PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
August 6, 2023
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 people 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!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
August 13, 2023
Greeting
We come today to commune with Jesus, fully aware of our mortality. We stand together with Him in life as we walk confidently with Him toward death.
We come today, trusting in His promise that those who lose their lives for Him will gain the fulfillment of life in the Coming Kingdom.
Penitential Prayer
Father, today’s Gospel Lesson tells us that when the Apostle Peter “perceived how strong the wind was, he became frightened” and “began to sink” in the deep waters that lay between himself and Jesus. Because his trust in the Lord had wavered, Peter began to sink.
We confess, Father, that we have done likewise.
Turbulence abounds in the world’s social order and
we remain frozen in our fear.
War and rumors of war,
bigger and bigger bombs,
poverty,
bribery,
political corruption,
street violence,
perjury,
family dissolution.
All of this is wrapped up in our daily news,
we watch … we listen … we freeze.
Father, forgive us for pleading for the damnation of the human race through our silence and do- nothingness.
Father, forgive our spirit of helplessness and our lack of trust in Your Son’s command to bring love into the world through the performance of His works.
Blessing
Go forth in the knowledge that peace on earth can be realized only when we begin living for the kind of world that ought to be.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
August 20, 2023
Greeting
We are called to be right with God.
We are called to be men and women of faith.
Come, let us demonstrate our conviction
from the depths of our being that God is good!
Penitential Prayer
Repentance primarily means a turning or a changing. Something in our life must change. Biblical “repentance” means a turning away from rebellion and self-centeredness and a turning toward union with God and with one another. This cannot occur unless we are willing to admit that we think things or do things that cause estrangement between ourselves and God, between ourselves and other persons.
Father, forgive us for having made our Prayer of Confession a routine, even casual exercise.
Forgive our arrogance in confessing without repenting.
Forgive our stubborn unwillingness to acknowledge the need for change in our lives.
Blessing
The whole world around us throbs with the life of God,
not only a beautiful sunset,
not only a majestic mountain,
not only a storm at sea,
not only the deep blue sky,
but also,
the wood, the steel, the dirt, the
sweat and grime,
all the common things we see every day.
Listen to the sounds, smell the fragrance, taste the flavor, feel the growth, and submit in awe to the majesty and wonder of it all. Interpret them to the world as signs of a good and gracious God.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
August 27, 2023
Greeting
Jesus, the Messiah, comes to us in the “gathering” of the Church. He comes in a way that is just right for us. To know the joy of His coming, to experience His Presence, our expectation is necessary.
Our expectation is, in a sense, like our praise.
Expectation is part of the bridge of faith that makes it possible for Jesus’ Presence to become real in our lives.
Penitential Prayer
Father, we realize that no amount of bowing and scraping can, in truth, acclaim Jesus as Messiah until it signifies a deep-down life commitment to follow the way of the Lord: to bear His message of peace, justice, forgiveness, New Life and hope into all the nooks and corner of our life’s journey.
For our failure to be Christ’s messenger,
Father, forgive us.
Blessing
We “accept” Jesus as Messiah in terms of commitment.
This means following in His footsteps in a ministry of
peacemaking,
reconciling,
forgiving,
healing,
loving.
