We’re in the book of Mark this year, at Student Soul. Last night, Tom was preaching from Mark 1:29-45. He’d given me the framework for his sermon…

Transformation:
Doesn’t thrive in the hype
Involves determined pursuit of prayer
Is soaked with compassion.

I wrote a responsive prayer that we prayed together (room divided into left/right – each line in the stanza read by left/right/all)

We are invited to transformation
To be transformed
To help transform.

Not hyped
Not drawing attention to ourselves
Not as if we had all the answers

But offering ourselves
In all our humanity
In our strength and in our weakness

We are invited to transformation
To be transformed
To help transform.

We are reminded to pray
To withdraw from what needs to be done
To be refreshed and restored by God

We do not do it alone
We cannot do it alone
We are dependent upon God

We are invited to transformation
To be transformed
To help transform.

We long to be like Jesus…
Soaked with compassion, choosing to act
Caring, healing, transforming

Transform us
Transform our world
Show us our part in that

We are invited to transformation
To be transformed
To help transform.

But before we prayed the prayer, I invited everyone to write on a blue post-it something in our world that needs transforming; and on a pink post-it, something in themselves that needs transforming.

We placed those on a large window, in the shape of the cross that we could see, outside, through that window.

We then prayed the responsive prayer together.

The final stage was returning to the window to take someone else’s post-its and praying in small groups for the things written on them.

All up, the service was great. Worshipful, challenging, encouraging, inspiring.