Sunday prayers: Pentecost May 31

Approaching God

Welcome and Announcements

Gathering Song & Prelude

Hymn:

Confessional Prayer

Guide: All Powerful Lord, whose ways cannot be thwarted and whose words can never be extinguished, we gather before You as servants and children, as followers and disciples seeking Your wisdom and needing Your grace. Your will sustains the universe and Your sovereignty extends over our lives. We approach You humbly and sincerely, looking for Your favor and asking for mercy.

People:  Everlasting Father, we have failed to live up to our faith. We have ignored Your advice and sought our own counsel. We have set aside Your commands and indulged our own desires. We regret our past mistakes and for relying upon our selfish opinions and sinful ideas about life. We pray that You will enable us to recall Your greatness and honor Your sacred ways. Hear us now as we silently and sincerely confess our faults to You alone.

- SILENCE -

Guide: Merciful God, we are unworthy and unholy people, yet You still offer us pardon and restoration, forgiveness and renewal. We expose ourselves to Your judgment and place our souls into Your hands. For we know that our Savior Jesus has given His life for all our sins and that we are cleansed of all our sins and foolish ways. In His Name and through His words, we now pray, saying,  “Our Father, etc…THE LORD’S PRAYER (debts/debtors)

Promise of the Gospel

Guide:  We cannot tell Christ what to do or when to forgive us for our sins. We can only confess our faults and lay our lives at His mercy seat, hoping and expecting Him to cleanse our souls and renew our spirits.  So let us celebrate this great miracle in each of our lives - the miracle of complete forgiveness and eternal restoration.  Amen.

Gloria Patri(sung): 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

Prayers for Health and Healing

 

Pastor:            Let us joyfully praise and bless the LORD with all the earth. We worship the LORD with gladness and come before Him with our prayers and pleas.

People:            We know that the LORD has made us and that He can grant us peace and pasture, help and healing. We abide in this holy place and wait for hope. We seek the LORD's favor for ourselves and all our loved ones.

Pastor:            The LORD is good and His love endures forever. He is faithful and gracious to all His people. Almighty Lord, we ask for health and healing, peace and calm, strength and salvation to come to us. Heal us and all for whom we pray from all that harms us in body, mind and spirit. Hear us now as we quietly pray.

 

Silent Prayers for others and ourselves. A candle is lit.

 

Pastor:            We remember the dearly departed and praise God for His love which endures both here on earth and heaven. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

                        (Healing prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 100)

Choir Anthem

The Message: Part #1

Singing of ‘Jesus, Draw Me Close’

Prayer for Illumination:

Reader:           Holy Spirit, kingdoms and powers may rise and fall, but Christ's words will outlast them. Teach us His precious lesson for today and enable us who hear these holy scriptures to receive, ponder, and apply them in our daily lives. Through the name of Jesus, our Lord and Anointed One, we pray. Amen.

Scripture Readings

The Message: Part #2  & The Apostles’ Creed

Serving God

Offering & Offertory

Dedication(unison): Lord Jesus, You have blessed us in many ways so that our lives are both faithful and fruitful. Take these tithes and offerings that we cheerfully give to You. Set them aside for the preaching of the Gospel, the teaching of the truth, and the healing of Your people. In Your Holy Name, we give and pray. Amen.

Hymn:

 

Benediction(unison):  May Christ enable us to be tolerant of one another through His grace; may the Father remove our sinful obstacles and self-imposed barriers through His love; and may the Holy Spirit shower our souls with strength, faith, and charity, both now and forever. Amen.

 

Doxology        Praise God, from whom all blessings flow  & Postlude

Sunday prayers - 7th Sunday of Easter - Easter 7 - May 24

Approaching God

Welcome & Announcements

Gathering & Prelude

Hymn:

Confessional Prayer

Guide: Everlasting Majesty and Lord of all Creation, we lift our voices to praise Your Holy Name; we lift up our hearts to cheerfully rejoice in Your sacred presence. Throughout the whole earth, millions of people are blessing and glorifying Your power. Today, we gladly join them in the worship of Your ways and the praising of Your deeds.

People: Gracious Father, in the midst of this worship, we know that our lives are imperfect and filled with moments of disappointing mistakes. We have been selfish, proud and faithless; stubborn, greedy and insensitive; angry, bitter and spiteful.

Guide: Heavenly Lord, forgive us when temptation overcomes our lives and sin overwhelms our hearts. Pardon us for neglecting our responsibilities and casting aside our faith. To You alone, we offer these personal confessions and seek Your mercy through Your Holy Son Jesus Christ. Hear us now as we silently pray.

