PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP January 1, 2009
Greeting
What is the meaning of life?
How can we find it?
When will we find it?
Where will it happen?
Just as the Shepherds found the answers
in the manger,
we shall find the answers
in this House.
Penitential Prayer
To be or not to be. Forgive us Father, when we
deliver the wrong answer.
We know You want us to be people oriented —
and each New Year we make resolutions which
are goal oriented.
We know You want us to be ministers of Your Good Works —
but instead we are Sunday spectators.
We know You want us to be an integral part of You —
but instead we are part of the “Me” generation.
Father, we are sorry we have not resolved to be
one with You.
Forgive us for our idle resolutions.
Blessing
Look not backward, lest you become fearful.
Look not sideways, lest you be tempted.
Look not downward, lest you become discouraged.
Look only upward, from which comes your help,
and forward, to the road which leads both
to duty and to glory.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP January 4, 2009
Greeting
On the first Epiphany
the three kings found Jesus in the manger
and paid Him homage with gifts of
frankincense
gold
and myrrh.
On this Epiphany Sunday,
let us find Jesus in this House
and give Him praise with gifts of
reverence
music
and prayer.
Penitential Prayer
Father, forgive us for travelling on life’s road
heading in the wrong direction.
We make our way towards
status
wealth
pride
narrow-mindness
and self-centeredness;
and move away from Your Kingdom of
service
truth
peace
love
and brotherhood.
Forgive us, Lord, for our misguided journey.
Forgive us for being a wrong way people.
Blessing
Kneeling on crumpled straw
on a dirt floor
in a humble stable
three great kings became greater still — for they
had served the Lord.
Go now, wherever Christ’s ministry takes you
and you shall become great — in your service
to the Lord.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP January 11, 2009
Greeting
Dear baptized Christians,
women and men,
parents and children,
sons and daughters,
brothers and sisters,
sinners and potential saints,
Christ calls you to serve others. Can Christ count on you to be of service? Come, and give your answer!
Penitential Prayer
Lord, we who are Your baptized people,
have acted like turncoats;
have acted as though we knew all the answers;
have lost our taste for the Holy Spirit;
have lost our zeal for Christian mission;
have lost our spirit of loving service.
Nevertheless, Lord, we want to make a new effort. We
want You to know that You can count on us. We want
to accept Your forgiveness, because we want to
keep on trying!
Blessing
We came to hear the Lord’s Word
and reaffirm our baptismal vows in His Name.
We go now with His Word on our lips,
and His Name in our hearts.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP January 18, 2009
Greeting
Welcome to this circle of love,
this community of acceptance,
this fellowship of concern,
this church of Jesus Christ.
Penitential Prayer
We acknowledge Jesus as the Lamb of God,
and in so doing we confess that we are among those
who have made necessary the sacrifices of that Lamb.
We acknowledge that Jesus takes away the sins of the world,
and in so doing we confess that the sins of the
world include our own.
We acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, and in so doing we confess that we are among those who need to
be delivered.
Blessing
Be imitators of Christ:
serving,
saving,
sacrificing,
until His Kingdom has fully come.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP January 25, 2009
Greeting
“Follow Me in the Spirit of repentance.
Acknowledge your every flaw, and follow Me.
Penitential Prayer
We confess, Lord,
the need for much mending in our lives.
We confess Lord,
our stubborn disobedience to Your command
to “love one another.”
We confess Lord,
that we are flawed followers in need of
complete, spiritual mending.
We confess Lord,
that we have made a mess of things.
Forgive us Lord, for our failure to acknowledge our urgent need to repent.
Blessing
Go now in anticipation of a blessed new tomorrow.
Go now acknowledging the blessed reality of a
new and brighter day.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP February 1, 2009
Greeting
Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach … and the people were spellbound by His teachings.
Be alert and attentive so that you also may
become spellbound by His teachings.
Penitential Prayer
Father, we know that Your Son Jesus did not remain a Baby, but grew in wisdom and stature, teaching in the
ynagogue, asking and answering questions.
As followers of Your Son, we too wish to grow in wisdom
and in the knowledge of Divine Truth.
But we acknowledge that all too quickly after Christmas
our enthusiasm for worship fades.
We often come to Your house to be entertained rather than
to be challenged.
We find ourselves applying the sermons to other people
rather than to ourselves.
We are too easily discouraged by inconveniences of rain
and snow, heat and cold, traffic and sleepiness.
Forgive us Lord, if we have been negligent in our use of
the means of Grace. Instill in us the desire to learn and
to grown, to stretch our minds and our faith, and to
grasp more completely the Truths of Your Divine
revelation.
Blessing
May you advance
in wisdom,
in moral stature,
in favor with God and man.
May you grow
in faith,
in hope,
in love for God and man.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP February 8, 2009
Greeting
Open your hearts to God’s welcome:
He knows us by name — our first name;
He knows the story of our life — page by page;
He follows us, step-by-step — from cradle to grave;
He understands us;
His arms are open to receive us.
What a miracle is God!
Penitential Prayer
Apart from the miraculous, there is
no God,
no Jesus,
no mankind,
no creation,
no love,
no eternal life.
God forgive our disbelief in miracles!
Blessing
May God be in your mind,
and in your understanding.
May God be in your eyes,
and in your looking.
May God be in your mouth,
and in your speaking.
May God be in your heart,
and in your doing.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP February 15, 2009
Greeting
We gather here in the House of Healing.
For all of you who are
paralyzed by grief,
crippled by self-doubt,
blinded by prejudice,
made deaf by insensitivity,
come in and be touched by the Lord.
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, Father, for not remembering,
that we followers of Christ are supposed to make a
difference in the dark and troubled world;
that we followers of Christ are supposed to equip
ourselves to go out to serve others, in a ministry of love;
that we followers of Christ are supposed to share in
the priesthood of Christ;
Forgive us, Father, for not remembering.
Blessing
Will there be a time this coming week when the Presence
of God’s Grace in you life convinces someone else
that a Gracious God is in control?
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP February 22, 2009
Greeting
We come today to experience the power of Jesus;
the power that cures the sick
and even raises the dead.
We come today to experience Jesus’ power of healing;
and to partake of that power
so that we may become healers.
Penitential Prayer
There are times when we say, “It’s hopeless,” when we should be saying “All things are possible with God.”
There are times when we have tried to bring down God’s
faithfulness to the level of our own faithlessness.
There are times when we closed our minds and hearts to
the limitless possibilities of the miracles and surprises we
can expect from Your hand.
Lord, we need strength for our weak faith.
Lord, we need to have our belief in miracles restored.
Blessing
His call is echoing in my ears,
and pounding in my heart and soul;
For He has called out my name,
and I shall follow Him.
He has worked the miracle of faith in my life,
and I believe!