PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP December 4, 2011
Greeting
Come, at Chris’s 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 God’s abundance and need to give thanks;
all you who experience God’s 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 community.
Father, forgive us, one and all!
Blessing
“For 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 Lord”
Jesus speaks to us.
Jesus teaches us.
Jesus comforts us.
Jesus loves us.
Now, Jesus sends us to comfort and to love our neighbor.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP December 11, 2011
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, “What’s in it for me?”
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 brother and sister in need.
Go forth from the house of the Lord to testify to the Light.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP December 18, 2011
Greeting
Enter, and have no fear …
His Name is “Emmanuel,”
A Name which means “God is with us.”
Have no fear …
God is with us!
Christmas is coming!
The signs are everywhere!
Penitential Prayer
We confess, Father, that peace and brotherhood do not reign throughout the earth. When the scourge of war ends in one land, it rages anew in another. Because we seem so small and helpless, we do not act. Because we imagine ourselves unable to make our voices heard, we do not speak.
Forgive us, Lord …
if our peace efforts are lackadaisical.
Forgive us Lord …
if we promote goodwill less than we are able to.
Blessing
May the peace of Christ,
the joy of the life in Christ,
the wonder of the love of Christ.
be with you now and forever.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP December 25, 2011 Greeting
Praise God this Christmas day.
Praise God who has brought us great joy.
Praise God who has shared with us His beloved Son.
Penitential Prayer
For refusing Christ’s invitation to new life,
Father forgive us.
For turning away from Christ’s light,
Father forgive us.
For rejecting Christ’s Grace,
Father forgive us.
For abandoning hope in Christ’s promise,
Father forgive us.
For disobeying Christ’s command to love one another as He has loved us.
Father forgive us.
Blessing
Return to your homes this Christmas Day.
united in the spirit of sharing.
united in a fellowship of service.
united in the bond of love.
united in the brotherhood of Christ.