PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP November 6, 2005
Greeting
Keep your eyes open,
the Lord is in your midst.
Keep your eyes open,
The Bridegroom is here!
Come, and greet Him!
Penitential Prayer
Most of us are walking right down the middle of the
legendary ìroad to hell paved with good intentions.î
We intend to give up those habits that are
destructive in our lives;
We intend to spend more time learning how
to pray and meditate effectively;
We intend to be more sensitive to the
needs of others;
We intend to reexamine our values and
our priorities.
But we are awfully busy …
we havenít time to follow through
on our good intentions.
For our unfulfilled good intentions,
Father, forgive us.
Blessing
Go, in the company of the Bridegroom
to proclaim His Gospel,
to do His works —
remembering, however, that good intentions alone
will cause you to ìnod, then fall asleep.î
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP November 13, 2005
Greeting
Come into the house of the Lord.
Come in humility,
for the proud will turn away empty-handed.
Come in expectancy,
for those who hunger and thirst will be filled.
Come in confidence,
for Christ has opened the curtain to the holy of holies.
Come into the house of the Lord.
Penitential Prayer
O God, how great You are;
how small we are!
How infinite is Your wisdom;
how limited is ours!
How everlasting You are;
how brief our span of life!
How good and high are Your ways;
how selfish and impure are ours!
O Lord, take our weakness this very hour,
and transform us
by Your mighty power.
Blessing
Go, my people —
To a hungry world bring help;
To a yearning world bring love;
To a discouraged world give hope;
To a wandering world give leadership;
To a lost world bring the saving Gospel
of Jesus Christ
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP November 20, 2005
Greeting
Is anyone anxious?
Let him come and pray.
Is anyone discouraged?
Let him come and find new perspective.
Is anyone weak?
Let him come and be filled with the Spirit.
Is anyone sorrowful?
Let him come and be comforted.
Is anyone joyful?
Let him come and sing Godís praise
Penitential Prayer
Lord, if we were to be silent in Your praises today,
the very stones would cry out;
For You are our Savior and our King,
deserving of our praise,
our worship,
and our obedience.
Accept, then, our faltering words,
and receive them as perfect praise.
Blessing
May Jesus Christ who rose from the dead
enable you to rise each morning
to newness of life,
refreshed in body,
restored in mind,
and
regenerated in spirit,
each new day a glorious foretaste
of the great new day to come.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP November 27, 2005
Greeting
Be ever watchful for the coming of the Lord.
watchful where we worship,
watchful where we dwell,
watchful where we work, and study and play.
Be ever watchful for the coming of the Lord.
Penitential Prayer
Merciful Father …
Because we have not lived by faith,
Because we have resisted Your Holy Spirit,
Because we have neglected Your Message of hope,
Because we have strayed from our appointed watch,
Because we have ignored the true signs of Your coming,
Because we have not loved one another as Jesus has loved us,
Merciful Father …
We beg Your pardon. We ask Your help, that we may
position ourselves to accept Your Advent promise of eternal
fulfillment in an attitude of joyful expectation.
Blessing
Go and watch, patiently.
Go, and wait, hopefully,
for the Lord is surely coming.
Stay awake!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP December 4, 2005
Greeting
Come, at Christís invitation,
all you who have sinned and need to be forgiven;
all you who hunger for life and need to be nourished;
all you who accept Godís abundance and need to give thanks;
all you who experience Godís love and need to give praise.
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, Father,
if we have blindly followed our own selfish desires;
if we have transgressed against Your Sacred Law;
if we have left undone those things which ought to be done;
if we have done those things which ought not to be done;
if we have remained entrapped in our narrow prejudices;
if we have spurned the glorious freedom that comes in serving others.
Father, we confess our sins, individually and as acommunity.
Father, forgive us, one and all!
Blessing
ìFor I am certain
that neither death nor life,
nor angels nor principalities,
neither the present nor the future,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature
will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Jesus Christ, our Lordî
Jesus speaks to us.
Jesus teaches us.
Jesus comforts us.
Jesus loves us.
Now, Jesus sends us to comfort and to love our neighbors.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP December 11, 2005
Greeting
Enter the house of the Lord, for worship.
Tarry in the house of the Lord, for Light.
Penitential Prayer
Blessed are the enlightened:
they care about the human problems most people ignore;
they speak up for the poor and the oppressed who cannot speak for themselves;
they call for forgiveness when others call for blood;
they give of themselves without asking, ìWhatís in it for me?î
they are loyal to the Rule of God while others sell out to the idols of pleasure and convenience;
Blessed are the enlightened! Father, forgive our refusal to see the Light!
Blessing
Go, in peace —
not the peace of complacency,
nor the peace of indifference,
nor the peace of self-delusion,
nor the peace of nostalgia for a former time.
Go, in the peace of Christ. Go, and serve your brothers and sisters in need.
Go forth from the house of the Lord to testify to the Light.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP December 18, 2005
Greeting
Enter, and have no fear …
His Name is ìEmmanuel,î
A Name which means ìGod is with us.î
Have no fear …
God is with us!
Christmas is coming!
The signs are everywhere!
Penitential Prayer
We have come here on the first day of the week,
to be met by the living Christ.
Enable us, O Lord,
to know His Presence,
to know His touch,
and
to know His power.
Then inspire us, O Lord,
to share with others
His hope
His joy,
and
His life.
Forgive us Lord for our many failures to experience Your enabling and inspiring Presence.
Blessing
Beloved brethren —
Go in peace,
Love the brethren,
Pray without ceasing,
Be of good courage,
Keep the faith,
and
Be filled with the Spirit.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP December 25, 2005
Greeting
ìArise Jerusalem, and shine like the sun;
The glory of the Lord is shining on you!î
This is a day of great glory,
for Jesus our Lord has been born!
May we,
rejoice,
receive,
and reflect the Light of the Lord!
Penitential Prayer
ìThe light shines on in darkness,
a darkness that did not overcome it.î
Lord, we confess we often hide our Christian Light.
In the dark times of war,
we do not light the way of peace.
In the pitch blackness of poverty,
we do not show the light of charity.
In the shadows of prejudice,
we do not shine the light of brotherhood.
In the grey areas of societyís laws,
we do not light the flame of Christian morality.
In the colorless void of social indifference,
we do not hold up the candle of Christian
responsibility.
We are sorry, Lord,
that the light in our soul burns so dimly.
We are ashamed of our sputtering flame,
in the presence of Your brilliance.
Blessing
ìThe people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
They lived in a land of shadows
but now light is shining on themî
Go now on this day of great glory
and proclaim the birth of our Lord,
for He is the Light of the World!