Prayer of Praise: –  

(from Uniting in Worship p572 to 574 nos. 23 to 29) 

Lord God Almighty, your greatness and majesty are there for all to see in the Heavens and the Earth.  All that you have created is yours to control and to direct.  You have authority over Time and Space, over History and over Nations.  You are beyond our sight, above our thoughts, infinite and eternal. 

We exalt you for the works of your hands and the wonders you perform.

  Most blessed God, your graciousness is revealed in your goodness to all peoples.  Your mercy is revealed in the life and witness of your Son, Jesus Christ, who preached good news to a despondent people seeking relief from their trials, who proclaimed to a despairing people their release from a bondage of sin and death, who befriended the outcast and the diseased who were rejected and cast aside, who denounced the oppressor and the hypocrite who lived off the lives of others.  Your great work of salvation was achieved by the raising of Jesus from death, the pinnacle of your work to reconcile a sinful Humanity to yourself. 

We exalt you for the works of your hands and the wonders you perform.

  Holy Lord, you have guided and preserved us in all our ways.  You have shown us the path to take and have sustained us on life’s journey.  You have held us up in our times of trouble and have comforted us in our times of grief.  You have blessed us with family and friends, you have provided for our needs, those things for which we asked and those that we did not know we needed. 

We exalt you for the works of your hands and the wonders you perform.  In reverence and awe we come before you, to offer our worship and praise.  May all we do and say bring glory to your name and bear witness to your everlasting love for all people.  Amen.

Prayer of Confession   

Physician of my sin-sick race

come with your everlasting grace

to this, my dying, sinful soul,

and make me pure and clean and whole.

Transform my heart so you will find

a pure intent, a healthy mind.

Your utmost truth in me reveal

my unbelief, and doubts to heal.

Your presence does my joy ensure,

your presence is my nature’s cure.

My hope, your gift I may possess,

life, everlasting righteousness.

Revive my spirit, tired and worn,

sole comforter of souls forlorn,

I surely trust your gracious power

to touch, to heal me, in this hour.  Amen.

Charles Wesley

(from Wesley’s Prayers and Praises p27 & 28 [adapted])

Assurance of Forgiveness 

(from Hebrews 2: 11) 

The writer of Hebrews proclaims that Jesus Christ purifies people from their sins.  Having confessed our sins before God, let us hold onto this assurance and know with confidence that God has listened to our pleas and that God has forgiven us.

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others

God of mercy and of love, you have called us to live in communion with all of your created World.  Give us a new appreciation for the diversity of Creation. 

Open our awareness of our responsibility for being good stewards of your Creation and of Earth’s resources, so that we will strive to protect it for future generations

Give us a new appreciation for the diversity of the people of our World, all of whom you love with an everlasting love.

Help us to serve the needs of all who are suffering, sick, lonely, and broken by the struggles of life with the compassion and joy of true servants of Christ.

Bless our national, state and local leaders to serve all people with integrity.

Purge from us all hatred and prejudice, and build within us your love, that even in our dealings with the other nations of Earth we may be servants of peace, truth and justice.

May you strengthen those whose lives feel shattered, don’t make sense, in crisis, and experiencing loss.

May you say the healing word to those who need it.  May you bring the Human touch of love to those who have not been touched.  May you love the unloved through us.

May you shine your light into those whose world is covered in darkness.

May you use us to feed the hungry, clothe the ones who need clothes, give a cup of water to those who are thirsty, shelter the homeless, and visit the sick and those in prison.

Give us grace to work with passion for the unity of your Church throughout the World, and to take our place among its people without expectation of reward, beyond the smile of your approval.

Make of us a more obedient people, gladly giving what we have received from your faithful hand.

May we see in each other your light, your love and you.

May it not matter our differences, our names, our languages, our looks, and our way of doing things.

Today, O God, we confess fumblings and failures in accomplishing unity.  On this day, give us eyes to recognize your reflection in the eyes of Christians everywhere.

Give us a mind to accept and celebrate our differences.  Give us a heart big enough to love your children everywhere.  We thank you for setting a table with space enough for us all!

We confess that we are divided and at odds with one another, that a bad spirit has risen among us and set us against your Holy Spirit of peace and love.  Take from us the mistrust, party spirit, contention, and all evil that now divides us.

Work in us a desire for reconciliation, so that, putting aside personal grievances, we may go about your business with a single mind, devoted to our Lord and Savior, Jesus,

Other Prayers

Almighty God, we pray for the Church, that we may be a sign of communion between you and Humanity and a means of reconciliation amongst all people.

We pray that we may grow in our awareness of our need for you and others as we face our challenges and grow toward wholeness.

We pray for healing of the tension and conflicts between women and men in our society, that you will lead us to a new appreciation of each other and help us to give witness to your plan of women and men complimenting one another as we work together.

We pray for all children, that they may be warmly welcomed into families and supported as they grow and develop into the persons you call them to be.

We pray for the grace to receive your Kingdom as a little child, that the Spirit will open our hearts to receive your love and your gift of new life.

We pray for greater respect for Human life, that all Human life, from conception to natural death, will be respected as your gift and a blessing to Humanity.

We pray for all who are struggling with troubled minds and souls, that the Holy Spirit will calm their hearts, help them know that they are loved, and help them to reach out to someone.

We pray for the work of the United Nations, that their conversations will promote peace and cooperation, develop shared understandings of the challenges that exist, and give them the courage to confront the evils that plague the Human family.

We pray for all who are suffering, that you will heal the sick, free those caught in addiction, restore those who have experienced abuse, comfort the grieving, and send relief to those entrapped by poverty.

We pray for all healthcare workers, that you will renew their strength and restore their energy that they may continue to care for the sick and be signs of hope for them.

We pray for leaders of all levels of Government, that you will give them wisdom and courage to address the crucial issues of society and to work together to address the common good.

Copyright © 2021. Joe Milner. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use. – https://liturgy.slu.edu/27OrdB100624/ideas_other.html

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.