PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP July 3, 2011
Greeting
Lay aside for a time your labors.
Lay aside for a time your burdens.
Find rest under the yoke of Jesus,
for His burden is light.
Penitential Prayer
Lord, God,
we speak “love” but act vindictively;
we speak “hope” but act despairingly;
we speak “faith” but act confusedly;
we speak “unity” but act divisively;
we speak “justice” but act unjustly.
Father, in so doing we place a heavy yoke on our
brother and sister. And for this we ask Your merciful forgiveness.
Blessing
Go in the peace of Christ which enables you
to act as well as speak
in faith
in hope
in unity
in justice
in love
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP July 10, 2011
Greeting
Come,
let our ears hear
the sweet sound of the Word of God.
Come,
let our hearts understand
the true meaning of the Word of God.
As the Father now reveals Himself
let us be silent
and listen!
let us seek to hear
and understand!
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, Father, for sowing the seeds of sin:
we close our eyes to the needs of elders, especially
for companionship;
we shut our ears to the needs of the young, especially
for understanding;
we clench our fists to the needs of the poor,
especially for our personal gifts.
And, as we reap our sinful harvest, we cut ourselves off from our own greatest need: The Grace of realizing Your loving Presence.
For our harvest of sin, we ask you to forgive us, Father.
Blessing
The Kingdom of God is like a man who sowed good seed …
The Kingdom of God is like leaven …
The Kingdom of God is like a tiny mustard seed …
Go, Now,
sow good seed in the world,
and be a leaven in society.
Like the tiny mustard seed,
grow tall and strong into the Kingdom of God.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP July 17, 2011
Greeting
The Lord is gathering the wheat into His barn.
Come to the harvest!
The Lord is blessing those who have seeing eyes and hearing ears and understanding hearts.
Come … you are the harvest!
Penitential Prayer
Lord Jesus, Your parables are intended for us as hard lessons in living. Yet, we have grown accustomed to regarding them as quaint little stories, or regarding them not at all. For the many times we have misused the Scripture in this way, we ask forgiveness.
Blessing
Live by the Gospel
in all you think,
in all you say,
in all you do.
Do this in Jesus’ Name.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP July 24, 2011
Greeting
What is …
the hidden treasure?
the pearl of great price?
the meaning of life?
We gather before the God who gives us answers, the God who reveals His Plan for our fulfillment.
Penitential Prayer
Father, there is no hidden treasure, no elusive
pearl of great price, no secret truth about the meaning of life. All these things You have revealed to us in and through the Lord, Jesus
Christ.
You are the answer! Your Divine Life is the answer to our human quest for fulfillment.
For our repeated failure to make this the guiding principle of our lives, our reason for being, we ask Your forgiveness, Father.
Blessing
In and through you, others can discover
the hidden treasure,
the pearl of great price,
the meaning of life.
In and through you, others can learn to
trust in God.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP July 31, 2011
Greeting
We are here today for nourishment. We are here today to receive God’s gift of the Bread of Life. We are here today because we trust absolutely that Jesus will not send us away hungry.
Penitential Prayer
Lord, day by day we encounter persons who are hungry for God, hungry for the Word of God,
hungry for the compassion of a Shepherd of the Lord to guide him or her to the Bread
of Life.
Forgive us, Lord, for our day-by-day failures to feed those who hunger for spiritual
nourishment.
Blessing
Go forth now in complete fidelity to Jesus’ command: Feed my lambs . . .tend my sheep . . . feed my sheep!
