Prayer for January 18-25, 2015

Prayer of Confession:

Pastor: God of all people, we confess that most of the time we are not much

             inclined to seek unity with one another.  We do not want to be one

             in mind and spirit

All:        if it means giving up the illusion of autonomy. 

Pastor: We do not want to be one in mind and spirit

All:        if it means that we must submit to one another in love. 

Pastor: We do not want to be one in mind and spirit

All:        if it means placing the needs and values of others before our

            own. 

Pastor: We do not want to be one in mind and spirit

All:        if it means abandoning some of our pet projects or opinions. 

Pastor: We do not want to be one in mind and spirit

All:        if it means emptying ourselves in order to serve one another.

Pastor: God of all, you have made us one in Christ Jesus,

All:        but we resist the unity you have created as the very foundation

             of our experience.

Pastor: We choose distraction, dissolution, and division

All:        over the goodness and beauty of living together in unity.

Pastor: We harden our hearts against each other

All:        even as we harden them against your desire for us.

Pastor: Forgive us.

All:        Forgive us!

Pastor: Make the transformation among us

All:        that we have been unable to make for ourselves,

Pastor: so that we may live the reality of unity  

All:        that you have already achieved through Christ Jesus.  Amen.

PRAYER FOR JANUARY 11-17, 2015

Sermon Text: Mark 1:4-11

That we may follow Jesus in bold witness and humble service

God of mercy, we rejoice in You!  We rejoice that You sent John the Baptizer to call your people to repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  We rejoice that many heard him and welcomed his message of the greater One who would come to baptize, with the Holy Spirit, in fulfillment of your covenant promise.

We rejoice that Jesus came and that he acted in full solidarity with your covenant people.  We rejoice that he submitted himself in humility and obedience to the word from You that he heard from the lips of John.  We rejoice that in this way he prepared himself thoroughly for your presence and for his role as your Living Word and Suffering Servant.

And we rejoice, O God, that You acknowledged and affirmed your Chosen One, your Beloved Child, by declaring that You were pleased with him and by placing your Spirit within him.

We have heard your judgment upon our sins and your call to forgiveness.  We have been baptized into the name of Jesus.  Because of Jesus’action on our behalf, we have received your Spirit.  

Let us follow Jesus in bold witness to your unfailing mercy, and in humble service of the world You love.  Amen.     

Prayer for January 4-10, 2015

Sermon Text: John 1:1-18

O Christ Jesus, we rejoice in You as

                    Living Word

                    True God

                    Creator of All Things

                    Light of All People

                    Life of Humankind.

We rejoice that You entered your own creation and came to your own people.

We regret that we have often failed to recognize and receive You, and pray that You will forgive us for our foolish and stubborn resistance.

We rejoice that You have enabled us to receive You, to believe in your name, and to live as children of God.  Help us to be more consistent and joyful in the life of faith that You have enabled.

Thank You for revealing God’s glory to us and for showing us God’s grace and truth.  Thank You for flooding our lives with God’s grace and helping us to walk in truth.  

You have made God known to us.  So we rejoice and commit our fidelity to God, as your followers, who trust in the aid of your Holy Spirit.  Amen.

PRAYER FOR December 28, 2014-January 3, 2014 

Sermon Text: Luke 2:22-40

That we may see and acclaim Christ as our consolation and redemption

Holy and Merciful God, enable us to be fully devoted to You.  Enable us to do what is true and right.  Let worship and praise be characteristic of our daily devotion to You.  Let your Spirit move within us and among us in such a way that we are enabled to see and celebrate the presence of Christ, even when Christ comes among us in humility and weakness, and without evident signs of your glory.  Enable us to recognize the presence of Christ Jesus as the crowning jewel of our experience: that which sums up, binds together, and gives meaning to all that You intend for us.  Enable us to be joyful witnesses that Jesus is our consolation and that Jesus is our salvation.

We rejoice that Jesus has come among us as your Anointed One!

We rejoice that your Holy Spirit has enabled us to trust in Jesus!  

We give You all praise, honor and thanksgiving!  Amen.

Prayer for December 21-27, 2014

Sermon Text: Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-20; Matthew 1:18-25

That our one word to You will be “Yes”

God of surprising newness, we are often unsettled and fearful when we realize that your messengers are speaking your word of truth to us.  Most of the time we would like things to go on as they are, but then You surprise us with your presence and we hardly know how to respond.

But you calm us.  You tell us not to be afraid.  You make promises of new life that we could not imagine on our own, just as You did with Mary when You promised that she would be the bearer of your Anointed One.

Give us courage like Mary’s.  Enable us to say, “Yes, I am your servant, God.  Yes, do as You please in and through my life.  Yes, let Christ live in and through me so that others may see your glory.”  

When You come to us with your word of newness, let our one word be “Yes!”  Amen. 

Prayer for December 14-20, 2014

Sermon Text: John 1:6-9, 19-28; Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

That your light of truth may penetrate the darkest recesses of our lives

You who are Light, You who created light, You who sent John to witness to the Light and who sent Jesus as Light of the World, we rejoice in You!

Let the light of your truth penetrate every dimension of our existence, including the darkest recesses of our heart and mind.

Let us be transformed by your Light so that joy and generosity energize us to follow Jesus’ example as bearers of good news, as people who act for liberation, healing and comfort.  

May righteousness and praise spring up among your people (including us) in such beauty and fruitfulness that the nations rejoice in You.  Amen.

Prayer for December 7-13, 2014 

Sermon Text: Mark 1:1-8, Isaiah 40:1-11

That our lives may be reordered by your Spirit

Merciful God, we rejoice that You sent John the Baptizer to cry aloud in the wilderness and to urge your people to prepare for your renewed and renewing presence among them.

We rejoice that You still send prophets to cry aloud—even in our urban wildernesses—in order to call us to repentance, call us to reorder our lives, and prepare our hearts for Jesus, who still comes to us and acts among us in fresh ways.

Our repentance, our reordering, our open hearts are all accomplished through your enabling power, by your Holy Spirit who breathes in and through us with unbridled energy.  

We thank You for Jesus, your Chosen and Anointed One.  We thank You for your Holy Spirit with whom Jesus has baptized us.  We thank You for your unfailing presence among us.  Amen.