Prayers for Lent 5A

 

Prayer of Adoration

Heavenly Father,

Source of life of every living thing;

from the smallest flower,

to the largest mammal,

everything that lives gives you praise.

The grasses and tree tops

wave offerings to your glory,

sea turtles and pelicans

glide with effortless joy,

dogs and cats nap and play,

men and women

burst into song at the wonder of life

and the mystery of living.

O God, giver of life,

we love you,

and we know that you love us;

in the name of the Father

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever. Amen.

 

 

Prayer for Illumination

Send now, O Lord,

your Spirit, your Breath, your Wind

into every corner of our beings,

into dark, closed off rooms,

into places that smell of death,

send us your Word, O Lord,

that we might come to life

and breath new air;

suspend our disbelief,

that we may receive your word

and live,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 

World Communion Sunday: Prayer of Confession

Merciful God, although You made all people in your image, we confess that we live with deep divisions.  Although you sent Jesus to be savior of the world, we confess that we treat him as our own tribal god.  Although you are One and the Body of Christ is One, we fail to display that unity in our worship, our mission, and our fellowship.  Forgive our pride and arrogance, heal our souls, and renew our vision, for the sake of your Son, our savior, the Lord, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

World Communion Sunday Call to Worship

The God of the universe is Lord of heaven and earth;

We join all creation in worship of the Living God!

He has made us in his image, male and female;

Let the peoples praise you, O God,

Let all the people praise you!

He has given us his Son for the redemption of the world;

We confess: Jesus Christ is Lord!

He has called us, He is our God, we are his people;

There is One Lord, one faith, one baptism!

All:  Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit

Call To Worship based on Exodus 3

Cries of Pain, Call to Follow

Hearing their cries,
God called to Israel,
“Come out”
Out of slavery to Empire
Into a land of promise

Hearing their lamentations,
God called, through the prophets,
“Come back”
Out from the land of exile
Into a new beginning

Hearing our despair,
Jesus calls his disciples,
“Come, follow me”
Out from the bondage to sin, and self, and status quo
Into the Kingdom of love, and peace, and joy in the Spirit

This was also used at our recent Presbytery meeting in South Alabama which was on the theme of Exodus 3

Prayer of Confession: Presbytery Meeting of South Alabama, Aug. 2010

We have a contemporary worship service on the Friday evening of our Presbytery

meetings here in S. Alabama.  This is the prayer of confession that we used, since our text theme was from Exodus 3:1-12 – God heard the cries of the Israelites in slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt, and called Moses to be the means of their liberation.  I wrote this with help from Rev. Karen Bullock who also arranged it into different reader-parts.

Confession 2010

(Leader  [person #1]  from upfront):

Here is our pain, our cry,

here is our prison cell graffiti

here is our 5th amendment waiver

Look and see into our eyes

Hear the burdens of our hearts

(unexpected, person #2  stands up in pew and says)

we have been locked up so long

born into a prison that we cannot smell or taste or touch

we have paced the cage til we’ve worn paths into the floor

Cursed is our containment

Heavy the weight of sin we bear

(person #3 stands up and says)

We have acquiesced too quickly

swallowed poison propaganda

kowtowed to Empire

genuflected towards the status-quo consensus

(person #4 from the pew, seated, reads this)  

And it is killing us, slowly

we are rotting, souls first.

Look at our atrophy (pause)

No, don’t look we don’t want to be seen like this

Oh, but look, look, and help us learn how to be free

(leader up front [person #1] reads again)

now it feels chronic; nearly normal

now it’s all habit and routine

comfortably predictable misery

numb monotony

(All; words on screen)

But this is wrong and we know it

we have felt it our entire lives,

there is something wrong with the world

this is not how we were meant to live

this is not what we were made for

this should not be our destiny

prosperity has not borne fruitfulness

our garden became a junk-yard, oil-stained

longevity has only lengthened our loneliness

we have outlived our reasons

We cannot be silent any longer

whether from true repentance

or merely a pain-reflex

heard or not, we must cry out:

(leader up front, person #1)

Enough of “not enough”!

No more of “a little more”

Our neurons are nauseated

by the salt-sugar-fat trinity

(person #2)

now we know:

no amount of messages

can fill an inbox without a bottom

no screen, … touch or not, …can hug or cry, or bleed, or scream

(person #4 seated)

These are our walls,

this is our incarceration,

for this we traded freedom

can there yet be liberation?

( reader [#4]  stands up, raises hands continues)

God of Exodus, hear our cry,

Lord, have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy (all 4 readers)

Set us free

Or we are hopeless

(all 4 readers)

Pry out of our clenched fists,

finger by finger,

(break them open if need be)

your jagged, cruciform, key

Sing: “O Lord hear my prayer” (Taize)

O Lord, hear my prayer

O Lord, hear my prayer

When I call, answer me

O Lord, hear my prayer

O Lord, hear my prayer

Come, and listen to me

Assurance of Pardon from Isaiah 61  (Leader:)

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,

because the LORD has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners.