- SILENCE -

Guide: Loving God, without Christ’s sacrifice, we would have no one to restore us; we would have no escape from Your wrath; and no hope of entering into Your everlasting Kingdom. Humbly and thankfully, we make these prayers in the Name of Jesus, our Only Savior and True Lord. In His precious words, we unite our hearts, saying, Our Father,…THE LORD’S PRAYER (debts/debtors)

Promise of the Gospel:

Guide: Jesus, through the love of His Father, gives us the Bread of Heaven. By Christ’s wounded body, our broken ways are healed; through His perfect obedience, we are reclaimed by God. So let us cheerfully rejoice, for our sins are completely forgiven, both now and forever. Amen.

Gloria Patri (sung): 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.

Children’s Sermon

Encountering God

 

Prayers for Health and Healing

 

Pastor:            Have mercy upon us, O God, have mercy upon us, for in You our souls take refuge. We cry out to You, O God Most High, for You fulfill the purposes of our lives.

People:            Loving Lord, send forth Your mercy from heaven; release us from our fears through the power of Your faithful love. In the midst of our anxieties and troubles, grant us peace. From the discomfort of our illnesses and the suffering we endure, heal us, O Lord. .

Pastor:            Let Your goodness and grace, greatness and glory be experienced in our lives and of all our loved ones as we seek healing from all that harms us in body, mind, heart and spirit. Deliver us and all whom we pray for from distress, disease and despair. Hear us now as we silently pray.

Silent Prayers for ourselves and others. A candle is lit

Pastor:            Great is Your love, O Lord, reaching from the farthest heavens into the very substance of our lives. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

(Healing Prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 57)

Anthem

A Time to Remember & Silence

The Message Part #1:

Prayer for Illumination :

Reader : Holy Spirit, may we walk through the Scriptures and be led to a beautiful place. May we be filled with wonder and amazement through all that Christ has done. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

Scripture Readings

The Message: Part #2 & The Apostles’ Creed

Serving God

Offering & Offertory:

Dedication (unison): Lord Jesus, we all have special gifts and talents, and we all have different resources and treasures. When we combine them and gather them before You, we glorify Your work and continue to enhance Your Name. Take this offering and bless it for the life, work and ministry of our church, which You ask us to undertake, support, and fulfill in Your Holy Name. Amen.

Hymn :

Benediction (unison): May Christ keep us united to His body so that we may accomplish great things in His Name; may the Father sustain us as members of Christ’s church, so that we may honor His Kingdom; and may the Holy Spirit grant us a new vision, so that we may fulfill the purposes of God in this church and community, both now and always. Amen.

 

Doxology         Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; etc               & Postlude

Sunday prayers - 6th Sunday of Easter - Easter 6 - May 17

Approaching God

 

Announcements & A Word of Welcome

Prelude, Gathering & Introit

 

Acclamation (based on words from Psalm 88)

 

Leader:           O LORD, the God who saves us, we call upon You and praise Your Almighty Name.

People:            May our prayers and praises come before You. May You delight in all that we sing and say.

Leader:           We will worship and glorify God. Let us wait upon His presence and honor His power.

 

First Hymn:

 

Prayers of Confession

 

Guide: Almighty Father, whose sacred Word brought this universe into being, and whose divine Will sustains all life, we approach You as humble servants and children, as disciples and followers of Christ.

People: Everlasting God, whose ways are never thwarted, and whose works signify Your immortal greatness, we applaud Your plan of salvation, we exalt You above all others.

Guide: Gracious Father, before we knew You, we were enemies of Your kingdom, and rebelled against Your Son. We have been reckless with our faith, and wasteful with our lives. We constantly surrender to temptation and give way to our fears.

People: Merciful Lord, save us from our sinful and selfish ways. Keep us from damaging our souls and contaminating our spirits. Help us to ask for forgiveness and to seek Your grace. Hear us now as we silently confess to You.

 

- Silent Confessions -

 

Guide: Heavenly Father, without Jesus as our Savior, we would be cast away from your loving presence forever. Without His sacrifice, we would have no opportunity to be forgiven nor restored to Your everlasting kingdom.

People: Thank You for giving Jesus to us, and for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who guides and counsels us. We make these prayers in Christ's Name and through His own words continue to pray, saying, "Our Father, etc." (Isaiah 29:5)

 

 

Promise of the Gospel

 

Guide: Jesus challenged the people, rulers, and leaders of His day to repent of their sins and be restored to God. Today, we face the same challenges from Christ. We have humbly confessed our sins and sought His mercy. Let us rejoice and be glad, for Jesus is our Savior and we are accepted by God..

(John 7: 48)

 

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)

 

2nd Hymn

Encountering God

Choir Anthem

 

 

Prayers for Health and Healing

 

Leader:           We revere the Lord and seek His blessings; we come into His presence and abide in Him.

