Ordinary 23 C Prayers - September 04

Approaching God

Announcements and Welcome

Prelude

Call to Worship

Pastor:                 We will please the Lord from our hearts and souls by praising His Holy name.

People:                 We will remember God’s glorious deeds by recounting His wonderful blessings.

Pastor:                 Let us cheerfully glorify the Lord, who shows us love and compassion, both now and forever. Amen.

First Hymn

               

Prayers of Adoration and Confession

Guide:                  Let us approach God’s Holy throne and offer ourselves as servants in His Kingdom, and as willing participants in God’s sacred dream.

All:         Almighty and Everlasting God, to whom our hearts belong and through whom our lives are given meaning, You know us perfectly and we are blessed to be Your people. You know that we often make mistakes and You are completely aware of all our misdeeds. Forgive our sinful and selfish ways. Pardon our times of insensitivity and intolerance. Hear us now as we confess our sins to You alone.

- Silent Confessions -

Guide:                 Compassionate Lord, absolve us of our sinful past and cleanse us of our faithless ways. Forgive us through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, for His sacrifice has allowed us to receive Your salvation. In His holy words, we make our confessions and continue to pray, saying, “Our Father...THE LORD’S PRAYER” (debts/debtors).

               

Promise of the Gospel

Guide:                  Christ knows our mistaken choices and seeks to positively change us with His Gospel. He has the power to forgive our past mistakes and restore us to God's everlasting favor. So let us thank Him for giving us His life and taking away our punishment. In His Immortal 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.

Anthem

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

Children leave after sermon

Encountering God

Prayers for the World

Pastor:                 O Creator of the Earth, hear our prayers as we lift up to You our broken world. Across our planet, millions of people are suffering from hunger and deprivation, disasters and tragedies, wars and conflicts. At times, Gracious God, we do not know what to do or even where to start to fix the world. We pray for peace, but war continues. We ask for an end to poverty, but greed still grows. We look for healing and wholeness, but our world is still damaged and fractured. How long, O Lord, will this suffering continue? How long, O Lord, will man’s inhumanity prevail?

People:                 Loving Lord, we know that faith, hope, and love can endure all things, but we also understand that those gifts begin with us. We pray for peace in our hearts and in our homes. We pray healing in our families and relationship. We pray for guidance in our church and community. And we ask for compassion and justice across our land, as well as throughout the Earth. Hear us now as we silently pray.

Silent prayer for the world. A candle is lit.          

Pastor:                  The Lord, with His unfailing love, can make all things new. In Jesus' Name, we pray.  Amen.

               

Singing of ‘Sanctuary.’

Prayer of Illumination

Reader:                Holy Spirit, grant us wisdom and an understanding of these sacred scriptures. Speak to our hearts and fill us with Christ's love. In Jesus' Name, we pray. Amen.

Scripture Readings

The Message

Response:           The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Serving God

Offering & Offertory

Dedication (unison – led by the pastor):               Lord Jesus, You have spoken to our hearts through Your word and message. Help us to think carefully about everything You have given to us here. In loving response, we gather before You our tithes and gifts. We pray that You will receive and bless them for the ministries and missions You want our church to fulfill. In Your Holy Name, we give and pray. Amen.

Communion – see insert at back of main Hymn book

Closing Hymn

Benediction (unison):    May Christ's grace be with us each day; may the Father's peace empower our faith; and may the Holy Spirit keep us devoted to the One, Triune, and Living God, both now and forever. Amen.

Doxology & Postlude

Sunday Prayers Lent 1A - March 9

Approaching God

Welcome and Announcements

Prelude

Gathering Song

Call to Worship

Liturgist:               Let us praise God for He has shown His wonderful love to us.

People:                We will be encouraged and uplift our hearts, for our hope is in the LORD.

Liturgist:               Let us worship and glorify God! Amen.

Hymn

Prayer 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 presently gather in Your Holy House.

People:                 Loving Lord of Life, You watch over the Earth and see all of our ways. You know that we are sinful and selfish, foolish and faithless, as well as proud and pitiless at times. Forgive our faults and pardon our past mistakes. We know that we have neglected to do good deeds, and have inflicted our sins on other people. We have followed our own self-centered choices and allowed temptation to contaminate our souls. Hear us now as we humbly confess 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:                  Jesus wants us to turn away from our sinful ways and return to Him. He calls us to follow Him and to witness to His mercy. Our past sins are forgiven for He loves us, and because we honor His authority over our lives by asking for His grace. So let us rejoice and be glad, for Christ is our Savior and we are restored to God’s favor and blessing, 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.

