Service of Prayer for Christian Unity

January 24, 2016

Prayer of Thanksgiving: 

God of all creation, we rejoice that You have drawn us together, as your people, and that You provide many resources in order to help us live out our unity in Christ.  

We thank you for the communion of bread and wine that reminds us of the sacrifice of Jesus that set us in a new covenant relationship with You, as your people.  

We thank You for the presence and gifts of your Spirit, who enables us to say that Jesus is our Sovereign, and who wisely distributes many gifts of service among us through which You work as we serve each other in obedience to You.  

We rejoice, in awe, that You have created unity that transcends ethnic, economic and other ways of defining ourselves as different from one another.  

We rejoice that in our unity none of us is responsible for doing everything, but that each has an important role that builds up all of the others.  

We thank You for wise leaders who have guided us into the unity that You desire for us. 

And we rejoice that You have filled us with a desire to act in the most excellent way: by loving each other and loving your world, with deep, enduring and tenacious love.  

We rejoice in You and praise You with hearts full of gratitude for your provision for the unity of all creation in your Anointed One.  Amen.

Service of Prayer for Christian Unity: 

Sermon Texts: John 17:6-26, 1 Corinthians 11:17-13:13

Prayer of Confession:

Leader: God, we confess that in our hard-heartedness, we have become

            quite skilled at undermining the unity that You desire for us.

People: We have become adept at withholding love from one another

            and from a vast array of people who differ from us in one

            aspect or another.

Leader: Forgive us!

People: Transform us!

Leader: Remove every obstacle that we have erected in our hearts or in our

            environment to keep us from loving others as You have loved us.

People: Remove from our memories every hateful word and name that

            we have used to diminish the humanity of others.

Leader: Unshackle us from our pride, envy and greed. 

People: Unshackle us from our prejudices and our fear of the “other”

            whom we have been taught to see as a threat to us.

Leader: Liberate us to practice love that is both vulnerable and tenacious.

People: Liberate us to practice welcome and generosity that embraces

            and shares with others beyond our lingering fears.

Leader: May our choices and actions be an answer to Jesus’ prayer that we

            may all be one in communion with You and with each other.

People: May we practice the most excellent way of self-giving love that

            Jesus has modeled for us.

All:      Amen!  Amen!

Prayer for January 24-30, 2016

Gospel Text: Luke 4:14-21

That we may participate in your restoring work with wisdom and energy

Christ Jesus, we rejoice in you.  We rejoice that you did not come to conquer and destroy, or to accrue wealth and power for yourself.  

We celebrate the good news that you claimed your identity in terms of the prophetic promises God had made to Israel: promises of an outpouring of the Spirit in whose power You came preaching, liberating, healing and forgiving.

We rejoice that in this role, as One energized by the Spirit, You challenged both the politics of power and the religion of control.  You acted in opposition to everything that would usurp the power of God, undermine genuine human living, and devalue God’s good creation.  In your ministry, You began to knit everything God called good into a unity that reflected the glory and generosity of God.  

We rejoice in You!  Enable us to participate in your restoring work with wisdom and energy.  May we too be anointed by the Spirit to follow and work alongside of You.  Amen.

Note: We did not use this passage or prayer in our worship today.

Prayer for January 17-23, 2016 

Sermon Text: John 2:1-11

That surprise and awe will generate abundant praise

Christ Jesus, we rejoice in You!  We rejoice that You came among us and entered fully into this earthly existence with its great variety of sorrows and joys.  We rejoice that You were present to celebrate a wedding and that You enhanced that celebration by a subtle demonstration of power.

Most of the time we long for huge displays of power: dramatic and showy healing, money dropped in our laps, relationships instantly restored.  But most of the time You work in slow and subtle ways among us, enhancing our lives in ways that we can barely perceive.  

Enable us to be your servants and coworkers in enhancing the abundant life that You desire for everyone.  Enable us to hear your instructions and act on your words.  Open our eyes to the many ways that You are working through the daily events of life in order to bring healing to all of creation and glory to God.  Let our surprise and awe generate abundant praise to You.  Amen.

Prayer for January 10-16, 2016 

Sermon Text: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

That we may burn with passion for You

Holy God, though several of your prophets had told of your coming, and had told of the outpouring of your Spirit upon your people, no one could have anticipated the way that You fulfilled those promises.  No one would have imagined a human who embodied your Word and your Presence so fully. 

Liberation was expected.  Healing was expected.  Forgiveness was expected.  But who imagined that You would identify so fully with your people that your Chosen One would participate in a public act of repentance in solidarity with them?

What a profound and confusing act!

But such a welcome act!  We rejoice that Christ Jesus has identified with us in our weakness and our need.  We rejoice that Jesus demonstrated disciplined obedience in all that he did.  We rejoice that Jesus was claimed and energized by You for a ministry that has touched multitudes of lives and that has implications for the healing of all creation.  

Unleash your Spirit among us.  Let us burn with passion for You.  Enable us to follow Jesus in bold obedience born of the love You have shown to us.  Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK

January 3-9, 2015

John 1:1-18

You!

You!  Present from the beginning.

You!  Word of God.

You!  Present and fully One with God.

You!  Creator of Everything.

You!  Source of life.

You!  Light for all people - undefeated by

          darkness.

You!  Entered your world – unrecognized.

You!  Visited your people – unwelcomed.

You!  Enabled us to be God’s children.

You!  Became human like us and lived among us.

You!  Glorious One!

You!  Source of overflowing grace.

You!  Revealor of the Holy One.

You!  Jesus Christ!  Whom we acclaim as

          Sovereign and Redeemer.  

We rejoice in You!  Only You!  Always You!  Amen.

Note: This prayer was written in a responsive format.