PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP May 7, 2006
Greeting
“Come,” beckons the Good Shepherd to His flock!
“I am the Gateway to new life. Come!
for refreshment …
for comfort …
for healing …
for peace of soul …
Come, and I will make you whole!”
Penitential Prayer
So often, Father, we are appreciative and thankful only for those things we consider extraordinary. We overlook so much of Your world’s simple beauty.
We overlook the wonder in the rise and fall of the seasons.
We overlook the passion of autumn, the majesty of winter, the freshness of spring, and the fruitfulness of summer;
We overlook the heart-warming joy in a child’s laughter.
We overlook the wonder of the sea, the sand, the wind, the planets, the stars.
Father we have overlooked so much for which we have to be thankful.
We ask forgiveness for our shortsightedness and pray that we might follow more closely the Good Shepherd and become more fully sensitized to the wonder and glory of Creation.
Blessing
Go in Peace!
Follow the Good Shepherd.
Answer His call.
Walk in His tracks.
Obey His commands.
Follow Him, hopefully, joyfully!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP May 14, 2006
Greeting
We gather here in this 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.
Abide in Me, says 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 set the world on fire in a manner far out of proportion to our numbers.
Forgive us, Father, for not remembering that we have been called to bear much fruit in our servant ministry.
Blessing
Go now, with God’s blessing!
Go now, and abide in the Lord!
Go now, and lose your life
in His ministry of love!
Go now, and be the
fruit-bearers of the Lord!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP May 21, 2006
Greeting
“Love one another as I have loved you,” says
the Lord.
True love begins with the understanding
that God has loved us first.
Come, let us celebrate love’s beginnings in this experience of worship: for GOD IS LOVE!
Penitential Prayer
Lord, You have graced us with Your Love,
but we sometimes choose to lurk in the shadows
and shun the light.
We sometimes turn away from opportunities to serve You.
We sometimes complicate our lives, because we put our way before Your way.
We sometimes become agents of destruction in our human relationships because we put ourselves first, our neighbors last.
Lord, we sometimes fail in our ministry of Christian
discipleship.
But we ask Your forgiveness Lord, because we want to succeed!
We want to keep trying!
Blessing
Go in Peace!
Having been blessed with the assurance that we are loved by God, we go now to deliver this blessed assurance to our sisters and brothers …
WHOEVER THEY ARE,
WHEREVER THEY ARE.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP May 28, 2006
Greeting
Welcome, all who have gathered together in His Name!
Welcome, disciples of Christ!
Disciples
of the Teacher
of the Healer
of the Messiah
of the Risen Lord
of the One Truth.
Welcome, disciples of Christ,
as we gather to hear His Word.
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, Father, we have closed our ears to Your prophetic word: Your one and only Truth.
We want to be Your disciples
but are afraid of the consequences.
We want to proclaim Your Truth
but are afraid of the criticism.
We want to feed the poor
but are afraid of the cost.
We want to shelter the homeless
clothe the needy
heal the sick
defend the helpless
but are afraid of the time involved.
Lord, forgive our fears, and give us the courage to be Your disciples of Truth.
Blessing
Go now, with God’s blessing!
Go now, and lose your life in His ministry of love.
Go now, and discover who you really are!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP June 4, 2006
Greeting
Come, let us serve the Lord!
Let us serve Him in the home!
Let us serve Him in the office!
Let us serve Him in the factory!
Let us serve Him in the school!
Let us serve Him in this Church!
Come, let us serve the Lord!
Penitential Prayer
Father, we sometimes choose to isolate You in this
anctuary;
We sometimes choose to acknowledge Your Presence in our lives but once a week.
We sometimes choose to live and work and play independently of the experience of Your abiding Presence.
We sometimes act as though You were a part-time God.
For these sins of pride and arrogance, Father, we humbly beg forgiveness.
Blessing
Go in Peace and …
Wherever you go,
Whenever you go,
However you go
Whatever you do,
God is with you
and the choice is His!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP June 11, 2006
Greeting
Come and see the goodness of the Lord.
Come and smell the fragrance of the Lord.
Come and taste the food of the Lord.
Come and feel the Presence of the Lord.
Come and hear the Word of the Lord.
Come and bow reverently before the authority of
the Lord.
Penitential Prayer
Father, we reach out for Your help …
Help us to forget our anxieties and remember
Your love;
Help us to forget our prejudices and remember
Your grace;
Help us to forget our limitations and remember
Your power;
Help us to forget our woes and remember
Your peace;
Help us to forget our opinions and remember
Your Truth;
Help us to forget our violations and remember
Your forgiveness;
Help us to forget our willfulness and remember
Your commands.
Blessing
Father, as we leave Your house, give us
enough difficulty to keep us humble;
enough challenge to keep us alert;
enough hurts to keep us tender;
enough love to keep us warm; and
enough success to keep us sure.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP June 18, 2006
Greeting
Come and celebrate the miracle of Christ’s body and blood!
Renounce sin!
Reject negativity!
Abolish evil!
Do these things in preparation for the miracle!
Remember that your actions are outward signs of your faith in the Bread of Life!
Act justly!
Act peacefully!
Act lovingly!
Penitential Prayer
Father, Your Son has invited us to eat the Bread of Life, but instead we are bloated from our own spiritual junk-food.
We feed upon advertisements which promise good
living but not necessarily good life.
We feed upon the psychology of “do it if it feels
good,” even if it isn’t good.
We allow our children to feed upon a daily diet of
mindless TV violence.
Father, forgive us,
for eating garbage
and turning down the True Bread of Life.
Blessing
May the Truth of the Father,
the way of the Son,
and the light of the Spirit
be with you always.
May you feed on the True Bread of Life,
now and always.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP June 25,2006
Greeting
Life and death are two aspects of one great miracle.
We recognize these things as miracles because they are the way of Almighty God.
Penitential Prayer
Forgive us, Father if we work non-stop
at achieving greatness, but work very little
at serving others;
– if we flatter our superiors, but show the
least respect for those with menial jobs;
– if we gather glory in our names, but ignore
the glory of God;
– if we spend our money on novelties, but do not make the smallest contributions to charities;
In short, Father, forgive us if we spend our energy in false and vain pursuits.
Blessing
Having acknowledged the miracle of life and death,
return to your families, jobs, and homes assured that the world turns in harmony with God’s Will.
