A Liturgy for Cultivating Imagination and A Blessing for Bravery

A Liturgy for Cultivating Imagination

Oh God of artistry and ingenuity,
inspiration and invention,
creation and enterprise.

Yours is the Great Imagination—
forming entire worlds and galaxies
out of the overflow of Your creativity.
You make the clouds Your chariot.
You ride on the wings of the wind.
You formed the Leviathan to play in the sea.
You even created us, our earth, and the infinity that
surrounds us.

You have instilled imagination deeply within us,
designing us to create with our minds and our spirits.
We are imprinted with this aspect of Your image
and desire to be good stewards of such a marvelous gift.

Through imagination,
may we better comprehend
this world that You have made.
May we perceive beauty beyond reason
and explore the eternity You have set in our hearts.
May we be astonished
with hope for the future of the world,
until our idols appear as small and powerless as they
really are.

Enrich our intelligence for the renewal of the earth
and send forth Your Spirit into our minds,
for without Your breath — the source of true life—
we can produce only lifeless things.

Let us not depend on conventional or cultural wisdom,
but as we listen for the stirring of Your voice,
may Your holy imagination enlighten our thoughts.

As we wait for You, oh Creative One,
fuel us with divine inspiration.
May stunning canvases be painted.
May transcendent symphonies be scored.
May tales that are written for children bring grown men
to their knees.

Receive our ideas and our crafts,
our sculptures and our songs,
as offerings of praise,
as sweet-smelling incense—
filling Your throne room
with the aroma of unhindered inspiration.

Amen.

Genesis 1:1, 27, 31 • Psalm 27:4; 104; 135:13 – 18 • Proverbs 3:19 • Ecclesiastes 3:11 – 13
• Isaiah 40:26; 65:17– 18 • John 14:16 – 17, 25– 26; 15:4 • Ephesians 5:1

A Blessing for Bravery

Child of God, fear has built its barricade in your road.
As your heart races at the unknown,
determine to see what lies on the other side.
When your hands shake and your knees sway,
show up sweaty and stay, even if you tremble.
Tilt your head not inward but upward.
Lean into the God who has never stopped sustaining you,
who is worthy of your trust.

Become wary of the voice that says safety lies in fear.
If reason keeps you bound, embrace gumption,
trusting the gentle voice urging you on
more than the swirling shriek of what-ifs.
Move toward the unknown, crawling if you cannot stride.
Believe— even weakly — that courage is freedom.

Be brave if it means saying yes.
Be brave if it means saying no.
Be brave because you are loved.
Take the risk without expectation of shame,
for even if you fall down flat, the Lord will meet you on
the ground.

To stand brave and open-hearted on this earth is nothing
short of a miracle,
nothing less than taking Jesus at His word.
If He has already overcome the troubles of this world,
then so, too, have you.
This is the promise on which we stand:
our story is not over with failure, with scorn, with pain.
We are free to live and love and move
as if we have already conquered everything we fear.

What if greater joy is found in the unknown?
What if life is found in the mystery?
What if at the end of our courage is not success or failure
but rather Jesus Himself ?
Child of God, take one step more and see what lies on the
other side.

Amen.

Psalm 121 • John 16:33 • Romans 8:18 • Philippians 1:20; 4:6 – 7 • 2 Timothy 1:7