PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP January 1, 2008
Greeting
The Lord is amongst us —
Let our hearts honor Him with a humble silence;
Let our minds honor Him with a clear vision.
Penitential Prayer
Father, we try, but we do not try hard enough.
We pray for the wisdom and strength to do better
than before. We must try harder …
to know God,
to trust God,
to love God,
to see God,
to worship God.
to praise God,
to honor God,
to believe God,
to embrace God.
Indeed, we try, but we must try harder;
Father, we seek Your guidance.
Blessing
Go through the world singing praise!
Go through the world singing truth!
Go through the world singing Hallelujah!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP January 6, 2008
Greeting
As we worship at the threshold of eternal things,
the very doorway of heaven,
let us leave behind everything that would make us stumble,
and enter with expectant joy.
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, Lord, for doing the right things at the wrong time.
When we should have listened, we talked; and when we
hould have talked, we were silent.
When we should have helped, we just said words of encouragement; and when we should have just encouraged, we stepped in and did it ourselves.
When we should have been strict, we were lenient; and when we should have been lenient, we were strict.
When we should have been firm, we vacillated; and when we should have been gentle, we were harsh.
When we should have been patient, we hurried; and when we should have been prompt, we were slow.
Forgive us, Lord, for doing the right things at the wrong time.
Blessing
May the providence of the Father who hovers over you,
the presence of the Son who stands beside you,
and the power of the Spirit who lives within you,
be the strength of your life.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP January 13, 2008
Greeting
Women and men,
parents and children,
sons and daughters,
brothers and sisters,
sinners and potential saints,
it is in order to serve you that Christ calls you to service. Can Christ count on you to be of service? Come, and give your answer!
Penitential Prayer
Lord, we
have acted like turncoats;
have acted as though we knew all the answers;
have lost our taste for the Christ Spirit;
have lost our zeal for Christian mission;
have lost our sense of awe and wonder at Divine Mystery;
have lost our spirit of loving service.
Nevertheless, Lord, we want to make a new effort.
We want You to know that You can count on us.
We want to accept Your forgiveness,
because we want to keep on trying!
Blessing
We must journey on now,
proclaiming our Christian wisdom:
that the Living God is Incarnate;
that He continues to become Incarnate;
in as many forms as there are human beings;
that every Christian is another Christ and,
that this is evident from our actions.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP January 20, 2008
Greeting
In Jesus, our Messiah, God is present among us.
Through Jesus. our Messiah, God assures us that we are
never abandoned.
From Jesus, our Messiah, we will learn where we are going.
But, in the Name of Jesus, let us all admit that we need
direction.
Speak Lord, Your servants are listening.
Penitential Prayer
Father,
we have listened only after deciding in advance what
You had to tell us;
we have been guilty of selective tuning, letting in
Your message of comfort and security,
but shutting out Your message of responsibility
and commitment;
we have refused to recognize Your voice in the cries
of the suffering.
Father, for these sins of omissiion and commision,
we beg Your mercy.
Blessing
Go forth now …
full of joy and the Holy Spirit,
boldly proclaiming
the Good News:
Look! There is the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP January 27, 2008
Greeting
The Light of the Lord will brighten the darkest corners.
Open the doors of your hearts
and welcome the Light of Christ.
Penitential Prayer
Let us not dwell on our problems —
Whatever mistakes have been made
will be forgiven.
Whatever transgressions have been perpetrated
will be forgiven.
Whatever sins have been committed
will be forgiven.
Let us ask for the forgiveness of Christ;
Let us pray from the depths of our hearts —
Jesus, we have wronged ourselves as well as others.
Jesus, we are truly sorry for our mistakes, transgressions,
and sins.
Christ forgive us.
Blessing
Work for peace,
pray for peace,
live for peace.
Christ be with you.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP February 3, 2008
Greeting
Only those who have open hands can receive.
Only those who have open minds can learn.
Only those who have open souls can be filled.
Penitential Prayer
We admit this morning to the sin of pride
We have difficulty in admitting we are wrong.
