Prayer for December 29, 2013 – January 4, 2014 

Sermon Text: Matthew 2:13-23

(Prayer written partly based on Psalm 148, which was the suggested text for the UCC for today)

That we will praise You in endless song

God of all creation, we gladly add our voices to the vast choir that sings your praise.  We rejoice in your presence along with heavenly beings and celestial bodies, with wild and domestic animals, with mountains and trees, with rulers and leaders, and with men, women, boys and girls of every nation.

You are our Creator and we rejoice in You.  Your name is greater than any other name.  Your glory outshines even the majesty of your creation.  You are faithful to your people and have raised up One who leads and delivers us in faithfulness, even Jesus, your Christ.

Enable us to trust You fully.  Enable us to follow Jesus with glad obedience. 

May our voices never be stilled, but may they ring out your praise in endless song.  We rejoice in You.  Amen.

Prayer for December 22-28, 2013 

Sermon Text: Matthew 1:18-25

That we may receive Jesus as your greatest gift

God of wonder and delight, we rejoice in the freedom of your Spirit who moves among us in strange and often unseen ways in order to accomplish your will.

We rejoice that You brought Jesus, your Messiah, through a young woman who trusted You, and that You spoke to her betrothed through a dream that convinced him not to abandon her because of her pregnancy.  Enable us to trust You as fully as they did.

We rejoice that the One You brought into their marriage, and into the world, was fully united to You so that your presence was evident in his character and action. 

Enable us to receive Jesus as your greatest gift to us.  Enable us to trust his guidance and follow him wherever he leads us.  May we glorify You as we follow.  Amen.

Prayer for December 15-21, 2013 

Sermon Text: Luke 1:46-55

That we may live into your promises with hope

God of wonders, God of all creation, we rejoice in your desire to reorder all the earth so that your healing, your peace, and your justice are experienced everywhere.  We rejoice that when you acted you chose a woman of humility and faith to bring your Chosen One into the world.  We rejoice that in this act You began to lift the poor and hungry so they might experience the fullness of your blessing, even as you began to diminish the rich and proud in order that they might turn to You and give up their idolatry of wealth and power.

We do not see a world that is fully restored in peace and justice.  We do not see a world in which the poor share in the fullness of your blessing.  We do not see a world in which the rich and powerful have been turned from idolatry to practice justice in faith. 

We do not see that our own lives fully match your desire for us.  We too trust too much in wealth and power.

But we trust that You will fulfill your promises.  We trust that Mary’s song of hope and praise will become reality among us, not because we are good enough to make it so, but because you are generous enough and creative enough to make it so.  Enable us to live into your promises as You act among us.  Amen.  

Prayer for December 8-14, 2013 

Sermon Text: Isaiah 11:1-10

That we may be wise agents of justice and peace

God of Israel, and our God, we rejoice that You have raised up Jesus the Christ as a fruitful Branch.  We rejoice that Jesus was filled with wisdom and empowered for ministry by your Spirit.  We rejoice that Jesus knew You, delighted in You, and bore your likeness as he lived in perfect unity with You.

May Jesus lead us into more complete knowledge of You and enable us to live with wisdom and delight.

We rejoice that Jesus is able to discern the truth of our hearts and that he judges justly, especially when he acts on behalf of the poor who are often forgotten, neglected, exploited, abused, or shoved aside.

May Jesus bring more complete justice among us and rouse us to be advocates and agents of justice.

We rejoice that Jesus will bring true peace among us, and that his reign will be characterized by the end of predatory relationships and by widespread knowledge of You.

May Jesus bring true peace among us, and enable us to be bearers of your peace. 

May your name, Jesus, be known throughout the earth and may many hear it and know You by the words of our mouth.  Amen.

Prayer for December 1-7, 2013 

Sermon Text: Matthew 24:36-44

That we may remain zealous in the practice of your merciful love

Christ Jesus, we await your glorious return with hope.  We await the day when You will restore all creation and your reign will be fully evident among us.

Stoke this hope, by your energizing Spirit, so that we are always alert for your presence and action.  Stoke this hope so that we are constantly doing the tasks to which You have called us.  Stoke this hope so that we remain zealous in pursuit of your will and in the practice of your merciful love.

Do not let our attention be diverted from your presence by the concerns and events of daily life, but let them move us toward You.  Do not let us become lax in obedience.  Do not let us forget that Jesus will return or live as though he will not return.

God, we hope in You.  We long for the full unveiling of your glorious reign.  But we await your timing.  Amen.