Prayer for April 27-May 3, 2014 

Sermon Text: John 20:19-31

That we may trust your Living Word and Untamed Spirit

Almighty God, we rejoice that You have raised Jesus from the dead.  We rejoice that Jesus has met us in the midst of our doubts and fears, spoken peace to us, and enabled us to rejoice in the new life you give.

Thank You that Jesus has breathed your Spirit upon us and has sent us to continue the work that he began. 

God, we thank You for entrusting your disciples with authority to forgive sins.  May your Spirit give us hearts that desire forgiveness and reconciliation, but also the wisdom to discern when forgiveness may not be appropriate.  Let us represent You truly and compassionately.

God, help us keep our hearts open to You.  Help us to receive the witness of our sisters and brothers to Christ’s living presence among us.  Help us to trust You because your Living Word and your Untamed Spirit are loose among us.

We praise You that Jesus’ life touches our own in indescribable ways!  Amen.

Prayer for April 20-26, 2014

Sermon Text: Matthew 28:1-20

That we may tell, teach and baptize in all the world

God of glory, we rejoice in You!  We rejoice for the women who longed for Jesus and sought out his tomb.  We rejoice for earthquake and angelic vision.  We rejoice for good news: “He is not here; he has risen as he said!”  We rejoice for the empty tomb.  We rejoice for the commission the women received to tell good news to Jesus’ other disciples.  We praise You that in the midst of fear and joy the women met Jesus, alive, and worshiped him.  We rejoice that the disciples met Jesus in Galilee and worshiped him there.  We rejoice that they were authorized to teach all nations what Jesus had commanded and baptize in Jesus’ name.      

We thank You that we too have heard the good news of Jesus’ resurrection, that we have encountered him alive and worshiped him, that we have been baptized and instructed in Jesus’ name and Jesus’ ways, and that we have been commissioned to tell, teach and baptize in all the world.  Amen.

Good Friday prayer: April 18, 2014
Matthew 26:15-27:66

Here is one of the prayers I have written for today's worship.

Merciful God, we rejoice in your great mercy even as our hearts grow heavy while we consider all that Jesus endured on behalf of his people—including us. 

We ache knowing that Jesus was betrayed by one who walked with him daily, disowned by another, and abandoned by all who said they would die with him.  We acknowledge in sorrow that we too have abandoned him in moments of threat.

We grow angry when we consider the carnival of justice—cultivated deceit, midnight machinations, and abdicated responsibility—that Jesus endured without defending himself.  We acknowledge in sorrow that our deceits contributed to his unjust condemnation.   

We are pierced as we remember that Jesus was struck, spit upon, insulted, beaten, executed, and mocked as he hung dying with his arms stretched out before the world.  We acknowledge in sorrow that our actions contributed to Jesus’ pain and death. 

Merciful God, we have received your mercy and we are reminded of your mercy, yet again, as we consider all that Jesus endured on our behalf.  Receive our glad worship that is tinged with sorrow today.  Amen.

Prayers for Maundy Thursday: April 17, 2014

John 13:1-38

Here are two prayers I wrote for last night's worship. 

1.

God of all, forgive us!  Forgive us for being slow to understand that to follow Jesus we must serve one another.  Forgive us for overestimating our self-sufficiency and closing our hearts to service from our sisters and brothers.  Give us the attitude of Christ Jesus so that we may both serve and be served with gladness. 

Forgive us for arrogantly overestimating the measure of our loyalty to you.  Forgive us when we betray you, deny you and abandon you.  May your Spirit fill us with courage and endurance so that we may remain faithful when our commitment to follow Jesus is challenged by those who doubt or oppose your healing work in the world.  Amen.

2.

God of wisdom and compassion, we rejoice that you have called us together as one body, in Christ Jesus, who is the controlling and energizing center of our life together.  We rejoice that Jesus has befriended us, and that Jesus has given freely of himself so that we might experience the healing, peace, fruitfulness and love that you desire for us.  

We constantly keep the memory of Jesus’ service and sacrifice in our minds.  And we live and serve so that others will learn of Jesus and the significance of his death on behalf of the whole world.  May our worship, service and witness be pleasing to you.  Amen. 

Prayer for April 13-19, 2014
Sermon Text: Matthew 21:1-17

Christ Jesus, help us to see you for who you are: God's Anointed Sovereign, God's Agent of Healing and New Life, God's Incarnate Love; Our Savior, Instructor, Guide, Companion and Friend.

Enable us to respond to your word for us with quick and glad obedience.  Enable us to sing and declare your praise without hesitation or embarrassment.

Let worship set the tone for everything we do.  Let prayer flow with our every breath.  Let us be abundantly fruitful in good works so that your name is praised.  Amen.

Prayer for April 6-12, 2014 

Sermon Text: John 11:1-45

That we may cling to hope when hope seems impossible

Christ Jesus, we take comfort that You have shared in our earthly life and have known its joys and sorrows.  You know the pain and grief of the death of a beloved friend.  You shed your own tears even as You heard the grief of others.  You are not unmoved by the reality of our lives.

In the midst of even our most difficult circumstances and our deepest griefs, we cling to hope that You are able to  bring life from death.  You are able to give hope where none seems possible.  You are able to heal.  You are able to restore.  You are able to give life that is astonishingly new.

Christ Jesus, our Resurrection!

Christ Jesus, our Life!

We worship You in hope!  

We praise You with rejoicing!  Amen.