Prayers for the week commencing Sunday 4th December 2022

Prayer of Praise

God of majesty and power, who spoke and this World was,

Who breathed and this World lived,

Who counts the hairs upon our head,

Who sees our thoughts and reads our hearts,

Who loves us more than we deserve.

How can we not bring today our sacrifice of praise?

For in the child at Bethlehem lies the promise of intimacy with a Saviour who would die even for us, and the promise of an eternity in which to praise you more each day.

God of promise we praise your name.

For your word which endures,

We give you thanks.

For your promises to which we hold,

We give you thanks.

For such intimacy with you,

We give you thanks.

For the love which from our birth over and around us lies,

We give you thanks.

For those gathered here today,

We give you thanks.

For family, friend and stranger,

We give you thanks.

For those who minister your grace,

We give you thanks.

For the hope that lives each Advent, and of a love that has no end,

We give you thanks, now and forever more. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

To you O Lord we bring our lives, troubled, broken or at ease,

A sacrificial offering for you to use.

Take away our selfishness,

And teach us to love as you loved.

Take away our sense of pride,

And show us the meaning of humility.

Take away our blindness,

And show us the world through your eyes.

Take away our greed,

And teach us how to give as you gave.

Show us your ways, teach us your paths,

that we might walk with you more closely.

Our hand in your hand, our feet in your footsteps,

From the baby in a stable to eternity.

Restore us, O Lord, we pray,

Bring us back to that place where we once met.

As shepherds to the stable after hearing angels sing,

Bring us back to that place when our love was fresh,

To express itself in praise to our Heavenly King.

Restore us, O Lord, we pray.

Merciful God, strip our hearts and minds of all that prevents us from rooting our lives firmly in you;

So that our lives bear fruit worthy of our faith in you; as we celebrate your breaking into our world, in the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

(Moira Laidlaw in Liturgies Online Advent 2)

(https://www.faithandworship.com/prayers_Christmas.htm#gsc.tab=0)

Assurance of Forgiveness

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others

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

Still our spirits, so we can hear the needs of the world. Give us your heart and mind.

Help us to develop compassion for those who mourn.

Heal and make whole those who suffer from trauma and the anxiety of separation.

Answer the groanings of those who do not yet know how to pray with mercy.

Restore those who have lost their resources and refill their lives with blessing. Enable endurance among those who wait.

May we become sources of their encouragement.

Send your Spirit upon those who face violence and conflict. Hold fast to those who cling to your promises.

Amplify the efforts to bring peace – challenge the hearts of the greedy and bless the generous.

Love the World and Love your People, just as you call us to love You and One another.

Open us to SHALOM in new ways, with new understandings and new relationships. Make us people of peace in your name.

God of darkness and silence, you have pierced the quiet of this night by the utterance of your Word in our flesh.

May your word of compassion and reconciliation resound in us and through us.

Angels proclaimed the peace of your unconquered Son, the epitome of righteousness.

Strengthen all who work for peace and justice.

You came to us in a child cradled in a borrowed bed of straw as there was no room in the inn.

Open our hearts to the needs of the homeless and the hungry.

On the night of the birth of the Christ child, shepherds and outcasts heard your good news.

Give us grace to spread your Gospel of joy and liberation.

In this Advent Season, Christians throughout the world are celebrating Christ’s birth.

Unite us in one family that we may shine with the one light that scatters all our darkness.

In this Advent Season, we celebrate your living Word leaping down, shedding light on all who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Give strength and peace to all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit.

In this Advent Season, give us power to be your children.

May we remain faithful to the mystery of the Word made flesh and live in your eternal light, to fulfil your purposes in us in the World.

Eternal God, you know our problems, and have promised that you will help us to solve them. You know what we lack, and have promised to meet our needs.

Help us to depend upon you day by day and to call upon you when life gets hard. Loving God, we bring these prayers to you, trusting in your compassion and care. To your glory we pray. Amen.

(https://liturgy.co.nz/church-year/christmas-prayers)

(from National Council of Churches in Australia Liturgy for Advent Two – 2022)