We find it so hard to say, ìIím sorry.î
We are eager to think of excuses for our mistakes.
We tend to criticize others in order to make ourselves
look better.
We often close our minds to the opinions of others.
We pretend to know, when we really donít.
Forgive us, Lord, and remove our conceit.
Humble us, and give us a healthy sense of awe before You.
Blessing
Speak the truth,
but do so in love.
Proclaim the faith,
but do so in humility.
Contend for the right,
but do so in gentleness.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP February 10, 2008
Greeting
Come,
let us view this day as a day of victory,
for on a Sunday morning
Christ defeated Satan, sin and death.
Come,
let us view this day as a day of celebration,
for we who are Christís
share the triumph with Him.
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, God, when our lives have failed to reflect the
victory of our Lord Jesus Christ;
when we have despaired as those who have no hope;
when we have considered the forces of evil to be too
powerful to fight;
when we have viewed our religious practices as a
bondage rather than a liberation;
when we have seen our difficulties as obstacles instead
of as opportunities.
Blessing
Rejoice in hope.
Live life to the fullest.
Aspire to the highest.
Anticipate the best.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP February 17, 2008
Greeting
Come, let us ascend the mountain.
Let us come by faith;
Let us come with Peter, James, and John;
Let us come with the saints through the ages
To see the glory of God
In the face of Jesus Christ.
Penitential Prayer
Father, we confess today that we have fallen short of the glory of God;
short of the glory of Your perfect righteousness;
short of the glory of Your Image in us;
short of the glory of Your high expectations for us;
short of the glory You displayed on the mountain.
Having fallen short of Your glory, we have only one recourse — to ask You to do for us what we could not do for ourselves; to share Your glory with us, now and for evermore.
Blessing
Since we have seen the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ,
May others see the glory of Jesus
in the faces of you and me.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP February 24, 2008
Greeting
Praise the Lord,
he who is hungry shall hunger no more;
he who is thirsty shall thirst no more.
Praise the Lord,
for the body and the blood of Christ
are the bread and the wine of life everlasting.
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, Father,
for our failure to feed the hungry,
for our failure to give drink to the thirsty,
for our failure to be the salt of the earth,
and the light of the world.
Blessing
Go into the world as one possessed
with the courage and strength of
the Bread of Life.
Raise the lowly to high places.
Fill the hungry with nourishing things.
Exalt the Name of Jesus, who gave His flesh and blood
for the life of the world.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP March 2, 2008
Greeting
Come, let us open our eyes.
Let us see wondrous things in Godís Word,
beautiful things in Godís world,
delightful things in Godís people.
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, Father, for our failures of sight, for we have often seen only the ugliness around us and have neglected to look at the beautiful.
We have seen only the face, the form, and the figure, and have not seen the beauty of the soul.
We have sought out the rumor and the current report, and we have not bothered to seek out the truth.
We have looked with jealously and dismay at the possessions of others, and have failed to see how much we really have.
We have had our eyes wide open to see the faults of others, and have them half closed when we look at our own.
We have gazed so intently at the material, and have perceived so little of the spiritual.
Blessing
May the God who brought light out of darkness
enlighten your path,
bring you to your destination,
and show beauty all along the way.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP March 9, 2008
Greeting
We are here to affirm that
through the Resurrection power of God
there will be a new tomorrow;
through the Resurrection power of God
there will be a better day;
through the Resurrection power of God
love will find a way!
Penitential Prayer
Where is our Resurrection faith in Jesusís prescription
for our sweetest foretaste of the Fatherís eternal Love
— namely, our acts of loving service to one another?
Where is our Resurrection faith in the works of peace
and brotherhood as our highest form of service to God?
Where is our Resurrection faith in Jesusí victory over
the enemy, death?
Forgive us, Lord, for our lack of Resurrection faith.
Blessing
We go forth with a God centered
Resurrection Faith in Jesusí teaching
that our works of peace and brotherhood
ignify our willingness to serve God,
to trust God, and to love God.
