PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP October 4, 2009
Greeting.
Let us come to the Father,
for we are the family of God,
born by His Power,
regenerated by His Spirit,
and gathered at His invitation.
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us if our lives together as natural families
and as a church family have nor been what they
could have been.
Perhaps we have been quarreling.
Perhaps we have harbored ill feeling, bitterness,
and resentment.
Perhaps we have used each other to accomplish our
own purposes.
Perhaps we have been competing with each other
instead of working together.
Perhaps we have been jealous of each other’s successes.
Perhaps we have been insensitive to each other’s hurts.
Forgive us, Lord, if we have in any way behaved in a way
unbecoming to the family of God.
Blessing
Go forth from this, your Father’s house,
to do your Father’s Will,
to embody your Father’s Love,
to proclaim your Father’s welcome.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP October 11, 2009
Greeting
Come, let us follow Christ,
for He is the perfect example.
Penitential Prayer
Father, we confess that we allow many things to stunt
our dedication.
Sometimes we allow greed to stifle our generosity,
and social pressure to paralyze our witness,
and busyness to snuff out our prayers,
and laziness to hinder our worship,
and love of ease to discourage our service,
and pride to paralyze our confession,
and self-centeredness to freeze our compassion.
Whatever it is, Lord, that is keeping us from making
progress, may we leave it behind and follow You.
Blessing
Where God leads, let us follow.
Where He proclaims, let us believe.
Where He requires, let us do.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP October 18, 2009
Greeting
As the Christ served,
let us serve.
As the Christ sacrificed,
let us sacrifice.
For in such lies the secret
of true greatness.
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, Lord, not only for doing the wrong things,
but also for doing the right things for the wrong reasons.
We confess that sometimes we have done good things to
gain recognition and esteem.
Our giving has sometimes been adulterated by the
desire to receive honor.
Our service has sometimes been prompted by a need
for recognition.
Our loving has sometimes been performed selfishly.
Our worship has sometimes been motivated by the
thought of what other people will say.
Our morality has sometimes been prompted more by
the fear of discovery than by a yearning for righteousness.
Give us, Lord, not only the right actions, but the
right motives as well.
Blessing
You who can give,
give generously.
You who can listen,
listen sympathetically.
You who can heal,
heal gladly.
You who can help,
help lovingly.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP October 25, 2009
Greeting
What are the facts of life?
What is the meaning of death?
What are we made to do?
What are we here to do?
Why are we so confused?
Let us sit at our Savior’s feet, and listen …
Penitential Prayer
Lord, we confess that we have been ….
distracted from Your saving Word by the
babble of conflicting philosophies and ideals
distracted from Your warnings against choosing
a life-style dedicated to money and things
distracted from obeying Your command to love
one another
distracted from following Your example by the
arrogant strains of “I Did It My Way.”
Lord, for our refusal to acknowledge our dependence
upon You for the meaning of our lives and our way
of life, we ask Your merciful forgiveness.
Blessing
Having been attentive to Jesus’ Word,
we must go now as a People who are
mindful of His warnings,
obedient to His commands.
inspired by His example.
We must go as a People who live in imitation
of His Life of loving service. These are the facts
of Christian life. These are the things we need to
do in order to give meaning to our life — and death.
