PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
September 1, 2013
Greeting
The Old Testament writer has proclaimed:
There is no cure for the proud man’s malady, since an evil growth has taken root in him.
The heart of a sensible man will reflect on parables, an attentive ear is the sage’s dream.
Let us give an attentive ear and open heart to our Sage of Sages who speaks to us today of pride — and humility.
Penitential Prayer
For our easy acceptance of “the way things are” in a world of “winners” and “losers,” forgive us Lord.
For our devotion to life not as a love but as a competition, forgive us Lord.
For our stubborn refusal to uproot “the proud man’s malady” from our souls, forgive us Lord.
Blessing
Let us make our way now to the lowest place. Let us make the needs and the concerns of others our number one priority.
Let us prove to one another and to the world the truth of these words:life is a love and not a competition.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
September 8, 2013
Greeting
Come, let us worship God.
Let us be awed by His Presence.
Let us be shaped by His Standards.
Let us be enlightened by His Wisdom.
Let us be mobilized by His Spirit.
Penitential Prayer
We confess, Lord, that we are prone by nature and habit to make the wrong choices.
We choose independence instead of discipleship.
We choose retaliation instead of reconciliation.
We choose wide roads instead of narrow pathways.
Pardon us Father, for our lack of commitment,
and lead us in the difficult way of a true disciple.
Blessing
Return from God’s house, remembering that true worship is not just honoring God in this place.
True worship is to honor Him in the school and home, to walk His way in the factory and place of business, and to treat with justice and dignity all His children.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
September 15, 2013
Greeting
The Lord our God is a welcoming God, standing with arms outstretched to those who return.
The Lord our God is a seeking God, calling in love to those who are wandering.
The Lord our God is a hearing God, with ears that are open to our prayers of need and our hymns of praise.
Penitential Prayer
We acknowledge, Lord that we are very much like the sheep whom You characterized as having wandered away.
We tend to put our heads down and follow one tuft of grass after another, without lifting our eyes to see which direction we are going.
We listen to the voice of other shepherds, whose intention is to use us for their own purposes.
We allow ourselves to get caught in the under brush and rocky crevices of life.
We take lightly the sacrifice You have made for us when You warded off the predator who would destroy our souls.
Forgive us, we pray, for our wanderings, and encourage us by Your gentle invitation to follow You in confidence and obedience.
Blessing
Farewell, friends in Christ.
Return to your homes
secure in the knowledge that God loves you
and that you are part of His family.
May you return again next week, having fulfilled God’s purpose in your life.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
September 22, 2013
Greeting
We who are the beneficiaries of God’s Grace have come here to worship Him and to find our place in His Divine Plan.
Penitential Prayer
We confess that we are much like those who are constantly tempted to place their trust in false idols.
We find it tempting to worship money, believing that it will buy what we really want in life.
We are prone to worship power, thinking that through us alone we will overcome our enemies.
Forgive us, Lord, for our misplaced trust in the creature rather than the Creator.
Blessing
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abiding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
September 29, 2013
Greeting
We have come to experience the fullness of God’s Love in this present moment.
We have come to renew our expectation of God’s Love in the eternal future.
We have come with heart felt dreams of the new heaven and the new earth to come.
We have come to thank God for the experience of His abiding Love in this moment of Grace, and for the promise of eternal life in His Coming Kingdom.
Penitential Prayer
Lord, by Your Grace that we receive in this present moment, we know too that …
if it is guidance we need,
guidance will be offered;
if it is judgment we need,
judgment will be rendered;
if it is forgiveness we need,
forgiveness will be given.
Lord, by Your Grace which we receive in this present moment, forgive us for our selfishness, our insensitivity and our hardness of heart.
Blessing
Praise God from the rooftops!
He is our journey’s end;
He is our heart’s desire;
He is our abiding Hope;
He is our unending Love.
Praise God from the rooftops!