Therefore, we go in peace.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP March 16, 2008
Greeting
Come, let us see Jesus today.
Let us see Him in the garden,
agonizing for our sins.
Let us see Him in the courtroom,
spit upon for our transgressions.
Let us see Him upon the Cross.
Come, let us see Jesus today.
Penitential Prayer
Lord, we confess that we have sometimes made
light of sacred things.
We have treated with disrespect people created
in Your image.
We have taken in vain Your Holy Name.
We have treated as commercial and common
Your Holy Day.
We have passed by Your Cross with a shrug.
Give us, O Lord, a sense of awe before that
which is holy, and thereby give us a deep
understanding of the vital issues of life.
Blessing
Depart in peace,
for Jesus humbled Himself
and became obedient unto death.
Depart in joy,
for God has bestowed on Him the Name
that is above every name.
Depart in hope,
for at His Name every knee shall bow,
and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP March 21, 2008
Greeting
People, why do you weep?
This is not a day of
mourning
or anguish
or senseless tragedy.
Rejoice!
This is a day of
celebration
and holiness
and sacred fulfillment.
This is the day the Lord seals His Covenant with us.
This is the day of our salvation.
Penitential Prayer
On the first Good Friday, jesus took the necessary
step for the fulfillment of His Fatherís Will.
Yet, on this Good Friday, we are standing still …
while the poor are trampled on by our economic system;
while minorities are subjected to second class
housing, and schooling, and citizenship;
while thousands are denied their basic human rights;
while refugees drown in a sea of government inaction;
while Israeli children are murdered in the name of
Palestinian Liberation;
while Arab children are shelled in the name of
internal security;
while Irish Catholic and Protestant children are
bombed in the name of Jesus.
Father, even as we gather in memory of Jesusí sacrifice,
we admit that we have made none.
Forgive our arrogance for praying on this Holy Day,
when we have done nothing to make it Holy.
Blessing
Remembering the Lordís
Cross
pain
and His death for us;
Go now, sacrificing your
time
energy
and life for Your brother and sister.
Go now, not in the spirit of helpless mourning,
but in the spirit of active ministry.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP March 23, 2008
Greeting
Look — see the tomb is empty!
Listen — hear the angels speak of His Resurrection!
Stop — think what this all means!
He had risen!
He is alive!
We have been given New Life!
Penitential Prayer
On Easter morning, Jesus rose and left the tomb,
leaving his death shroud behind.
We confess, Father, on this Easter morning
we have not left behind our own shroud of sin …
Even as we celebrate His Resurrection we cannot
shake our fear of death.
Even as we sing songs of praise we do not feel
the joy we express.
Even as we pass the collection plate we are still
held spellbound by the lure of material wealth.
Even as we exchange a sign of peace we hold onto
our old grudges.
Even as we receive His cup of unity we still harbor
our own personal and racial prejudices.
Even as we receive the benediction we are wondering
how fast we can get out of the parking lot..
Lord, we are sorry that on this Day of New Life
we still hold onto the vestiges of sin and death.
Forgive us for praising You as our Resurrected Lord
when we do not act as Your Easter People.
Blessing
We are an Easter People
and alleluia is our song!
Sing thankfully for His Sacrifice!
Sing joyfully for His Resurrection!
Sing triumphantly for His Victory!
We are an Easter People,
may we sing our Easter Song!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP March 30, 2008
Greeting
God invites you this morning to come and believe.
Believe in God the Father;
in God the Son;
in God the Holy Spirit.
Believe in the forgiveness of sins,
the fellowship of believers,
and
the resurrection of the life to come.
God invites you this morning to come and believe.
Penitential Prayer
Father, we come to You, trembling,
acknowledging many doubts and fears.
There are tragedies in life we fail to understand,
illnesses that make us question Your love,
and teachings of Your Word that seem strange.
Yet we know, Father,
that the just are saved by faith
and shall live by faith.
Lord, we believe.
Help our unbelief.
Blessing
Believe sincerely.
Witness clearly.
Love dearly.
In the Name of Jesus your Lord.
