Prayers Sunday Feb 04

Approaching God

Announcements & A Word of Welcome
Prelude, Gathering

Acclamation (based on words from Psalm 139)

Pastor: O Lord, You have searched our hearts and You know us completely.
People: You perceive our thoughts before we know them; You are familiar with all our ways.
Pastor: How precious You are to us, O Lord; therefore we will praise and serve You. Amen.

First Hymn:

Prayers of Confession

Guide: Almighty God and Most Powerful Lord, whose kingdom is boundless and whose authority can never be diminished, we come before Your Holy Throne to worship and adore Your ways, to honor and glorify Your deeds, to revere and esteem Your sacred words.
People: Heavenly Father, You have called us to this place of peace and prayer. You have brought us to this sanctuary of strength and salvation, so that we may praise Your Holy Name and become renewed through Your wonderful love.

Guide: Gracious Lord, at times we ruin our faith through selfish and dishonest ways. There are moments in our lives when, through our pride, our greed, our longings and acts of defiance, we scorn Your sacred guidance and reject Your Holy commands.
People: Compassionate God, forgive our foolish sins and redeem us from our random acts of unkindness, bitterness, indifference and intolerance. Pardon our neglect of caring for others, of forgiving our debtors, of ignoring those who need our help. Hear us now as we silently and sincerely confess our sins, our faults, our everyday mistakes.

- SILENCE -

Guide: Merciful Father, batter down the walls of belligerence and rebelliousness which have hardened our hearts. Lead us to Jesus Christ Your Holy Son and help us to follow His faithful ways.
People: For we ask all this in Jesus’ Sacred Name and through His own words we pray, saying, “Our Father, saying, "Our Father, Who art in heaven...THE LORD'S PRAYER” debts/debtors

Promise of the Gospel:
Guide: Jesus heals us of sinful past and spiritual blindness. He sends us out into the world as defenders of the faith and witnesses of His glory. We are forgiven by the power in His precious blood and, through His everlasting grace, we are restored to God’s favor. In Christ’s Name, we rejoice and pray. Amen. (John 9:7)

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)

Encountering God


Anthem

Minute for Mission: Guatemalan Mission Trip

Prayers for Health and Healing

Pastor: Be merciful to us, O God, for worries constantly burden us; all day long we are under pressure.
People: O Lord, when we are afraid, we will trust in You.

Pastor: O God, whose words we praise, take away our fears and grant us peace of mind.
People: We place our lives, our loved ones, our prayers and concerns into Your healing hands.

Pastor: We pledge ourselves to Your Kingdom and humbly ask that You will heal us, and all whom we pray for, from all that harms us in body, mind, soul and spirit.
People: Deliver us from despair and keep us from falling into fear or frustration. Hear us as we sincerely pray.

Silent Prayers for ourselves and others. A candle is lit

Pastor: May we walk before the Lord in the light of life and His love. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
(Healing Prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 56)

Singing of '"Jesus Draw Me Close." (Choir leads this)

Prayer of Illumination: Reader: Holy Spirit, teach us God’s everlasting truths from the words an deeds of Jesus. Enable us, through the reading and hearing of today’s scriptures, to recognize and proclaim Christ as the Righteous One sent from God. In His Sacred Name, we pray. Amen.
(Acts 7:52)

Scripture Readings & Sermon & The Apostles' Creed

Serving God

Offering & Offertory

Dedication:
Lord Jesus, challenge and change our natures so that we may gladly give to You from our resources and wealth. Receive our tithes and gifts from the bounty of the blessings that You bestow upon us. Take them for the work of Your Church and the spreading of the Gospel. In Your Holy Name, we give and pray. Amen. (1 Corinthians 15:45)

Communion

Closing Hymn:

Benediction: May the Son help us to minister to the people of this community; may the Father keep us faithful to His everlasting covenant; and may the Spirit enhance our lives with an abundance of grace, so that we may honor, serve, and glorify the One, Triune and Living God, both now and evermore. Amen. (2 Corinthians 3:6)

Doxology May God's Blessing & Postlude