Palm Sunday Worship prayers - April 1, 2012

Approaching God

Welcome and Announcements

Prelude

Gathering

Call to Worship

Youth:             Hosanna! Bless is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!

People:            Hosanna! Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Youth:             Hosanna in the highest! Let us worship and praise God. Amen.

First Hymn

Prayers of Adoration and Confession

Guide:                         Almighty and Everlasting Father, on this wonderful day of praise and thanksgiving, pour out Your Spirit upon Your people, so that we may honor and glorify Your Holy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. We lift up our hands and hearts to ask for Your blessing and favor. We seek to please You with our words and prayers, as well as our songs and devotions.

People:            Most Merciful God, our lives are meant to be dedicated to You, but we have allowed ourselves to be distracted and disloyal. We have sometimes sinfully shunned Your commands and set aside Your ways. We are guilty of hiding our faith and neglecting our Christian service. We have ignored opportunities to be compassionate and caring. Instead of honoring Your words, we have glorified our own works. Instead of asking for pardon and forgiveness, we are full of pride and vanity. Hear us now as we humbly make our confessions to You alone.

- SILENCE -

Guide:                         Loving Father, turn our lives around and challenge our ways. Grant us the mercies of Your Son. Help us to look to Him for guidance and forgiveness, and also for purpose and meaning in our lives. For we make our confessions in Christ’s Name and seek to unite our spirits with Him, saying “Our Father, Who art in Heaven...THE LORD'S PRAYER.” ( debts/debtors)

Promise of the Gospel

Guide: Where is Christ in our lives? Is He at the center of our existence? Does He influence our choices and decisions? Can other people see Him in our acts and deeds? He is the Savior of our souls, for He alone has the power and authority to forgive our sins and to eternally restore us to God’s loving-kindness. So, let us glorify and honor Christ as our King, both now and always. 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, You are our God and earnestly we seek You for health and healing. Our souls thirst for Your righteousness and our bodies long for Your strength.

People:            Here, in this sacred sanctuary, we behold Your power and salvation. Your Love, O Lord, is better than life itself; therefore we will glorify You forevermore.

Pastor:             Living God, we lift up our prayers and ask for Your grace. Help and heal us, and all our loved ones, from all that harms us in body, mind, heart, and soul. Satisfy our pleas with Your peaceful presence. Hear us now as we silently pray.

Silent Prayers for ourselves and others. A candle is lit

Pastor:             Because You are our help, O God, our souls cling to You. In Jesus’ Name, we confidently pray. Amen.

(Healing Prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 63)

Singing of “Sanctuary.”

Prayer of Illumination

Reader: Holy Spirit, help us to listen to Christ’s teaching through these sacred words. Keep us from being distracted by our thoughts and personal concerns. Grant us the ability to take these lessons and apply them in our daily lives. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

Scripture Readings

The Message & the Apostles' Creed

Serving God

Offering & Offertory

Dedication (unison):  Lord Jesus, You give us the opportunity to inherit the kingdom of God. We can never repay the debt that we owe to You for our salvation. To show our gratitude, we offer our tithes and gifts. We pray that You will accept and bless them for the preaching of Your Word, the work of Your Church, and the saving of other souls. In Your Holy Name, we give and pray. Amen.

Communion

Closing Hymn

Benediction (unison): May Christ make us bold witnesses of God’s Kingdom in the world today; may the Father strengthen our hopes through His amazing love; and may the Holy Spirit continue to guide and teach us, so that we may honor and glorify the One, Triune, and Living God, throughout our days on Earth and forevermore. Amen.

Doxology & Postlude

Sunday Worship Prayer - Lent 4 - Fourth in Lent - March 18

Approaching God

Prelude

Welcome and Announcements

Gathering Song

Call to Worship

Youth:             Hear us, O Shepherd of the Nations, who leads us as His faithful flock.

People:           Awaken our spirits and come among us in a mighty and powerful way.

Youth:             Restore us, O God, and let Your face shine upon us, as we worship and glorify You.

First Hymn:

Guide:              Loving Lord, whose mighty acts and wondrous deeds reveal to us Your power, creativity and sovereignty over the entire universe, we praise and adore You as our Creator and King. Your ways have been known to our people across the centuries and throughout all nations; we humbly approach You with reverence, dedication, and devotion.

People:           Gracious God, each day of our lives, You seek to instruct us and guide us by Your holy counsel. Sometimes we foolishly ignore Your advice and seek to do our own selfish things. Forgive our sinful and faithless ways. Pardon us for making the wrong choices and self-centered mistakes. Hear us now as we silently confess our sins to You alone.

- Silent Confessions -

Guide:              Merciful Father, You have given us Jesus, Your Holy Son, to reclaim our lives, to teach us Your ways, and to save our souls. His obedience and sacrifice has won our salvation. We thank You for restoring us to Your everlasting love, and in the words of Christ, we continue praying, “Our Father….The Lord’s Prayer (debts/debtors)

Promise of the Gospel

Guide:              Jesus is the Christ of our lives, the Anointed Messiah, and Holy One of God. He alone has the authority to forgive our sins. By His grace, we are cleansed of our sinful past and returned to God's favor. Let us rejoice and be glad in Him, the King of Kings and Lord of lords, both now and forever. Amen.

Gloria Patri (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

Choir Anthem

Prayers for Health and Healing

Pastor:             We call upon the Lord, in the midst of all our troubles, and He answers us. Save us, O Lord, from false ways and self-deception. Help us to cling to Your truth.

