Prayer for April 29-May 5, 2018 

Sermon Text: John 15:1-8

That every useless feature and false attachment may be pruned from our lives

Christ Jesus, True Vine, we rejoice that our lives are intimately linked to yours. We rejoice that your life flows through us and energizes us for faithful and fruitful life. We remain in You because we know that there is no other source of life, no other way of fruitfulness.

Forgive us when forget and think that we can sustain life without You. Forgive us when we choose the delusion of autonomy that leads to fruitlessness and death. Transform our minds and restore us. 

Prune every useless feature and false attachment from our lives. Let nothing obstruct the vitality that flows from your life to ours. Let abundant good works flow from our life on behalf of our many neighbors. May others see that we are yours and give glory to God for God’s enduring love. Amen.

Prayer for April 22-28, 2018 

Sermon Text: John 10:11-18

That we may lay our lives down for You as we follow You

Jesus, Good Shepherd, we rejoice in You! We rejoice that You know us and call us by name. We rejoice that You have revealed yourself to us and enabled us to know You and recognize your voice. We rejoice that You have gathered us together and that You are still gathering many to be part of your beloved flock.

Continue to lead us in the path of freedom and fruitfulness. Keep feeding us by your word. Quell our anxiety so that we may rest in your presence. Protect us from every danger that threatens to ravage and destroy our faith. Stay with us in the midst of every trial.

You are the One who has given your life for your sheep. And You are the One whom God has raised to new life. We rejoice in the life You have given us, and we lay it down for You as we follow You with deep and abiding joy. Amen.

Prayer for April 15-21, 2018 

Sermon Text: Luke 24:36-49

That your Spirit will fully energize our testimony

Christ Jesus, we rejoice that God raised You from death. We rejoice that You appeared to your disciples and declared your peace to them. We imagine that we would have been just as frightened and confused as they were to encounter You alive after your gruesome death. We imagine that we may have drawn back from the sight of your wounds and felt ashamed that we had abandoned You to face death alone. But, like them, we imagine that confusion and fear would have been transformed into great joy in your presence, even if that joy was still tinged with doubt.

Christ, we rejoice that You have instructed us with great patience. We rejoice that You have opened our minds to receive You in spite of our doubts. We are thankful that You have chosen and enabled us to be witnesses for You and to call others to repentance in your name.

Let your Spirit fully energize our testimony to what we have heard, seen, and learned of You. Help us to give others hope in You, hope in new life that arises beyond suffering and death. Amen.

Prayer for April 8-14, 2018 

Sermon Text: John 20:19-31

That we may acknowledge You with heartfelt cries of faith

Jesus, Risen One, we celebrate the new life that God generated in You and for us. We rejoice that You come among us when we are huddled together in fear. We rejoice that You reveal yourself to us and declare your peace to us. We rejoice that You breathe your Spirit into us to energize us for witness in the world. And we rejoice that You give us authority to forgive or withhold forgiveness as we rely on your Spirit for discernment and act in love.

Belief does not always come easy for us. Some of us resist the witness of our brothers and sisters and refuse to believe unless You give us a convincing sign. In spite of our stubbornness, many of us have encountered You in surprising ways that have humbled us and caused us to acknowledge You with heartfelt cries of faith.

We rejoice in the many signs that You did among your disciples and that You continue to do today. We rejoice that You have enabled us to believe and have blessed us in surprising ways. 

You are our Lord and our God! Hallelujah! Amen!

2 Prayers from Good Friday 

Scripture: John 18:15-27  

Jesus – Teacher, Friend, Savior – we cannot count the many ways that we have denied and betrayed You. We have turned against You and cast You aside because your mission did not match our personal desires or our corporate agenda. We have denied

knowing You when the perception of closeness to You has become a source of outside threat.  

Forgive us for our lack of trust and commitment to You and your way. Forgive us for our inconsistency, our infidelity, our timid faith, and fearful denials. 

Enable us to walk the way of the cross with You, today, and every day that follows. Amen. 

Scriptures: John 18:28-19: 42; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9  

God of all, we hope in You. Only You can bring clear vision when our eyes are flooded with tears. Only You can bring hope when all hope lies shattered. Only You can mend what has been torn by sin and grief. Only You can bring life when the last cry has been uttered and the last breath has been gasped. 

We hope in You, God of life because we have heard and believed that everything is possible with You. Take this day of ruin and transform it into something glorious, for your own sake. Amen. 

3 Prayers from Maundy Thursday, 2018

Gospel reading: John 13:1-17 

Christ Jesus, our Teacher it is astonishing to us that You would stoop to wash the feet of your disciples. You had such confidence in your role as God’s Chosen One, that You were able to humble yourself to serve. 

Give us such confidence in our relationship with God! Give us such humility that we are able to stop worrying about our status and stop competing with one another. Help us to stoop to each other’s needs in glad service. Amen. 


Gospel reading: John 13:18-30  

Jesus, your presence among us and your gifts to us reveal the condition of our hearts. Sometimes, when we are shown the depths of our resistance to You, the control our idols have over us, our lack of faith, or our lack of generosity to our many neighbors, this exposure scares and angers us and makes us want to reject or turn against You.  

At other times, You make us more aware of the vitality and love that You have instilled in us by your presence and instruction. Such moments comfort us and encourage us to continue in the way that You lead, the way of suffering and service. As we follow You with renewed hope we give You all our praise. Amen. 


Gospel reading: John 13:31-38  

Jesus, Son of Man, we do what we can to love each other with the kind of love that You have shown to us. Deepen our love. Enable us to be more consistent and not allow loving action to be limited by our fleeting emotions.  

Let us love each other deeply enough that our love spills over to many other people and becomes a convincing sign that we are yours and that You are God’s. May unlimited praise be poured out in your honor. Amen.

Prayer for April 1-7, 2018

Sermon Text: Mark 16:1-8

That we may be full participants in resurrection life

God of resurrection, we rejoice that You are able to bring life from death, and that You have done so in Christ Jesus, your beloved Son.

But we confess that change and newness often make us fearful. Even your messengers of good news and new hope cause our hearts to pound with terror and our minds to cloud with confusion.

Instead of declaring good news, as we have been instructed, we remain silent. We retreat to places of safety and attempt to console ourselves.

Somehow, even our fear and confusion become part of the good news of the gospel because we know that the story does not end there. We know that fear and confusion are overcome. We know the story does get told. And we know that many encounter Jesus and become participants in the resurrection life that You generate in your great compassion. 

We rejoice that others have shared the good news with us. Enable us to share that same news with boldness. “Jesus is risen!” Hallelujah! Amen!