Sunday Worship Prayers - Christmas 2A - Second Sunday in Christmas - January 02

Approaching God
Announcements & A Word of Welcome
Gathering & Prelude

First Hymn:

Prayers of Adoration and Confession

Guide:                         Everlasting God, whose goodness knows no bounds and whose greatness is unsurpassed, we worship Your ways and adore Your almighty power. Your will sustains the universe and Your word brings purpose to our lives; we praise You for Your faithful promises and enduring love.
People:            Merciful Father, we confess that there are times in our lives when we are mistaken, selfish, and sinful. There are moments in our days when we allow temptation, pride, and foolishness to overrule our hearts and minds. When we damage our souls with false words and faithless ways, forgive us. When we waste our talents and squander Your blessings, pardon us. Hear us now as we admit our sins to You.
- Silent Confessions -
Guide:                         Loving God, who hears our contrite pleas and listens to our confessional prayers, we place our lives and souls into the precious hands of Christ Jesus, our Savior and Your Holy Son. In Him, we seek forgiveness and pardon, redemption and restoration. Through His sacred words, we continue to pray, saying, "Our Father, Who art in heaven...THE LORD'S PRAYER” debts/debtors
Promise of the Gospel:
Guide:                         Jesus seeks to display God’s work in each of our lives. Through His sacrifice, we are reclaimed as God’s children. By His authority, we are reborn into God’s Kingdom. Let rejoice and praise Him 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.
Family Sermon (parents and all children, including Elementary school students come forward)

Encountering God
Anthem

Prayers for Health and Healing
Pastor:             Let us look to the Lord for help and healing; let us rejoice in His power and grace. May God become our stronghold of salvation and fortify our faith with His goodness and mercy.
People:            May we flourish in God’s house, earnestly desiring deliverance and expecting great things from His Holy Spirit. We will trust in God’s unfailing love and hold on to His promises forever and ever.
Pastor:             Heavenly Father, send forth Your Holy Spirit to heal our broken bodies, weary souls, anxious minds, and heavy hearts. Graciously answer our prayers and bless the lives of all our loved ones with Your healing touch this day. Hear us now as we silently bring our healing prayers to You.

Silent Prayers for ourselves and others. A candle is lit
Pastor:             May we praise God for the deeds He has done, the hopes He has fulfilled, and the goodness He has given. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
(Healing Prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 52)

Singing of “Jesus Draw Me Close."

Prayer of Illumination: 
Reader:            Holy Spirit, we live in God’s presence and seek Christ’s wisdom each day. Open our hearts and minds to receive the holy lessons of faith that You would bestow upon us through these scriptures now. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

Scripture Readings

Sermon & The Apostles' Creed

Serving God
Offering & Offertory

Dedication Prayer (unison)

Lord Jesus, as we embark upon this New Year, help us to recommit our lives and resources to You. Raise our spirits and cheer our souls. Grant us the blessings of cheerful giving and loving hearts. Take our tithes and gifts for Your work in this church, and the ministries that You ask us to fulfill in Your Holy Name. Amen. 
Communion

Closing Hymn:

Benediction (unison):            May Christ write His compassion across our hearts; may the Father keep us as servants of His Kingdom; and may the Holy Spirit empower and enable us to witness to the glory of the One, Triune, and Living God, both now and forever. Amen.
Doxology May God's Blessing & Postlude

Sunday prayers: Christmas 2 - Jan 04

Approaching God

Welcome & Announcements

Prelude & Gathering

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. Your power cannot be equaled and You ways can never be thwarted. We approach You as Your people, opening our hearts to Your unending love and focusing our minds upon Your gracious will.

People: Merciful Father, we know our own weaknesses and past mistakes. We have trampled on the feelings of friends and our loved ones with thoughtless words, harmful deeds, and selfish sins. We have neglected Your Word and rejected Your counsel. We have followed our own understanding and have allowed anger, arrogance and ambition to justify our self-seeking ways. 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, therefore we make these prayers in His Name and with His words, 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. 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: O Lord, show favor to Your people and restore our health through Your holy power. Forgive our fears and diminish 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)

Anthem
The Message #1 – (Title Goes Here)

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. Amen.

Scripture Readings, The Message #2, & The Apostles’ Creed

Serving God

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, to help the poor, and to support the weak. May our gifts be blessed and used to advance Your ministry, life and work throughout this church, our community, and across the world. In Your 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 & Postlude