Sunday Prayers - Epiphany - January 3

Approaching God

Welcome & announcements

Gathering Song & Prelude

Hymn:

Confessional Prayer

Guide: Everlasting God, to whom this world is just a footstool and the whole universe is a tapestry of Your making, we seek to serve You with our singing and hope to please You with our praises.

People: Almighty Lord, Your power cannot be equaled and Your ways are never thwarted; we humbly approach You as Your people, opening our hearts to Your unending love and focusing our minds upon Your gracious will.

Guide:  Merciful Father, we know our own weaknesses and past mistakes. We acknowledge our faithless ways and inconsistent devotion. We have trampled on the feelings of friends and loved ones with thoughtless words, harmful deeds, and selfish sins. Forgive us now as we humbly and sincerely confess our faults to You alone.

- SILENCE -

Guide: Gracious God, only Jesus can enrich our lives with the fountain of forgiveness that we need to cleanse our lives. Only Your Precious and Holy Son can restore us to Your Favor and reclaim our souls for Your Kingdom. In His Holy Name, we make these prayers, saying, Our Father…THE LORD’S PRAYER (debts/debtors)

Promise of the Gospel

Guide:  Christ speaks to us personally through His teaching and by God’s Holy Word. He calls us to repentance and seeks to save our souls by sacrificing Himself for us. Therefore, if we freely confess our sins and sincerely depend upon Him to rescue us from God’s wrath and rejection, we will be completely forgiven and eternally saved. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.

Gloria Patri(sung in unison): Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen.

Family Sermon (parents and all children, including Elementary school students come forward)

Encountering God

Anthem

Prayers for Health and Healing

Pastor: O Lord, show favor to Your people and restore our health through Your holy power. Forgive our fears and delete our doubts; strengthen our bodies and heal our minds.

People:                        Restore us again, O God our Savior, and place Your peace within our hearts. Show Your unfailing love to our families and friends, O Lord; grant them salvation from illness and anxiety.

Pastor: May Your love rekindle our hopes; may Your faithfulness to us restore our health. May Your righteousness speed our recovery and Your peace promote well being in our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls. Hear us now as we silently pray.

Silent Prayers for ourselves and others. A candle is lit

Pastor: The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our lives will experience healing and strength. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

(Healing Prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 85)

Singing of ‘Jesus, Draw Me Close’

Prayer for Illumination:

Reader:           Holy Spirit, enable us to recognize and accept that salvation is found in no one else but Jesus, for there is no other name under heaven given to us by which we must be saved. May today’s scriptures enhance our lives and advance this precious teaching. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

Scripture Readings

Sermon  & The Apostles’ Creed

Offering & Offertory

Dedication (unison): Lord Jesus, we do not fully understand all that happens in this world but we know that Your Spirit continues to motivate many people to do good, help the poor, and support the weak. May our gifts be blessed and used to advance Your ministry, life, and work throughout this church, this community, and across the world. In Your Sacred Name, we give and pray. Amen. 

Communion

Hymn:

Benediction (unison):  May Christ’s light illuminate our hearts each day; may the Father’s love protect us from evil every day; and may the Holy Spirit daily guide and bless us to become effective servants of the One, Triune and Living God, both now and evermore. Amen.

Doxology         Praise God, from whom all blessings flow & Postlude

Sunday prayers: Epiphany Jan 06, 2008

Approaching God

Welcome, Announcements & Verse of the Day

Prelude, Gathering & First Hymn

Prayer of Approach

Guide: Almighty Lord, our world is sustained by Your strength and the universe around us displays Your unequaled power of creation. We are creatures of Your kingdom and servants of Your Son. You have called us to worship Your ways and glorify Your everlasting name. We are humbled by Your majesty and elated with Your love.

People: Gracious Father, we admit to being sinful and selfish. We confess to making mistakes and hurting other people. We have allowed our pride to justify our misdeeds and neglected to seek Your pardon. We have excused our thoughtless words and ignored our faithless ways. We seek forgiveness and ask for Your mercy. We pray for pardon as we silently confess our faults to You alone.

- SILENCE -

Guide: Everlasting God, we know that our sins can only be forgiven through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We place our lives into His hands and look to Him to restore us to Your favor. We gather as a church in Christ’s name and we untie our spirits to Him through the saying of Christ’s precious words:-

People: (The Lord’s Prayer – debts/debtors)

Promise of the Gospel

Guide: Jesus is our One and Only Savior. When we repent of our sins and confess them to Christ, he redeems us by His blood and restores us to God’s love. In Him, we are totally forgiven and completely accepted by God. Let us rejoice and declare our allegiance to Jesus, both now and evermore. Amen.

Gloria Patri : Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen.

Family Sermon (parents and all children, including Elementary school students come forward)

Anthem

Encountering God

Prayers for Health and Healing

Pastor: O Lord, grant us Your favor and restore our health through Your holy power. Alleviate our fears and delete our doubts; strengthen our broken bodies and heal our anxious minds

People: Lift up our hearts, O God and help us to experience Your peace within our hearts. Allow our families and friends to know of Your unfailing love and tender mercy.

Pastor: Loving Father, speed our recovery through Your favorable grace. Grant health and healing to our bodies, minds, hearts and souls. Hear us now as we silently pray.

Silent Prayers for ourselves and others. A candle is lit

Pastor: May the LORD indeed give what is good, so that our lives experience healing and strength. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
(Healing Prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 85)

Singing of "Jesus, Draw Me Close."

Prayer for Illumination:

Reader: Holy Spirit, we look to You to provide us with counsel and guidance. As we read and hear God’s holy words, help us to accept and apply them each day of our lives. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

Scripture Readings, Sermon & The Apostles’ Creed

Serving God

Offering & Offertory:

Dedication (in unison): Lord Jesus, as we begin another year, give us devoted hearts and generous natures. Help us to gladly give from our resources the tithes and gifts that You need for our church. Take them and bless them for the preaching of the Gospel, the spreading of God’s word, and the praising of Your Name. Amen.

Communion

Hymn:

Benediction (in unison): May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in Him, so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; One God forevermore. Amen.


Doxology & Postlude