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

Encountering God

Choir Anthem

Prayers for Health and Healing

Pastor:                 Lord, we proclaim Your love this morning and thank You for Your faithfulness to us. You make us glad through Your wonderful deeds; we rejoice in the work of Your healing hands.

People:                 Loving Lord, we know that You understand us perfectly and that You think about us constantly. May we flourish by Your grace; may we be healed through Your mercy.

Pastor:                  In the midst of our sickness, be our salvation. During times of depression or despair, be our defender and deliverer. Look after our loved ones and heal them of all that harms them in body, mind, heart, and soul. Hear us now as we pray.

Silent Prayers for others and ourselves. A candle is lit

Pastor:                 The Lord is our righteousness, our peace, and strength. He loves as His redeemed people and restores us in Jesus’ Name, Amen.          (Healing Prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 92)

Singing of ‘Sanctuary’

Prayer for Illumination

Reader:                 Holy Spirit, enable us to discern between right and wrong through the guidance of these scriptures. Open our hearts and minds to Christ’s teaching, so that we may cheerfully obey God every day. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.  

Scripture Readings

The Message and the Apostles’ Creed

Serving God

Offering & Offertory:

Dedication (in unison – led by pastor): Lord Jesus, You have revealed to us Your perfect 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 that You have called us to pursue and fulfill. In Your Holy Name, we give and pray. Amen.

Hymn

Benediction (unison):    May Christ help us to regard each day as a sacred and 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

Sunday prayers for Ordinary 27c -October 6th

Approaching God

Welcome and Announcements

Prelude

Gathering Song

Call to worship

Liturgist:               Your word, O LORD, brightens our lives and guides our paths.

People:                 May our praises be acceptable to You, O God, as You teach us from the scriptures.

Liturgist:               Your ways are our gift forever; they are the joy of our hearts, so we will worship and glorify You, O Living God.

Hymn

               

Prayer of Adoration and Confession

Guide:                  Lord God and King of the Universe, whose gracious words sustain the nations and whose power is almighty, we gather in Your Holy Name and offer our simple praises to Your Everlasting Majesty. Your divine ways cross over into our human lives and affect our decisions each day. All of our thoughts and deeds are known to You. All of our personal mistakes and secret sins are not hidden from You.

People:                 Eternal God, we are guilty of being selfish and proud, stubborn and bitter, as well foolish and sinful. We regret the self-centered choices that we have made, and the times when we have neglected our faith. We are ashamed of those occasions when we have disappointed You, and of those careless moments when we have dishonored the Name of Jesus. Forgive us, Father God, and hear us now as we personally confess our faults and sins to You.

- SILENCE -

Guide:                  Compassionate Lord, we praise You for hearing our prayers and accepting our pleas for forgiveness. We thank You for Your Son Jesus Christ and for His Sacrifice upon the Cross of Shame, which has given us hope, as well as the unequaled opportunity of being restored to Your favor and grace forevermore. In the Precious Name of Jesus, we pray together, saying, “Our Father…THE LORD’S PRAYER (debts/debtors)

Promise of the Gospel:

Guide:                  Jesus knew that He had to die on the Cross for us. He also knows that we are severely tested by temptation and troubled by weaknesses throughout our lives. He is willing to forgive our sins when we come to Him freely, honestly, and sincerely. So let us exalt His Holy Name and rejoice in His favor forever. Amen.

Gloria Patri

Children’s sermon

Encountering God

Anthem

Prayers for Health and Healing

Pastor:                  Heal us, O LORD, and enable us to lead faithful lives; help us to trust in You without wavering. Look kindly upon us, LORD; pacify our troubled hearts and ease our anxious minds.

People:                 Your love is always with us; we gain strength from Your Saving Power and Eternal Truth. Heal us from all that harms us so that we may proclaim aloud your praise  and tell of all your wonderful deeds. Hear us now, as we silently pray.

