Prayer of Praise: –   

We are the body of Christ.  Come, let us worship God, who has called us to be a holy People, and has established an everlasting Covenant with His Creation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We come in spirit and in truth.

Let us offer our adoration to the God of love; who has created us, who continually preserves and sustains us, who has loved us with an everlasting love, and has given us the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

We praise you, O God, we acclaim your majesty as Creator of Heaven and Earth.

Let us mediate on the grace of Jesus, for though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, for though he was tempted in every way as we are, yet he did not sin.  He went about doing good and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

We praise you, Jesus, we acclaim you as Lord of all.

Let us meditate on the gift of Jesus, for he became obedient to death, death on the cross; he was dead and is now alive for evermore.  He opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all who believe; and is seated at God’s right hand in glory.

We praise you, Jesus, we acclaim you as Saviour of all.

Let us rejoice in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, whose witness confirms us, whose wisdom teaches us, whose power enables us.  By the Spirit we are born into the Family of God, and have a share in the fellowship we have with God and with each other.

We praise you, Holy Spirit, we acclaim your power and influence in each of us.

We praise you God, Father, Son, and Spirit, for in and through you is our whole life and being.

In all we are, in all we do, in all we say, may we offer to you our thanks and adoration.  To your glory we pray.  Amen.

Prayer of Confession    

We humbly confess our sins, merciful God.  You have set forth the way of life for us in Jesus, but we confess with shame our slowness to learn from him, our failure to follow him, and our reluctance to take up our cross.

Have mercy on us, O God, and forgive us.

We confess the poverty of our worship, our neglect of the Christian Community, our hesitating witness for Christ, our evasion of responsibilities in your service, our imperfect stewardship of your gifts.

Have mercy on us, O God, and forgive us.

We confess that so little of your love has reached others through us, that we have cherished things which divide us from others, that we have made it hard for others to live with us, that we have been thoughtless in our judgements, hasty in our condemnation, and grudging in our forgiveness.

Have mercy on us, O God, and forgive us.

We bring these prayers before you, trusting in your goodness and faithfulness to listen to us and to forgive us.

Cleanse us of that which hinders our fellowship with you and our fellowship with others.  Renew us so that we give honour to you in our thoughts, our speech and our actions.  To your glory we pray.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness 

(Philippians 2: 8 & Galatians 4: 5) 

The Apostle Paul reminds us that Jesus humbled himself and walked the path of obedience all the way to death, his death on the cross, to redeem us so that we could all become children of God.

Having confessed our sins before God and placed our trust in the love and grace of God, we have the assurance that God, in His mercy, has forgiven us and has cleansed us of all unrighteousness, and that He has accepted each of us as His own.

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others

Almighty God, we come to you in this brand new year with a desire to move forward, not backward.  Last year is gone and with it all the foolish mistakes we made. 

We are eager to put the past behind and to press on toward the mark of knowing you, loving you, serving you, and making Your name known in this coming year.

At the start of each day, help us to recognize you above all else.  Enlighten the eyes of our heart that we might see you, and notice how you’re at work through our lives. 

Give us the wisdom to make the best choices, fill us with a desire to seek after you more than anything else in this world.  Let your Spirit and power breathe in us, through us, again, fresh and new. 

Thank you that you are greater than anything we may face in our day.  Thank you that your presence goes with us and that our joy is never dependent on our circumstances, but your presence is our true and lasting strength, no matter what we’re up against. 

We ask that your peace lead us, that it would guard our hearts and minds in you.  We ask for your grace to cover our lives this day and every day.

May you help us to love a bit more deeply, see the beauty around us more clearly, listen more earnestly, speak more honestly. 

May we be troubled by injustice and be moved to act. 

May we be led by compassion and be moved to serve. 

May we walk softly upon this Earth and be gentle towards your Creation. 

May we be a courageous and bold witness for you. 

May we be a living example of your gracious love, not only in word but in deed. 

And may we daily give thanks for the others in our lives and in the World that do the same and more, every day, in innumerable ways. 

For the promise in this New Year, we give you thanks.  Help us to live it wisely and well.

Other Prayers

(Not used in the Church service)

Almighty God, we pray for the Church, that, through our words and deeds, we may be a Light to those who are searching for direction and a sign of hope for those seeking to begin again.

We pray for your blessing on the New Year, that you will fill the coming days with health of body, mind, and spirit; renew the gifts of the Spirit within us, and inspire us with new ways to share the Good News with others.

We pray for greater trust, that, like the Wise Men, your Light may guide us through the unknown of the coming days as we rely more deeply on your love and care for us.

We pray for guidance for a great utilization of our gifts and talents, that, like the magi, we may offer all our gifts to you and use them in the service of your reign.

We pray for a spirit of wonder, that our hearts may be filled with joy as we recognize your many gifts to us in our faith, our relationships, and our opportunities.

We pray for a renewal of prayer in our lives, that we may make time for you each day of this year and be attentive to your invitations and promptings in our hearts.

We pray for greater unity and cooperation within the Human family, that you will heal the wounds of racial bias, open hearts to the talents of every person, and help us work together

against violence, drug abuse, and poverty.

We pray for all recovering from natural disasters, that you will guide them through the challenges that they face, renew their spirits, and open the hearts of many to assist and encourage them.