People:           O Lord, You are the source of all our hope; You are the One who brings us healing. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, for we are frail and fearful. Grant us strength and renewal.

Pastor:             In Your Holy Presence, Lord, we live our lives. We need Your help and long for deliverance from sickness and suffering; pain and discomfort; anxiety and stress. We seek Your peace and pray that You will heal us, as well as each of our loved ones, from all that harms us in body, mind, heart, and soul.

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

Pastor:             Loving Lord, speak Your peace to us this day and fill our hearts with hope. In Jesus' Name, we pray. Amen.

(Healing prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 120)

Singing of 'Sanctuary’.

Prayer of Illumination

Reader:           Holy Spirit, may Christ speak to our hearts and may God resurrect our hopes through these scriptures. May we receive and share the blessings of faith, strength, and love that we encounter throughout these biblical texts.  In Jesus' Name we ask.  Amen.

Scripture Readings

The Message & the Apostles' Creed

Serving God

Offering & Offertory

Dedication (unison):

Guide:              Lord Jesus, all that we are has been fulfilled and accomplished by Your grace. Take these                             tithes and gifts that we freely offer to You, and use them for the preaching of Your Word, the                                     enhancement of Your Church, and the glorifying of Your Name Amen.

Closing Hymn:

Benediction (unison):                        May Christ urge and inspire us to fulfill His ministry in our lives; may the Father's great and everlasting love be treasured in our hearts and explicit in our deeds; and may the Holy Spirit keep us loving and serving the One, Triune, and Living God, both now and evermore.  Amen.

Doxology         Praise God, from whom all blessings flow  & Postlude

Sunday Worship Prayers - Lent 3 - March 11

Approaching God

Prelude

Welcome and Announcements

Gathering Song

Call to Worship

Pastor:             We come to this sacred place to honor and glorify God.

People:            O Lord, as we gather in Your presence, let us become a family of faith.

Pastor:             Jesus, Sacred Son of God and Christ of the entire world, grant us the blessing of Your love.                     Amen.

First Hymn

Prayers of Adoration and Confession

Guide:                         Sovereign Lord of the Universe and Gracious God of our hearts, we praise Your glorious ways and bless Your wonderful deeds. You are the One, True and Living God. We are honored to be called into Your Holy Presence. We feel favored to gather in Your Holy House.

People:            Loving Lord of Life, You rule over the Earth and see our entire ways. You know that we are sometimes sinful and selfish, foolish and faithless, as well as proud and greedy. Forgive our faults and pardon our past mistakes. We confess that we have neglected to do good deeds and have inflicted hurt on other people. We have followed our own self-centered ways and allowed temptation to overwhelm our souls. Hear us now as we humbly admit our sins to You alone.

- SILENCE -

Guide:                         Heavenly Father, enable us to honor Your Name by placing Christ at the center of our lives. May His Passion free us from our sins. May His sacrifice restore us to Your Favor. For we make our confessions in Christ’s Name and through His own words, we unite our hearts in prayer, saying, “Our Father…” THE LORD’S PRAYER (debts/debtors)

Promise of the Gospel:

Guide:                         Christ convicts us of our sins and reveals to us how fallen we have become. He does not leave us to despair, but instead He offers us a sacred opportunity to find forgiveness, peace, and love in Him. By His sacrifice at Calvary, we receive mercy and are restored to God’s favor forever. Therefore, in Christ’s powerful Name, let us rejoice and pray. Amen.

Gloria Patri (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:             Hear our cries, O God; listen to our heartfelt prayers. Deep within our souls, we call to You. When we are weak and our hearts are troubled, be the Rock of our salvation.

People:            You are our refuge and our strength against all things which harm us in body, mind, heart and soul. We seek to dwell in Your healing presence and look to You to keep us safe from illness and injury, disease and despair, as well as pain and suffering.

Pastor:             We call upon You for healing on behalf of ourselves, our loved ones, and for those that we know are in need of Your help. May Your love and faithfulness protect all of us and may our loved ones experience Your peace and blessing, Your hope and healing. Hear us now as we pray.

Silent Prayers for ourselves and others. A candle is lit

Pastor:             May we sing praise to the One True and Living God, whose compassionate healing is given and fulfilled in each of our lives this day. In Jesus’ Name, we ask. Amen.         

(Healing Prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 61)

Singing of “Jesus Draw Me Close.” (Choir leads this)

Prayer of Illumination:

Reader:            Holy Spirit, lift up our hearts and help us to understand Christ’s message from these sacred scriptures. Reveal to us His teaching for our lives, and help us to apply all that we learn from Him today.  In Christ’s Holy Name, we pray. Amen. 

Scripture Readings

The Message & The Apostles' Creed

Serving God

Offering & Offertory

Dedication(unison):   Lord Jesus, You have revealed to us Your ways through the Living Word of the scriptures. In response, we gather together our tithes and offerings, placing them into Your keeping. We ask that You will bless these tokens and enable us to use them for the many ministries and missions You have called us to pursue and fulfill. In Your Holy Name, we give and pray. Amen. 

Closing Hymn:

Benediction (unison):            May Christ help us to regard each day as a special gift; may the Father continue to supply our needs and satisfy our souls; and may the Holy Spirit teach us to live our lives in thankfulness to the One, Triune, and Living God, both now and always. Amen.

Doxology & Postlude