PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP March 4, 2007
Greeting
The Lord is near —
listen for His message;
watch for His sign.
The Lord is near —
feel His Presence;
taste His sweetness.
Penitential Prayer
Father, we often busy ourselves with
worldly pursuits,
worldly pleasures,
worldly gratifications,
and worldly interests.
Now, Father, we pray that we will turn ourselves
to heavenly pursuits,
heavenly pleasures,
heavenly gratifications,
and heavenly interests.
Father, we know that our time in this world is short, but our time in heaven will be infinite; therefore, we pray that our interests and energies will be directed toward our ultimate fulfillment in God’s life.
Blessing
Look for the Lord in our children.
Their freshness and innocence are
at the heart of Christ’s message.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP March 11, 2007
Greeting
Let us proclaim the fruits of true faith:
Death will be conquered,
Violations will be forgiven,
Misery will be subdued.
Penitential Prayer
The sins of one person are the sins of all people —
Let us bury our irresponsibility.
Let us bury our uninvolvement.
Let us bury our self-righteousness;
Let us bury our narrow opinions;
Let us bury our pretentious manners;
Let us bury our ill wishes;
Let us bury our awkward excuses;
Let us bury our shallow pursuits;
Let us bury the seeds of love, and water the flower of our hope.
Blessing
Having heard the way,
walk in the Way;
Having walked in the way,
run in the Way;
Having run in the way,
fly in the Way.
Hear — Walk — Run — Fly
The limits of the Lord are boundless.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP March 18, 2007
Greeting
Come unto the House of the Lord —
You who are lost
will be sheltered;
You who are fallen
will be lifted;
You who are pained
will be relieved;
You who are harassed
will be comforted.
Penitential Prayer
If we could sin no more, Father, we would do so;
But we are mere mortals, and we fall repeatedly
into the traps of sin.
Father, forgive us if we
have been trapped by selfishness;
have bee trapped by lust;
have been trapped by greed;
have been trapped by anger;
have been trapped by ignorance;
have been trapped by hate;
have been trapped by violence;
have been trapped by superficiality;
have been trapped by pride.
For Father, we pray that You will spring these traps
and free us for Your life of Grace.
Blessing
Every second
of every hour
of every day
God dwells within us.
Keep His Temple clean.
Peace be with you.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP March 25, 2007
Greeting
We are one in the Father,
We are one in the Son,
We are one in the Holy Spirit.
When we work, play, worship and pray,
Let us do these things as one.
Penitential Prayer
Father, we know that the water of baptism purified our bodies, hearts, souls, and minds, but human error has allowed us to retarnish our vital parts.
Father, we come before You with the hope of recleansing ourselves; with the hope that You will reclaim us into Your heart.
Father, we ask forgiveness for our sins; we ask for
strength to keep us in the purifying Light of Almighty God’s Love.
Blessing
Your sins are forgiven,
Your lives are made new,
Your faith is your treasure,
Your light will shine through.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP April 1, 2007
Greeting
Friends of Christ!
Come, and share your
triumphs
trials
laughter
tears
disappointments
and joys
with Jesus.
Penitential Prayer
Lord, we have been miserably unfaithful in our
friendship with You by
rejecting those who should be friends
ignoring those who are friends.
Forgive us, Lord for being exclusive when choosing friends.
Forgive us for betraying Your Friendship.
Blessing
Rejoice, we are an honored People!
For Jesus who is
our Teacher
our Master
our Lord
has called us “Friend”!
Rejoice, for in His Friendship
we are truly blessed!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP April 6, 2007
Greeting
We come together
to sit at the foot of the cross —
to meditate upon the depth of His suffering.
to marvel at the greatness of His Love,
and to consider the meaning of His sacrifice.
Penitential Prayer
For the sins committed against ourselves;
for our neglect of body, mind, spirit —
Lord, show us Your mercy!
For the wrongs done to others —
to those we profess to love,
to those we pretend do not even exist —
Lord, show us Your mercy!
For the failures of our community
to meet the obligations of justice and charity,
Lord, show us Your mercy!
For these, and for all our sins,
Lord, show us Your mercy!
Blessing
Bear proudly the symbol of the cross.
Live in the shadow of the cross.
March to the sign of the cross.
Conquer with the power of the cross.
For the Christ of the cross lives.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP April 8, 2007
Greeting
We do not mourn the Christ this day;
We do not attend to His remains;
We do not “remember” Him in any “past” sense.
The stone is rolled away;
The death shroud is removed.
Jesus’ body is not here.
The Lord has conquered death.
He is risen as He said.
Our hearts are filled with joy!
Our voices ring out joy!
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, Father,
for taking the narrow view of life, forgetting about
Your Master Plan for our fulfillment;
for being over-anxious about money and other
material things;
for becoming discouraged by physical and emotional
disabilities and embittered by sickness and death;
Forgive us, Father,
for failing to draw courage and hope from Your glorious
Easter Message;
for failing to understand that by the Resurrection Power
of Your Love, Christ has conquered sin and death —
and we are saved!
Blessing
May the Resurrection Power of the Father’s Love,
the Redemptive Power of the Son’s ministry,
and the continuing Healing Power of the Spirit’s presence,
enable you to move through
life’s adversities confidently, joyously.
The Lord has risen! Go in peace!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP April 15, 2007
Greeting
Though we do not touch our Lord’s wounded palms,
we are, nonetheless, the Company of His Believers.
Though we do not place our hands into His side,
we are, nonetheless, in the Place of His Risen Presence.
We are truly blessed,
for though we have not seen,
we have come in faith.
Penitential Prayer
Father, we live in a time of great confusion. Technology advances with frightening speed. But for every problem solved a new one emerges. We long for lost simplicity. We ache for spiritual rejuvenation. We long and we ache, but few of us take any positive action to redeem our times.
Therefore, Father, we confess that
we are often apathetic;
we are often indifferent;
we are often negligent;
we are often detached.
Father, we confess these deficiencies and resolve to
reenergize ourselves; to give witness in the world to
Your healing, reconciling, harmonizing power.
Blessing
Fear not the darkness
for the Lord is with you always.
Abide not in confusion
for the domain of the Spirit is harmonious.
Go in confidence
for the Risen Christ lights up the way.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP April 22, 2007
Greeting
The Lord is calling us:
“Come, shepherd My People Israel!
Come, tend My sheep
feed My lambs
watch over My flock!”
Come, answer the Lord’s call
and be a Shepherd for Christ!
Penitential Prayer
“Tend My Sheep!”
Lord, we confess that this simple command is
the most often disregarded.
Too often, our poor become more and more separated from our Society and yet we do less and less
to help them.
Too often, our handicapped are set aside as we label them troublesome burdens.
Too often, our elderly become lost in institutions and indifference as we leave them by the wayside.
Too often, our children run loose in a world of confusion and yet we remain indifferent to their plight.
Forgive us, Lord, for not looking after all of Your flock.
Forgive us for being Poor Shepherds!
Blessing
We do love You, Lord.
We promise to go out and
feed Your lambs
and tend Your sheep.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP April 29, 2007
Greeting
God summons.
Answer His call.
God commands.
Obey His Will.
Penitential Prayer
Yes, we speak out of turn.
Yes, we listen for praise.
Father, we confess that we misuse, misjudge,
and misdirect our vital energies.
Yes, we detest sin and its evil products, but
we sin against ourselves and others in spite of it all.
Father, please forgive us.
Blessing
May the love of the Lord be with you.
May the peace of the Lord be with you.
May the comfort of the Lord encircle you.
May the strength of His Power sustain you.
