PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP November 1, 2009
Greeting.
Happy are the followers of Christ
who have come together in the spirit
of immediacy.
of urgency,
of deep commitment,
o characteristic of the Master.
Happy are the followers of Christ
who have come together in the understanding that
now is the time for Christian living;
now is the time for responsible decision making;
now is the time to right what is wrong in society;
now is the time to nurture what is right in society;
now is the time to sacrifice for the cause of right.
Come. let us “rejoice and be glad” as we follow the Master to the promised Kingdom of Heaven.
Penitential Prayer
For our hesitation in the business of Christian living:
our lack of immediacy,
our lack of urgency,
our lack of deep commitment,
we ask Your merciful forgiveness, Lord!
For our failure in courage to proclaim Jesus’ revolutionary proposal for the building of a Kingdom of peace and brotherhood, we ask Your merciful forgiveness, Lord.
Blessing
For the committed Christian there is no tomorrow, no next week; no time for hesitation.
For the committed Christian, the resolution of heart and mind and soul is now.
Let us go, now in the spirit of deepest commitment to Jesus’ resolution of Love.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP November 8, 2009
Greeting
If you do not feel comfortable here
— Jesus will heal your discomfort.
If you are only physically here
— Jesus will quicken your spirit.
For all of you are welcome here
— in the Father’s House.
Penitential Prayer
Lord, we confess our unworthiness to be guests
in Your House.
We have our minds on other things to do.
We have our hearts set on other “more exciting”
experiences.
We have our cars parked in readiness for a
quick getaway.
We have our spirits yearning for what will happen
later, out there, rather than entering into what
is happening here and now.
Father, forgive our hollow, shallow, unenthusiastic
attitude and approach to this worship experience.
Father, forgive us for abusing Your sacred hospitality.
Blessing
“I will praise the Lord with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Thy marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in Thee,
I will sing praise to Thy Name, O Most High” (Ps. 9:2-3).
With all your heart and all your voice and all your soul
and all your mind, go and praise God in everything you do.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP November 15, 2009
Greeting
Let us lift up our hearts,
our heads,
our hands,
our wills,
for the Lord reaches down
to meet us.
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, heavenly Father,
if we have fallen prey to one or another of two extremes; if we, on one hand are so preoccupied with
living that we are not prepared to die; or if on the other hand, we are so preoccupied with dying that we are not fully involved in the challenge of living.
Forgive us if,
on the one hand we are striving only to meet the needs of the body while denying the joys of the soul; or if, on the other hand, we are striving only to meet the needs of the soul while denying the joys of the body.
Forgive us, Lord,
if on one hand we think only of the future while ignoring the present; while on the other hand we think only of the present while ignoring the future.
Blessing
So live, that you can look to the day of the Lord,
not with the dread of encountering an enemy,
but with the excitement of meeting a friend.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP November 22, 2009
Greeting
God has chosen to come to us
where we live,
where we work,
where we play.
Now we have chosen to come to Him
in this sanctuary
where we worship Him together.
Penitential Prayer
Father, we sometimes choose to isolate You in this
anctuary:
we sometimes choose to acknowledge Your
Presence in our lives but once a week;
we sometimes choose to live and work and play
independently of the experience of Your Presence;
we sometimes act as though You were a part
time God.
For these sins of pride and arrogance, Father,
we humbly beg forgiveness.
Blessing
Wherever you go,
Whenever you go,
However you go,
Whatever you do,
God is with you
and the choice is His!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP November 29, 2009
Greeting
Today, as we begin our symbolic journey on the
Advent Road …
let us prepare not to spend Christmas but to keep it;
let us prepare for Christmas not as a day or a season
but as a condition of our hearts and minds;
let us prepare to experience in the Christmas Event
the fullness of God’s revelation of our life’s
meaning and purpose.
Penitential Prayer
Lord,
it is we who have secularized Christmas;
it is we who have rationalized the gross
commercialization of this most Sacred Season;
it is we who have substituted the Santa Claus figure
with the Christ figure;
it is we who have grown accustomed to applying the
Christmas Message of peace and brotherhood
to other people, rather than to ourselves.
Blessing
Journey in peace,
anticipating Christ’s coming above all else,
loving Christ more than all else,
loving Christ more than self.
Journey in peace,
forsaking all else but the Living Christ,
continuing in His Word,
loving others.
Journey in peace.
bearing much fruit
along the way!
