PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP September 2, 2007
Greeting
Praise the power of the Lord!
Praise Him in the movements of a dance;
Praise Him in the words of a song;
Praise Him in the tasks of your work;
Praise Him in the depths of your heart;
Praise the power of the Lord!
Penitential Prayer
Father, we confess that sometimes we are too proud.
Our pride stands in the way of charity.
Our pride stands in the way of forgiveness.
Our pride stands in the way of kindness.
Our pride stands in the way of wisdom.
Our pride stands in the way of courage.
Our pride stands in the way of strength.
Our pride stands in the way of tolerance.
Yes, Father, we confess that sometimes we are too proud, but, now, we put aside our pride and ask Your forgiveness.
Blessing
Let us make our way now to the lowest place.
Let us make the needs and the concerns of others our number one priority.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP September 9, 2007
Greeting
Come, let us worship God.
Let us be awed by His Presence.
Let us be shaped by His Standards.
Let us be enlightened by His Wisdom.
Let us be mobilized by His Spirit.
Penitential Prayer
We confess, O Lord, that sometimes we have neglected the vows we took when we made a public acknowledgment of our faith.
We have sometimes failed to make use of the means of grace.
We have often been content to remain just the way we are.
We have at times quenched the Holy Spirit.
We have failed to live out fully the New Life which had been planted in us, responding with defeat and
discouragement instead of vitality and hope.
Convince us again of the possibilities of the Christian way, and inspire us to walk it with joy.
Blessing
May God the Father, who created you, re-create His life
in you daily.
May God the Son, who redeemed you, enrich your life
as you walk with Him.
May God the Holy Spirit, who lives within you, equip you for worthy and joyful service.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP September 16, 2007
Greeting
The Lord our God is a welcoming God,
standing with arms outstretched to those who return.
The Lord our God is a seeking God,
calling in love to those who are wandering.
The Lord our God is a hearing God,
with ears that are open to our prayers of need and our hymns of praise.
Penitential Prayer
We acknowledge, Lord God, that we are very much like the sheep You characterized as having wandered away.
We tend to put our heads down and follow one tuft of grass after another, without lifting our eyes to see in which direction we are going.
We listen to the voice of other shepherds, whose intention is to use us for their own purposes.
We allow ourselves to get caught in the underbrush and rocky crevices of life.
We take lightly the sacrifice You have made for us when You warded off the predator who would destroy our souls.
Forgive us, we pray, for our wanderings, and encourage us by Your soft invitation to follow You in confidence and obedience.
Blessing
Farewell, friends in Christ.
Return to your homes secure in the knowledge that God loves you and that you are part of His family.
May you return again next week, having fulfilled God’s purpose in your life.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP September 23, 2007
Greeting
How lovely is the dwelling place
of the Lord of hosts!
Our souls long
for the courts of the Lord.
Our hearts and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Penitential Prayer
We confess that we are much like ancient peoples,
constantly tempted to place our trust in idols which cannot save us.
We find it tempting to worship money, believing that it will buy what we really want in life.
We are prone to worship power, thinking that through might and armaments we will overcome our enemies.
We find it tempting to put our ultimate trust in science and
technology, believing that the material world holds the key to the universe.
Forgive us, O God, for our misplaced trust, and help us to always worship the Creator rather than the creature.
Blessing
“Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be steadfast, immovable,
always abiding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP September 30, 2007
Greeting
God has shown us what is good.
Do we know what He requires of us?
We must act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly
with our God.
God’s desire is that justice may roll down like the waters, and righteousness like an overflowing stream.
Penitential Prayer
If we have neglected the needy at our doorstep,
O God of mercy, forgive us.
If we have failed to defend the rights of the oppressed,
O God of justice, forgive us.
If we have turned a deaf ear to cries of need,
O God of compassion, forgive us.
If we have remained silent about injustice in our world,
O God of holiness, forgive us.
If we have shrugged at the frustrations of those who are victims of prejudice,
O God of all creation, forgive us.
Blessing
In the market place, in the school, in the factory, and in the home, live in such a way that justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP October 7, 2007
Greeting
We are called upon by the Word of God
to rekindle the gift of God that is within us.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,
but the spirit of power and love.
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, Lord, for the times we have faltered in our faith:
when we have tried to rely entirely on our own strength;
when our faith was more like a speck of dust than mustard seed;
when we allowed anxiety to cloud our minds with a pall of gloom;
when we were too quick to say, “It can’t be done.”
Blessing
“As therefore you received Christ Jesus as Lord,
so live in Him,
rooted and built up in Him
and established in the faith,
just as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving.”
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP October 14, 2007
Greeting
It is a good thing to acknowledge the Lord,
and to give thanks to our Redeemer;
to come before His throne with singing,
and to join His people in praise.
Penitential Prayer
Our heavenly Father, we confess that we have not been as grateful as the cleansed leper who returned to give thanks.
Sometimes we forget about You, once the crisis is past. Often we just think we are too busy. At other times we simply fail to see Your hand in our healing. And sometimes we have continued to be preoccupied with the problems that remain instead of being grateful for those which have been solved.
Most seriously, we have often taken our health and our well ordered lives for granted, failing to thank You for the rhythmic beating of our hearts, and for the food on our tables, and for the comforts we enjoy.
Blessing
May the life of Jesus
be your example in all your words and actions.
May the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit
equip you to face each day with anticipation,
live each day in honor,
and close each day in serenity.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP October 21, 2007
Greeting
Those who want God,
very much,
call out to Him day and night:
praising Him,
thanking Him,
worshipping Him.
Penitential Prayer
Humbly we confess to wanting to live in imitation
of Christ
… but not very much!
Wanting to become the kind of person God intends us to be
… but not very much!
Wanting to live as a person for others
… but not very much!
Wanting to show God’s goodness through our service
to others
… but not very much!
Wanting to call out to the Lord, God, day and night
… but not very much!
Wanting to experience the healing presence of a just and
merciful God
… but not very much!
But, now, Lord we are changing all that and, in the spirit of repentance, we humbly confess to wanting Your merciful forgiveness
… very, very much!
Blessing
We go now in search of an even deeper union with God longing for Him, calling out to Him,
day and night because we love Him
… very, very much!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP October 28, 2007
Greeting
An overflowing cup cannot be filled,
and a closed hand will hold no blessing.
Therefore let us come in humility
as we seek the face of God.
Penitential Prayer
O Lord of mercy,
We ask for the honesty to accept responsibility
for our errors.
We ask for the wisdom to understand the reasons
for our failures.
We ask for the courage to seek forgiveness
for our offenses.
We ask for the willingness to make restitution
for our dishonesty.
And we ask for the grace to submit our lives
to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Blessing
Rejoice always,
for you are God’s own people.
May your lives daily be filled
with His grace, mercy and peace.