Silent Prayers for ourselves and others. A candle is lit

Pastor:                  May we lead faithful lives and be grateful for the mercy and compassion of the One, True and Living God. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

(Healing Prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 26)

Prayer for Illumination

Reader :               Holy Spirit, do not forsake us or cause our faith to diminish. Encourage us through Christ’s words and build up our beliefs with His teaching. Open our hearts to His precious ways, and our lives to His Will. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

Scripture Readings                         

The Message and Apostles’ Creed

Serving God

Offering & Offertory

Dedication (unison – led by pastor):       Lord Jesus, You are the Head of our church and at the center of our lives. All of the ministries and missions, programs and projects, as well as the experiences and events that we share, are sustained by Your Will and fulfilled through Your Love. Bless this offering so that these tokens may be used to enhance Your Kingdom in this community, and to glorify Your Holy Name.  Amen.

Communion

Hymn :                 

Benediction (unison):    May Jesus continually encourage and embrace us; may the Father forgive us and reconcile us to His ways; and may the Holy Spirit make us acceptable in the sight of the One, Triune, and Living God, forever and ever. Amen.

Postlude

Sunday worship prayers - Ordinary 15C - July 14

Approaching God

Welcome and announcements

Prelude

Gathering Song

Call to Worship

Liturgist:          As we gather in God’s Holy House, may our spirits be prepared to worship and applaud Him.
People:            We adore the Almighty Lord for His unlimited power; we glorify His Everlasting Name above all else.
Liturgist:          Let all who gather here today, praise the One, True, and Living God, whose glory lasts for ever and ever. Amen.

First Hymn

Prayers of Adoration and Confession

Guide:             Everlasting Father, we have come to this sacred place of praise and prayer to honor Your sovereignty and to worship Your greatness. Your infinite grace sustains our lives and we are richly blessed by Your unending love.

People:            Gracious God, we seek to live our lives by pleasing You, but sometimes we fall prey to temptation and yield to sinful ways. We make impulsive choices that disappoint You and we follow our own misguided beliefs. We neglect to do deeds that are both good and right. Hear us now as we humbly and silently confess our faults and sins to You alone.

- SILENCE -

Guide:              Loving Lord, Your Holy Son Jesus Christ is the Only One who can forgive our sins and restore us to Your favor. Only His Name can save our souls; only His blood can redeem us forever. Thank You for sending Him to the Earth and for giving us His life as the means of our eternal salvation. In Christ’s Name we pray, and through His own words we make our sacred requests, saying: “Our Father...THE LORD’S PRAYER” (debts/debtors)    

Promise of the Gospel

Guide:              Jesus is our Intercessor, who pleads for our souls before God’s holy throne. He has the mercy and grace that we need to be welcomed into Heaven. Let us, therefore, praise and glorify Christ, for He has redeemed and restored us forevermore. 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:             Grant us Your healing, O Gracious God. Allow Your righteousness to strengthen our bodies and minds. Help those among us who are afflicted with pain and discomfort, or with anxiety and sorrow. Comfort them with Your love and blessing.

People:            Restore our spirits, O Living Lord, and free us from all that ails or harms us. Protect us from all illnesses and enable us to fully recover from injury or surgery, accident or infirmity.

Pastor:             Eternal Father, Your loving kindness has been known and experienced by our people for generations. Refresh our weary spirits and renew our tired souls. Heal us and our loved ones from all that harms us in body, mind, heart, and soul. Hear us now we pray.

Silent Prayers for ourselves and others. A candle is lit

Pastor:             Loving God, sustain our hopes with healing. May we know of Your abounding grace, both now and always. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.         

(Healing Prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 72)

Singing of ‘Sanctuary.’

Prayer of Illumination

Reader:           Holy Spirit, descend among us and open our hearts and minds to the message of the Gospel. May we honor and glorify Christ through the hearing of these words and the living of His teaching. Amen.oly

Scripture Readings

The Message and the Apostles' Creed

Serving God

Dedication (unison, led by pastor):                Lord Jesus, we give everything of ourselves to You alone. We ask that You will accept our lives, and the tokens of gratitude that we place before You. Bless them for the work of this church, as well as for the proclaiming of the Gospel, and the advancement of God’s Kingdom. In Your Holy Name, we give and pray. Amen.

Closing Hymn:

Benediction (unison): May Christ grant us opportunities to serve Him in this community; may the Father help us to reach out to others who need His love; and may the Holy Spirit grant us the courage to live out our faith in our homes, businesses, schools, and neighborhoods, to the glory of the One, Triune, and Living God forevermore. Amen.

Doxology and Postlude