[bring up house lights]

Prayers for 19th Ordinary C

Prayer of Adoration

Our dear Father-God,

whose power is immeasurable,

whose compassion is inexhaustible,

whose good pleasure it is

to give to us the kingdom

we come as your little flock

for shelter, nurture, and security,

to which no treasure can compare.

O Father-God, we love you,

and we know that you love us;

in the name of the Father

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Invitation to Confession

After entering God’s presence,

we become aware of our sinfulness.

Our culture teaches us

to treasure trinkets,

Our desires teach us

to treasure indulgence,

Our fears teach us

to treasure treasure,

Our hearts are where our treasure is,

so we confess

our failure of faith,

that we may hear

a hopeful word of pardon.

Let us therefore confess our sins

in humility and confident trust.

Call to Worship for 15th Ordinary, B, July 12, 2009

Day follows after day, season after season,

You, O God, have ordained the rhythms of nature.

Empires rise and fall, kingdoms wax and wane,

But You, O Lord, reign supreme forever.

One day in seven, we mark as sacred, set apart; a new beginning;

We come to worship You, O God

Our times, our days, our lives are in your hands, Everlasting Father

In God alone is our trust; in Him is our salvation

Prayers for 3rd Lent B

I think this prayer says it all:

his is a prayer based on the gospel lesson for the Third Sunday in Lent, John 2.13-22.

Holy God, in Jesus Christ you have built for us
an eternal house, a temple of righteousness,
a place of gracious plenty for the hungry
and abundant life for the poor in spirit.
Fill us with zeal for the body of Christ.
Overturn the tables of corruption and greed
and upset the imbalance of injustice,
so that we may worship you in spirit and truth;
through Jesus Christ, who is risen indeed.

POSTED BY DAVID GAMBRELL

David posts at his blog “Linen Ephod” – I would make the link convenient, but for some reason when I try, it locks up the whole page and I have to re-set it all.  Is it because I just changed to Safari 4 (beta)?  Perhaps; it used to work for me before I “upgraded”.

http://2samvi14.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=29

Prayers for 2nd Lent, 2009

Prayer of Adoration

Eternal God, holy and faithful,

what can we give in return for our life?

Teach us to take up the cross of Christ

with grateful hearts and humble spirits,

offering all for the sake of the gospel,

so that we may receive life in fullness;

through Christ, who is coming in glory.

- by DAVID GAMBRELL

 

Call to Confession

Our Lord calls us to deny ourselves,

to take up our cross and follow him.

The denial we are good at

is denial of our own culpability

for our self-interested actions and in-actions.

But we are here, now, to end that denial by confession:

we acknowledge our sinful condition,

and rely on God’s mercy and Grace.

Assurance of Pardon

Hear the Good News:

Jesus Christ came to bear the cross for,

embracing our human condition,

redeeming us from its curse.

He died for us,

he rose for us,

he reigns in power for us,

he prays for us.

Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.

Believe the good news:

in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

Prayer for Illumination

The worse things get in our world,

        the more we need to hear your voice, O Lord.

Speak to us directly, deeply, and powerfully by your Holy Spirit,

        as we read your word

                   and as the message is proclaimed,

that we may learn what it means to follow you

          as disciples of Jesus Christ. 

Prayers for Sunday, March 1, 2009 Lent 1B

Prayer of Adoration

Almighty and merciful God,
From the wilderness of temptation
and anxiety,
we call out to you.
Open the heavens
and send your Holy Spirit upon us
in new and powerful ways,
we pray,
that we may respond to your call to repent,
and with joy,
believe the good news of the Kingdom
of your beloved son,
our Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
One God, now and forever, Amen.

 

Invitation to Confession

Our Lord Jesus knows what it means
to be alone,
to suffer deprivation, and intense temptation;
he has been tempted
in every way that we are tempted;
he understands our weaknesses full well,
but he calls us to repent,
and live lives congruent
with the kingdom of God.
Certain that he will understand
and forgive us,
let us come now with repentant hearts,
confessing our sins.

Assurance of Pardon

Hear the Good News:
the Kingdom of Heaven is near.
God’s will is not to destroy us,
but to rescue us
from the damage and pain of evil,
and to fill us with the joy of life
in his presence,
and in communion
with our sisters and brothers,
So believe the Good News of the Gospel,
In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!

 

Prayer for Illumination

Loving God,
here we are in your presence,
wanting to be your disciples,
needing to hear your word.

Send your Holy Spirit upon us
that we may hear you speaking to us
in a personal and compelling way,
through Jesus Christ, Amen.