Invocation
O LORD our God, deliver us, we pray, from all that would inhibit the power of our hearts to love, to love beyond the usual borders, to love beyond the limits, to love with your love …
In this hour of worship, dear God, lift our spirits with your Spirit, revive our hope with your promises, and establish our resolve to live and proclaim the gospel - that all are welcomed and all are loved … none left behind, and no one forgotten.
For your glory, and for the healing of the nations, we pray. Amen!
Pastoral Prayer
Blessed Assurance … Amazing Grace … A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, a bulwark never failing … O LORD our God, always beyond our grasp, yet close enough to touch our hearts with life abundant: the sounds of music, words of prayer, deep and penetrating silence, the smooth cheek of a child, the smile of a friend … a good book, a fine movie … peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a glass of cold milk … in such moments, O God, we sense the loveliness of your presence, and are convinced again, dear God, to keep on keepin’ on, even when the odds are against us.
We give thanks for this day and its gifts … we count our blessings, one by one, and we haven’t time to finish the list … for all that is good and kind.
We pray this day our President and Vice President … we pray for the members of Congress and all who sit upon the bench. May your Spirit be upon them, we pray, and upon our land … and with all the nations of the world, and most especially, dear God, comfort and confirm those who seek peace, who proclaim liberty, who strive for justice …
Help us all, we pray, to never be silent in the face of lies and deceit … to never give in to hate and slander … to always refuse the allure of war and the vanity of nationalism … to resist and engage, to march and proclaim, to think and to pray … to lift up a greater vision for our world … a peaceable hope for the future, through understanding and mutual respect … nothing less, O God, than your kingdom come … and your will be done, upon this good earth, as it is in heaven.
We lay before you this day, O God, the prayers of our heart, for loved ones and friends:
For the troubled and weary of soul, O God.
Those beset with illness and pain of body.
Those at the edge life, with death near at hand.
O LORD, bless our church … that we might be strong in the faith and faithful to one another … a conscience to the nation, to our city, and to all who cross these thresholds …
And for this purpose, and to these great ends, O God, teether our souls to the grace and goodness of Christ, that we never drift into the fog of greed and fear, but that we be steadfast in all things good, in Christ, with Christ, and for Christ, in season and out season, when it’s easy, and when it’s not.
Through Christ our LORD, we pray. Amen!
Prayer of Dedication
Eternal God, we praise you.
We praise you:
With all that we are, and all that we hope to be.
We praise you.
With our lives given unto you.
Our tithes and offerings upon this altar.
And in this giving, and in this living:
We join with women and men of good mind and heart.
All the around the world.
To proclaim life and liberty.
Hope and peace.
Eternal God: we praise you! Amen!
Written by Tom Eggebeen
No comments:
Post a Comment