We pray for those bound by fear, that you will free their spirits, help them to trust your providence, and open a vision of the future for them.

We pray for members of the levels of Government, that you will give them a clear understanding of the issues before them and wisdom to effectively address them for the common good.

We pray for all who are ill, that you will restore the sick, protect the Human family from the viruses, and give strength to all healthcare workers.

Copyright © 2021. Joe Milner. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use. – https://liturgy.slu.edu/EpiphanyC25/ideas_other.html

Almighty God, we pray for all Stateless people.

Give thanks for those who live with a sense of being valuable in your sight, even if they officially lack a nationality, and for those who reach out to stateless people, making them feel at home, and addressing the dilemmas they face.

We pray for an end to the discrimination and marginalization that lead to some people being stateless, for those who lack support and feel they are in limbo while being stateless, for churches and other organizations to reach out to provide stateless people with what they need to live, and for governments and international organizations to change policies and practices so that all people feel they belong somewhere.

Prayer on waiting

Lord Jesus, I am tired.
Tired of waiting to be able to live normally,
tired of being chased,
tired of hiding and living in constant fear of being caught,
tired of being discriminated against and looked down upon,
tired of being taken advantage of and, at times,
a victim of abuse.
Corrupt systems and injustices have thrown me into a box,
where all I can do is to wait.
I am tired of waiting, Lord.
So Father, come in my restlessness.
Come in my hopelessness and bitterness.
Help me to be hopeful, joyful, and faithful.
Holy Spirit, help me to be resourceful, creative, and to grow in this place
that you have placed me.
It’s hard to see what your plan is for me,
but help me to see beyond my circumstances.
Remind me daily that I’m walking towards eternity,
where I can be home at last.

(Graceila Griffith, Philippines, after a conversation in 2014 with Thomas, a student in a refugee camp in Thailand)

Hunger will die

We, a wandering people,
journey on, looking for refuge.
Our fellow peoples
do not understand our anguish.
Our children are foreigners,
always hungry for bread.

Hunger will die,
when we all, industrious as ants,
planting potatoes,
shall dance for joy.

Hunger will die,
when the red maize shall flourish
on mother earth,
when the custard apples
will make the soul of our children sweet,
when we shall all dream
in a vast expanse of green farmland,
when we all accept one another,
and, conversing together,
become an everlasting garden.

(The author is a member of the Christian Community of Displaced Persons, at the Peruvian Art Workshop, 1996. In: Stormy seas we brave © 1998 WCC, p. 107)

When lives are lost and families are split,
Lord, comfort those who mourn.
Where homes are crushed and dreams destroyed,
give shelter to the vulnerable.
When people flee and hope departs,
bring calm amid the fear.
Where panic rules and courage fails,
restore strength to all who carry on.
And when people cry out,
Lord, open our ears to hear,
our minds to comprehend
and our hearts to respond with all compassion.

(From a prayer service at the Ecumenical Centre chapel.)

(https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/prayer-cycle/stateless-people)

Almighty God, we pray for your protection over and wisdom upon Bible Society Vietnam’s translation team as they work on completing the translation of the Old Testament to join the newly completed New Testament for a Vietnamese ethnic minority.  We pray too for the recruitment of another translator to join the team.

We pray for peace and stability in the Middle East, and an end to conflict and violence.  We pray for wisdom and discernment for leaders as they navigate challenging political and social issues.  Please lift up the communities affected by unrest, that they may experience healing and reconciliation.  We pray for Bible Societies operating in war-torn regions to be strengthened as they carry out their mission to hand out Bibles and share your love with the hurting and broken.

(Bible%20Society%20November%202024%20Prayer%20Letter.pdf)

We pray for African Evangelistic Enterprise Rwanda as they celebrate the fruitful harvest of their Easter 2024 evangelism campaign, Jesus. All About Life.  We praise you God for the seeds of faith planted and discipleship training provided, and p Pray for continued unity among partner churches to nurture new believers.  We pray for your wisdom as they plan this year’s Easter campaign.

We pray for African Enterprise Malawi as they prepare for their “Jesus  All About Life” evangelism campaign running from January until June 2025.  We pray that more churches will respond positively and be involved in the campaign and for target groups to respond to the gospel wholeheartedly.  We pray for your blessing over this ministry.

We thank you God for ministers like Pastor Matthews who took part in the evangelism training by African Enterprise Malawi during the “Jesus  All About Life” campaign, expressing his gratefulness for this initiative.  He shares his concern for his community, some of whom have turned away from their faith and prayer life: “… our community is in a grievous state … this is the reason why churches are excited to be part of this training. It has allowed us to get tools that will help us to be effective ministers of the gospel.”

(bible society/January_2025_Prayer_Letter_-_Standard.pdf)

Almighty God, we pray that the live-streaming training in January will empower the teams from four different ethnic language groups to develop a closer connection to listeners as they engage through live programs.  We praise you God for new teams that have finished media training in two new languages (Adi and Khamti).  We pray for these new Adi and Khamti language teams as they create content to launch the broadcasts on shortwave radio, YouTube, and Facebook.

(https://febc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Praise-Prayer-January-March-2025-digital.pdf)

Lord God, we bring these prayers to you, trusting in your lovingkindness.  To your glory we pray.  Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil,

For the Kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,

now and forever.  Amen.