Prayer for June 2-8, 2019
Sermon Text: Acts 16:16-34

That You will liberate your people from every power that enthralls, binds and oppresses

Liberating God, we rejoice that You are able to free your people from every form of bondage and captivity.

You are able to liberate from spiritual powers that enthrall, bind and oppress us. You are able to break every form of addiction and dependence that diminishes us and prevents us from living fully human lives.

You forgive with startling graciousness. And by your forgiveness, You break the power that sin holds over us. You interrupt our headlong rush toward death and destruction in order to set our feet firmly on the path to life that is abundant and free.

You are able to free even those who are incarcerated, particularly poor persons who are victimized by many policies and practices. You are able to raise up bold prophets, just judges and wise legislators who will declare and enact the freedom that You desire for your diverse children. 

Please make it so. Do your work of liberation among us. And make us bold, wise and glad agents of your liberation. Amen.

Prayer for May 26 - June 1, 2019

Sermon Text: Acts 16:6-15

That we may be open to receive your guidance and eager to answer your call

God, we rejoice that You are at work among us, guiding us to the places where people are awaiting a healing, saving, and renewing word from You. We rejoice that You are able to speak to us through scripture and in the subtle language of dreams.

Enable us to receive your guidance in whatever form You chose to give it. Give us hearts that are eager to answer your call and respond with compassion toward those whose need for your transforming presence is urgent.

Help us to be alert for opportunities to witness about your astonishing work in Jesus Christ. Enable us to push past internal barriers that might keep us from befriending people whose background and experience are different from our own.

May your Spirit make us ready donors and ready recipients of the many gifts that You make available as You extend your reign among us and throughout the vastness of your creation. Amen.

Prayer for May 19-25, 2019

Sermon Text: Revelation 21:1-6

That we may hold You in our first and final thought today

Creator God, we rejoice that You have begun your new creation through Christ Jesus. We rejoice that multitudes, through the centuries, have gotten a taste for the newness that will exceed our most vivid imagination.

We imagine a world that is ordered and beautiful. We imagine a world in which chaos no longer hampers and harries us. We imagine, most of all, You, settling among us as Sovereign, but also as Best Friend and Nearest Neighbor and Most Compassionate Comforter.

We anticipate, with joy. the removal of grief – of death, morning, crying and pain. We anticipate, with hope, deep draughts of refreshing water from springs that will never fail.

We believe that your promise is “trustworthy and true,” and we live for You and for the day when all will acknowledge that You are Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End. 

 You are our first and final thought this day. We praise You with unquenchable joy. Amen.

Prayer for Maundy Thursday, April 18, 2019

Sermon Text: John 13:1-17

Christ Jesus, our Teacher, Friend and Servant, you teach and lead us in surprising ways. You challenge our expectations. You undermine our arrogant and presumptuous desire to have others

bend to our will and serve us.

What you call us to would be impossible for us if You did not enable us to serve each other by your example and by the gift of your energizing Spirit who guides and keeps us in the way that You

command and lead. Amen.

Prayer for March 31-April 6, 2019

Sermon Text: Luke 15:1-32

That we may come to our senses and find our place in your household

God, we have found so many ways to reject You and act dishonorably toward You. Though You have provided everything for our well-being within your household, we have acted as though we were foreigners and strangers to You.

Some of us have greedily sought what we could wrest from You and unwisely squandered your resources on self-destructive excess. We have wandered far. We have lost ourselves as we have lost our connection to You and to the household that nurtured us. We have found ourselves in a morass of meaninglessness and discontent.

Some of us have stayed close, but we have participated bitterly in the life-giving work of the household. And we have seethed with anger when You have celebrated the return of those who wandered far and squandered your resources.  

Help those of us who are still wandering, and those of us who labor in bitterness and seethe with anger, to come to our senses and return to your household where every lost one is celebrated when they return home. Amen.

Prayer for April 7-13, 2019

Sermon Text: John 12:1-8

That we may see the new thing You have begun among us

God, our Redeemer, we rejoice in all that You have done for us. We rejoice in your many deliverances, your steady leading through places of difficulty and desolation, your constant provision for every need.

As we have journeyed with You, we have discovered that there is no God like You. You are incomparable in majesty, holiness, faithfulness and love. 

We desire no one beside You. We commit ourselves wholly to You as covenant partners for the long term.

As we walk with You, prevent us from thinking only about the past and what You did for us once, perhaps long ago. Help us to see what is going on around us. Help us to see the new thing that You have already begun among us. Enable us to hear your call to a future that is not yet fully formed. Strengthen us to walk in places where we would not venture without You. 

We trust You and we are yours. Amen.

Prayer for May 12-18, 2019

Sermon Text: Acts 9:36-43

God of wonders, we rejoice that You are able to act in ways that exceed our expectations or imagination. Whether we ask in calm confidence or with a sense of desperate urgency, You hear the cries of our hearts, and You are able to respond.

We praise You with hearts full of joy. We praise You with hopeful expectation that You will act among us with power that issues from your great love for us, and for all of your creatures.

Help us to trust You more fully. Let your work among us become a sign of your great love to the community where You have placed us. 

We dedicate ourselves to serve all people, but especially those who are poor and vulnerable, in your glorious name. Amen. 

Prayer for May 5-11, 2019

Sermon Text: Acts 9:1-20

Living Light, how blind we are when we decide that we are the ones who see You clearly. How vulnerable we become when we decide that we must protect You and act as your defenders. How quickly our hearts turn in violence toward those with whom we disagree.

We are so arrogant, believing that we know You, know your will and your ways better than most other people.

Forgive us. Soften our hearts. Blind us with the light of your truth. Humble us. Help us receive the ministrations of others who are able to restore true vision and create space within us for your Spirit to fill. 

Then, when You have begun your transformation within us, open our eyes to the opportunities for witness and service that lie all around us. Energize us for the work for which You have chosen and called us. Amen.

Prayer for April 28-May 4, 2019
Sermon Text: Acts 5:27-32

Prayer for the Week

God of new life, enable us to be obedient witnesses to Jesus and his resurrection. Let us speak good news in compelling ways that elicit belief and encourage people to repent and receive forgiveness of sins, while opening their hearts to the presence of your Spirit.

Give us courage to face resistance without bowing to pressure from those who would like to silence us. Prepare us to speak at any moment and enable us to speak truth without malice, but with deep compassion.  

God, we are witnesses of your wondrous work through Jesus Christ. We testify about what we have read, heard, and experienced. Give us a deeper experience of your incomparable love and a richer testimony to our diverse neighbors. Amen.