and people do not have food and shelter and cloth and many animals died,which is belong to our farmer,even water went inside the leper colony compound
and some of our leper colony believers houses damaged little bit.Please pray for our people,who lost houses and their relatives life.One person he went to work in the field,while he was i
n the field flood came and he clime the tree,3 knight and 3 days he was in the tree ofter 3 day rescue team came by helicopter and saved his life.

On Saturday 10th some of our pastors and some leaders of our city we all taking raice,oil,dal,sugar, and cloth and mediton and food for relief work.We are going as a team with 30 people
and I am also invailing in this relief work,through this we want to show them love of Christ and share the Gospel and pray for them.

Pastor Ted and Randy Nelson thanks for your prayers and financial support.Here all our leper colony home children doing well and leper church going well.We all continus praying for you
all.We love you all.May God bless you all.

Here you can see some of flood pictures.

Yours in His service
Pastor Prakash and Poonam 

India Floods: ELCA Disaster Response

Prayer Points

1) Pray for new believers spiritual growth in our church
2) Pray for Van for go village ministry, leper people hospital service
taking children to school
3) Pray for protection upon Gods people
4) Pray for more souls to be saved in our area
5) Pray for own church building

May God bless you all.

Yours in His service
Pastor Prakash and Poonam 

Luther’s Small Catechism

with Explanations

197. What should be the content of our prayers?

  In our prayers we should ask for everything that tends to the glory of God and to our own and our neighbor’s welfare,
both spiritual and bodily blessings.
We should also praise and thank God for who He is and what He has done.

 693    Phil. 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.

 693    Ps. 136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.

The Jabez Prayer

And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying,

"Oh, that You would bless me indeed,

and enlarge my territory,

that Your hand would be with me,

and that You would keep me from evil,

that I may not cause pain!"

So God granted him what he requested.

1 Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV)

Francis was born in Assisi in late 1181 or 1182. His father was a successful merchant. Francis grew up in a comfortable home, had many friends
and good times. He was a born leader. As a teen he dreamed of being a knight and achieving great victories.

When scarcely 20 he joined the army of Assisi in war against the city state of Perugia. He was captured and spent a year in prison. He was r
ansomed by his father, and took another year to recover from the illness contracted in prison. During that time his conversion began. In 1205,
he heard the crucifix in the dilapidated church of San Damiano tell him to build Christ’s Church. He began to repair church buildings and
to care for the poor. He began his preaching of simple Christianity in 1208. By the following year, he wrote a rule for his followers which
was approved by Pope Innocent III, the beginning of the Franciscan order.

In 1212 Francis received St. Clare, 12 years his junior, as the foundress of the women Franciscans. In time he became interested in the Muslims
who had retaken most of Palestine from the crusaders in 1197. He went there and actually preached to the Sultan. After his return to Italy he
sent missionaries to North Africa, some of whom were martyred. That, in turn, triggered St. Anthony of Padua to become a Franciscan.

Francis continued preaching throughout Italy. He set up the first Christmas crib at Greccio for Midnight Mass in 1223. The following year on
Sept. 14, the feast of the Solemnity of the Cross, Francis received the stigmata, the wounds of Jesus in his own body. He was able to continue
preaching for about another year. By the Spring of 1225, his health began serious deterioration until he finally died Oct. 3, 1226. His feast is
observed the following day, the day of his burial. He was canonized in 1228. His body was transferred to the present basilica May 25, 1230.

Francis is best known for his love of all God’s creation. He composed a beautiful hymn to express that. He saw God’s creatures as his brothers
and sisters, leading him toward his heavenly home, hence the title of the famous movie of his life, “Brother Sun, Sister Moon”.

A Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi:

Lord make me an instrument
    of Your peace.
Where there is hatred,
    let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope:
Where there is darkness, light and
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may
    not so much seek to be
    consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to
    understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are
    pardoned.
And it is in dying that we are born
    to eternal life.

                    In Jesus' name, Amen

The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith

  People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered,

LOVE THEM ANYWAY

  If you do good, people will accuse you of