PRAISE AND GLORY: PRAYERS OF PRAISE ENGAGING THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST STATEMENT OF FAITH

DAY 37 - WEDNESDAY

God promises to all who trust in the gospel eternal life in that kingdom which has no end.

You who are Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End,

we praise You for your faithfulness, from age to age,

as well as for the newness that You bring, in surprising ways,

to situations that seem changeless.

Because You are faithful and because your imaginative creativity

eclipses all that we can imagine,

we cling to your promise of eternal life

with a mixture of dread and delight.

We taste a bit of your eternal realm now,

in the life of the Church, as we worship You

with people who are diverse in many ways,

yet are united by your Spirit in a single body that lives for your glory.

We anticipate the full revelation of your glory.

We rejoice that You will abolish sorrow and tears,

and that You will dwell among your people

in unbroken fellowship, with great feasting

and jubilant song and unending love.  Amen.

Scripture: Rev. 5:9-10, 7:9-12, 19:1-10, 21:1-7; Isaiah 43:14-21; Lamentations 3:22-24; Ephesians 4:1-6

PRAISE AND GLORY: PRAYERS OF PRAISE ENGAGING THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST STATEMENT OF FAITH

DAY 36 - TUESDAY

God promises to all who trust in the gospel the presence of the Holy Spirit in trial and rejoicing.

Always faithful God, we take courage from Jesus’ promise

that he will never leave us or forsake us.

Indeed, we praise You because your Spirit has been

our constant companion and guide

for all the days and all the miles of our journey in faith.

In your presence

we have faced even the darkest valley with boldness.

In your presence we have discovered comfort

in the midst of crushing circumstances that pushed us toward despair.

In your presence we have found clarity

when everything seemed chaotic and confusing.

We have also known overwhelming joy

as You have given us moments

of heightened awareness of your nearness,

and as we have walked and worshiped

with other companions on the journey

whose faith nurtured and challenged our own.

O Faithful Companion, in your nearness You have given us

the deepest desire of our hearts.

We will never cease worshiping you,

But will glorify your name with the best of our energy.  Amen.

Scripture: Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20; Psalm 23, 37:4, 145:19; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

PRAISE AND GLORY: PRAYERS OF PRAISE ENGAGING THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST STATEMENT OF FAITH

DAY 35 - MONDAY

God promises to all who trust in the gospel courage in the struggle for justice and peace.

God of justice and peace, You have shown your great compassion

in your desire for justice for all people,

but particularly for the poor among us.

We thank You that in the midst of many circumstances

You have declared, “Be not afraid!”

and have calmed our fears, declared your peace to us,

given us a peace we did not expect and cannot explain,

and called us to be makers of peace.

Even now, You help us to “Be not afraid,”

so that we may work for justice

alongside all who are oppressed and who cry out to You

for mercy and justice. 

By the presence of your energizing Spirit,

You have made us sources of friendship and hope

for all who live in poverty,

for all who grieve without someone to comfort them,

for those who are sick, diseased, injured or disabled,

for those who are in prison,

for exiles who live as strangers in strange lands,

and for many other people who are treated

as though they are less than fully human.

You encourage and energize us for advocacy,

So that by speech and communal action

we are able to work for change

of the many structures that increase poverty,

aggravate grief, prolong incarceration,

intensify the impact of physical ailments

and permanent disabilities, and further silence those

who have already been silenced and sent away.

O God, you enable us to dream of a world

in which justice and peace become reality.

And you give us endurance to work on, in hope,

when the results of our efforts seem invisible

and change seems impossible.

O God, bring glory to yourself as You bring peace and justice

that overturns the great inequities we see at every hand.  Amen.

Scripture: Luke 1:5-13, 2:6-38, 2:8-12, 4:16-21; Isaiah 58:1-12; John 14:27; Philippians 4:4-7, Matthew 5:9

Prayer for April 14-20, 2019

Sermon Text: Luke 19:28-40, 23:1-49

We rejoice that You are the answer to our deepest hopes

Jesus, because of the testimony of the multitude of your followers who have preceded us, and because of your presence and action among us, we acknowledge You as our Sovereign. You are the answer to all of our communal and individual hopes! Hosanna!

We rejoice because You have come in peace. You have not conquered us by violence or wrested our allegiance from us against our will, but have offered yourself to us for our salvation and enrichment. Hosanna!

We are saddened that your mission of compassion and renewal was so bitterly rejected by many. We are saddened that You had to endure deep pain and suffering in order to fulfill your role. We are grieved that many of us would have joined with those who demanded that You die.  

No one expected God’s Chosen One to endure such things. You acted in ways that no one could predict in order to bring God’s forgiveness, healing, and liberation to us. We wish some things had not had to be as they were, but we rejoice that your obedience has been the source of new life for us. Hosanna! Amen.

PRAISE AND GLORY: PRAYERS OF PRAISE ENGAGING THE UNITEDCHURCH OF CHRIST STATEMENT OF FAITH

Sixth Sunday

Read or pray one of the UCC statements of faith at http://www.ucc.org/beliefs_statement-of-faith#DOX, or the statement of faith of your own Christian communion, or one of the historic statements like the Apostles' or Athanasian Creed.

PRAISE AND GLORY: PRAYERS OF PRAISE ENGAGING THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST STATEMENT OF FAITH

DAY 34 - SATURDAY

God promises to all who trust in the gospel fullness of grace.

O Generous One, You who give constantly and deeply of yourself,

we rejoice in all that You have done for us,

and delight in the many ways that your generosity

has unfolded in our lives as your people.

You have given us the grace of your companion Spirit

who dwells within us, imperceptible,

yet close as our own thought or pulse or breath.

By your Spirit, we see Christ’s glory,

are transformed in Christ’s likeness and receive Christ’s mind

that enables us to live in great freedom

and serve one another with abundant joy.

You have given us many gifts to nurture our life together,

so that our practice of faith and love

become fuller expressions of your presence within us,

and so our lives become more firmly stabilized

against forces that would push or lure us away from You.

You have called us and made us your holy ones

by your own gracious choice.

We rejoice in You and worship You only.  Amen.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9; 12:1-31; 2 Corinthians 3:7-18; Philippians 2:1-11; Ephesians 4:7-16; Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 2:1-10

PRAISE AND GLORY: PRAYERS OF PRAISE ENGAGING THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST STATEMENT OF FAITH

DAY 33 - FRIDAY

God promises to all who trust in the gospel forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace.

God of Mercy,

You who are incomparable in your practice of forgiveness,

we rejoice in your great love.

We thank You for your patience in drawing us to You

and in forgiving us our many sins.

Without your forgiveness our lives

would be characterized by barrenness and brutality.

Because You forgive us, new possibilities arise before us.

You free us from the burden and control of past rebellion

and even from the shame

of common failures that plague us so often.

You release us from our dreadful fear of condemnation

to live courageously in a world of hard choices.

You provide an Advocate who intercedes for us

when we do sin, and who enables us to remain in your friendship.

You energize us to practice forgiveness

toward our sisters and brothers

so that the Church of Jesus Christ can live in freedom

from manipulation and coercion, grow into the freedom you intend,

and perceive a measure of your glory among us.

O great and loving God!  There is none like You!

You are all our hope and joy.  Amen.

Scripture: Micah 7:18-20; Galatians 5:1; Romans 8:1-2; 2 Timothy 1:3-7;

1 John 2:1-2; Matthew 6:9-15, 18:21-35