Prayer of Praise: –   

We give thanks to you, Almighty God, for the gift of the Holy Spirit whose light brought new understanding of both the Living Word and the written Scripture.

We give you thanks for the reminder of your consistent grace and mercy through Jesus Christ.

We thank you, Almighty God, for open hearts that were prepared to hear and receive the good news of freedom in Christ.

We give thanks for our continued freedom in the Son to share that same news of salvation made available to Humanity through your grace and Christ’s faithfulness.

We remember, Almighty God, the lives that were lost in the struggle to reform the Church on Earth.

We remember also the lives that have been lost today for daring to believe in you.

We thank you, Almighty God, for the instruction that comes through our Church’s heritage- the catechisms, the understandings of the leaders and thinkers and inspirers of the past, the gift of community, and a deeper appreciation of the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Holy Baptism.

We thank you for the presence of Jesus Christ in us, with us, and for us, and for the support of the Holy Spirit, ever-reforming us.

God of stability and change, we thank you that true reformation is always your work and always being done in us out of your love.  We are ever reformed by the work of your love.

We are ever reformed by the work of your love.  Amen. 

(from RevGalBlogPals – Lutheranjulia 31/10/2013 prayers)

Prayer of Confession   

Merciful God, you have raised Jesus from death to be the power of love always in our midst.

We confess our failure to fully entertain and trust his love.  Forgive us.

We have not loved you, God, with his joyous enthusiasm.  We have not loved others with his burning compassion.

We have not even loved ourselves sufficiently to fully nurture our own lives in the love and liberty of Christ Jesus.  Forgive us.

Our characters are stunted, our achievements flawed, our peace is fractured, and our happiness is diminished.

God of mercy, please overthrow those feelings and thoughts which have become barriers against the inflowing of your truth and love.  Please enter the stubborn and fearful corners of our being with your light and your forgiveness.

Restore us to the joy of your salvation and renew a right spirit with us, through Christ Jesus our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness 

  The Psalmist writes of  God saying:

“You place our sins before you, our secret sins where you can see them.”  (Psalm 90: 8) 

  But they also say of God:

“You showed your people that you are a God who forgives.”  (Psalm 99: 8b) 

  We have confessed our sins before God, sins that He already knows and which we cannot hide from him.  But we have also confessed our faith in the saving grace of God to forgive our sins.  So, let us be assured that God has listened to our plea and has forgiven us.

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others

God of Grace and God of Glory, on this Reformation Sunday, we give you thanks for the Saints who have gone before us.

We remember those who faced trouble and trial, and even death, for the sake of the message of your mercy and in the spirit of Pentecost, the right to hear and read the Scriptures in their own languages.

We pray for those who now face trouble, trial, even death, for those members of the body of Christ who face persecution, for your beloved children everywhere—regardless of tradition—who live under the threat of religious persecution.

We pray for people who are facing neglect, oppression, or cultural pressure, that you will bring about social justice and opportunities for economic and personal development.

We pray that all may hear the good news of the Prince of Peace in ways that resonate, and cause peoples of all Nations to drop their weapons and their focus on defences for the sake of the coming of your Kingdom.

We pray that you may help us not only walk in the shoes of our forebears, but fill them.  May all of us gathered here today be as captivated by the life you have given us in Christ that we are freed to reach our friends, neighbours, and enemies with your unconditional love.

Rev. Ryan Slifka  St. George’s United Church in Courtenay, British Columbia

(https://united-church.ca › worship-liturgical-season › reformation-Sunday)…

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: look with compassion on the whole Human family;

take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggles and confusion to accomplish your purposes on Earth; that, in your good time, all Nations and Races may serve you in harmony around your Heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord.     

(https://www.faithcentral.org.nz › 2015/11 )

We pray for the peoples of the Caribbean.

  We are thankful for the natural beauty, climate, and distinctive cultural practices of these islands, for how churches have responded to disasters and served all in need, for how liberation from colonialism and oppression has been pursued through music, words and actions, and for the leaders of the ecumenical movement who have come from this region.

  We pray for those devastated by disasters, that their lives, communities and eco-systems might be rebuilt, for the strengthening of all who faithfully witness through word and deed to the gospel, for all those affected by crime and addictions, and for good governance and smooth transitions between political leaders.

  Gracious and compassionate God, faithful to all your promises, supplier of our needs,
may we never underestimate the value of all that you afford us; nor the usefulness of the endowments you give for the realization of your purposes.
May we never so take for granted the gifts your bounteous grace provides as to become victims of the callousness that produces an abundance of waste.
And save us, we ask you, from becoming purveyors of the careless and irresponsible disposal of the waste we produce.

(© Neville Callam, Jamaica)

  We pray for a strengthening of the churches that form the Antigua Christian Council and the United Evangelical Association of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas Christian Council, the Anglican Church in Barbados, the Pentecostal Churches and the Roman Catholic Church in Cuba, the Council of Churches on Curaçao, St Eustatius and St Maarten, The Council of Evangelical Churches of Haiti, The Jamaica Council of Churches and The Jamaica Association of Evangelicals, the Council of Churches of Puerto Rico, of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Committee of Churches on Surinam, and the Christian Council of Trinidad, that they will be an effective witness of these islands.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will impede the attractiveness of the Rastafarian group and Voodoo, the Afro-Haitian cult, the Converted Baptists on Saint Vincent, so that people will cease to attend their gatherings.

(https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/prayer-cycle/the-caribbean)

  We pray for The Leprosy Mission International’s Board of Trustees and International Director, as they work hard to provide leadership to TLM Offices across the world, leading, inspiring, facilitating, and enabling them to defeat leprosy and transform lives.  May their work be guided by God and by the love and compassion that typify God’s character.

The Leprosy Mission Prayer Diary 2023.pdf

We pray for those who will recommence Religious Instruction classes at Bald Hills State School this year.  Guide them in the words to say and the approach to take with the children in their classes.  May the Holy Spirit challenge the children in the RI classes to come to a closer relationship with you.

We pray for Kylie Conomos, the Scripture Union Chaplain at Bald Hills State School, that she is refreshed and rested over these holidays.  Please guide and equip her as she seeks to address the concerns and needs of children, parents and teachers at the school.

We pray for those who are unable to attend worship.  Please guide and comfort them in their particular circumstances.  May they be aware of your care for them as they meet what each new day brings.

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