Prayer of Praise  

(adapted from Prayers for the Seasons Year A p96 & 97 + Opening Prayers p38 + Invocations p28 & 28 + Leading Intercessions p22) 

    God of love, we rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus, for through Him You have released us from the bondage of sin.  We praise You for your foresight and Your dedication to planning the salvation of humankind.  We praise You for Jesus Christ who willingly offered Himself to be the means by which our sins can be removed forever.  We praise you for Your Holy Spirit who blesses us by being our guide and comforter in all moments of our life.

    God of compassion, through a relationship with you we can experience joy and hope, a newness of being, a relief from concerns and worries.  We are enabled and encouraged to give up old habits and attitudes so as to live lives by Your standards, lives in touch with Your will and purpose, lives attuned to the cries from our neighbours.  You walk with us in our daily life, revealing Your truth and delivering us from peril.

    God of light, we are assured of Your power to act in the World.  We are assured of Your love for all people and of Your readiness to embrace all who come to You on bended knees acknowledging their desperate need for forgiveness and healing.  We are assured of the reality of Your closeness to us when we humble ourselves in penitence and prayer.  We are assured of your abundant grace and mercy because your Word says so.

    God of new life, we acclaim You as our God and praise You in the presence of all people because you have brought us out of darkness into the light of our salvation.  Amen.

Prayer of Confession 

(from Uniting in Worship Book 2 p257 &258 nos. 4, 5 & 6)  Merciful God, we see the abundant life that you have provided for us, the gifts that you have so freely given.  We confess the times when we have withheld our plenty from others. 

Lord have mercy

We see the wonders of Your Creation and the beauty in the World around us, yet we confess that our tendency is to use it foolishly and carelessly.

Lord have mercy.

We see and hear of people in desperate situations, crying out for care and compassion, yet we confess that often we turn away and are indifferent to the needs of others.

Lord have mercy.

At Easter we celebrate Your great act of salvation for the World through the costly sacrifice of Your Son, yet we confess that often we neglect this means of Grace, that our worship is superficial and our prayers selfish.

Lord have mercy.

We confess that our personal sins grieve You and hurt many, and that our social sins hold many in bondage and oppression.

Lord have mercy.  Forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all that separates us from a loving relationship with You.  Empower us as we seek to live a life of reverence for you and with a sincere love for others.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness 

(from 1Peter 1: 21) 

Our faith and our hope are fixed on God who raised Jesus from death and gave Him glory.  Upon this trust, and having confessed our sins to God, we can be confident that our sins are forgiven, and our lives cleansed in the sight of God.

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others

Loving God, knowing of your love for all of Humanity, especially of your compassion for the needy, we come to you with our cares and our concerns.

We bring to you our prayers for the World around us and for people individually.

May the World acknowledge your power and authority as the ruler of all.

May Governments and those in positions of power and decision making seek your will and guidance, may they seek to act to bring health and prosperity to all and not wealth and status for the few.

May peace and justice be the driving forces among peoples and not division and prejudice.

May there be the desire among people to work together to alleviate need and want, to find remedies for disease, to eliminate crime and corruption.

Have mercy on the lonely and the grieving, those who feel shut off from the company of others and withdrawn into a world of self-absorption and self-sorrow. 

May they feel your presence close by and experience the comfort and peace of mind that only you can give. 

We pray for those who are ill or injured. 

May you provide relief for them in this difficult time.  We pray for those who provide care and comfort to them that they will see the reward for their efforts.

Bless our families as we gather and as we are apart,

that we will value their presence and welcome their company.

Holy God, use your Church to save sinners, to lift up the down cast, to give hope to those who have given up on life, to comfort the sorrowful,

to open the eyes of those who do not understand that Christ is near them, to make known the truth of his sacrifice for our lives in all the World.

(Raymond Chapman in Leading Intercessions p22 & p101, David Hostetter in Prayers for the Seasons of God’s People Year A p97 and Year C p91 & 92)

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.