People:            May the Lord grant us health and healing, strength and support. May the fruits of our prayers enhance our faith and increase our devotion to Him.

Leader:           May our loved ones and siblings, our families and friends receive help and power, energy and resolve to overcome their illnesses and anxieties, their troubles and worries.

People:            O Lord, we seek peace for our souls, health for our hearts, and strength for our minds.

Leader:           Gracious God, have mercy upon as we ask for healing. May we experience Your Holy Spirit and be restored physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

People:            Hear us now as we silently pray, for our loved ones and neighbors, our families and ourselves.

.

Silent Prayers for others and ourselves. A candle is lit.

Leader:           May the LORD favor us with His blessings of health and strength. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Healing prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 128)

 

Singing of 'Sanctuary. (Choir leads this)

 

Prayer of Illumination: Reader:        Holy Spirit, You inspired the disciples of long ago to spread Christ's Good News and to proclaim the victory of God's Kingdom over all the earth. Lift up our spirits in the same ways and rekindle our faith. In Christ's Name, we pray.  Amen. (Acts 5:38)

 

Scripture Readings & Sermon & The Apostles' Creed

 

Serving God

Offering & Offertory

 

Dedication:

 

Lord Jesus, we have sang Your praises and received Your message. We have been empowered by Your Spirit and embraced by God. Take these gifts and tokens, tithes and offerings as our cheerful response to Your Word and our grateful thanks for Your Love. Bless them for the continuing work of the gospel, the glorifying of God's kingdom and the praising of Your Name. Amen.  (1 Corinthians 14:15)

 

 

Closing Hymn:

 

Benediction: May Christ continue to welcome us into His flock; may the Father enhance our faith and friendships in Him; and may the Holy Spirit challenge and convert our ways, so that we may glorify, worship and serve the One Triune and Living God forevermore. Amen. (Romans 16:5)

 

Doxology        Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; etc & Postlude

 

Sunday prayers for 5th Sunday of Easter - Easter 5 - 10 May

Approaching God

Welcome & Announcements

Gathering Song & Prelude

Hymn:

Confessional Prayer

Guide: Eternal Creator of Life, whose precious words gave birth to the Universe and whose wonderful ways sustain this planet we call Earth, we approach You with our prayers and praises, asking that You will hear our heartfelt cries and be pleased with our songs of salvation.

People: Loving Lord, Your power is displayed throughout the nations of the world and Your will can never be diminished nor thwarted. We give You thanks for being mindful of our needs, our concerns and cares. We also confess that we have committed sinful deeds and omitted to do charitable acts. We have harbored ill-thoughts and spoken injurious words. We have disappointed our loved ones and diminished our faith before them.

Guide: Gracious God, forgive our foolish ways and grant us Your pardon. We regret the mistakes we have made, the disappointments we have caused, the responsibilities we have neglected, and the opportunities we have wasted. Help us to glean Your goodness in our lives by yielding our hearts and humbling our pride to Your Son Jesus Christ, our Savior. Hear us now as we intentionally confess our sins to You alone.

- SILENCE -

Guide: Compassionate Lord, thank You for hearing our prayers and petitions. Thank You for bringing Jesus into our lives. We know that His Sacrifice has canceled all our sins and created clean hearts, new lives, and faithful spirits within us all. Hear us now as we pray Christ’s own words saying, “Our Father,…THE LORD’S PRAYER (debts/debtors)

Promise of the Gospel:
Guide: Jesus is the Bread of Life that we seek to nourish our souls and strengthen our spirits. He alone has the power and authority to forgive our sins, in order to restore us to God’s favor and grace. Let us celebrate His goodness and glorify His love, both now and forever. Amen.

Gloria Patri (sung): 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.

Children’s Sermon

Encountering God

Prayers for Health and Healing

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

People: O God, whose words we praise, take away our fears and grant us peace of mind. 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. 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)

Anthem

The Message: Part #1

Singing of Jesus, Draw Me Close

Prayer for Illumination :
Reader : Holy Spirit, may we walk with Christ as we read and hear the sacred scriptures. May we be drawn nearer to Him, so that we may praise and glorify His wonderful ministry on earth. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

Scripture Readings

The Message: Part #2 & The Apostles’ Creed

Serving God

Offering & Offertory:

Dedication (unison): Lord Jesus, we all belong to the Your body of believers and we each are called to honor and bless Your continuing work in the world. Take our gifts and set them apart for the life, ministry and mission of Your Church here on Earth. In Your Holy Name, we give and pray. Amen.

Hymn :

Benediction: May Christ’s grace keep us humble; may the Father’s blessings keep us faithful; and may the Holy Spirit keep us loving and serving the One, True, Triune God, both now and always. Amen.

Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow & Postlude