It feels good to be back at it and writing again even though I enjoyed some quality time with my children as my wife volunteered at Shetek Lutheran Ministries (Slayton, MN) this past week.

Below are my worship preparations this week (July 12). The opening prayer is something I have done before (taken from Psalm 8). I just love these words from the psalmist as they give words to my heart as some of the many reasons I worship God. So feel free to use these in whatever way brings glory to God.

May this Lord’s Day be one filled with joy as you worship this awesome and majestic God of ours. Let’s pray…

Opening Prayer
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which YOU have set in place, what are we that you are mindful of us; that you care for us? Yet you have made us a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned us with glory and honor. You have given us dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under our feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
And that is why we worship You, oh God; Your majestic and glorious name. No other god has done or can do what You do. No other god loves us as You do. No other god has given their son that we may live. No other god is majestic or glorious or worthy of worship. And so we come praising You and seeking Your Word. Receive our worship.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
In Jesus most holy and majestic name we pray, Amen.

Prayers of Intercession
Holy God, majestic and wonderful, compassionate and merciful, in Your abundant mercy we ask that You may hear our prayers and give to us not according to our will but may Your will be done. May our spirits be rightly aligned with You and may our desires be wholly focused on You. May we seek You with our whole hearts and grant us to receive from most Your gracious hand.
Lord in Your mercy…“Hear our prayer”

For those caught in the cycle of poverty or homelessness or under-employment, grant relief through Your children as we live out our faith. May we see the world around us as a mission field; to share Your love and to show mercy through acts of kindness. Lord in Your mercy…“Hear our prayer”

For the Church, oh Lord. We are not just an organization that meets together but we are Your hands and feet; the body of Christ. So may we not sit idle as hurts and injustices abound. May we not turn away from our calling. May we seek to know Your holy Word better. May leaders be faithful and disciples be raised up to follow You. And may Your Gospel be boldly proclaimed. Lord in Your mercy…“Hear our prayer”

Holy God, majestic and wonderful, compassionate and merciful, receive these petitions and may we be faithful to continue to seek You day in and day out. May our lives be ones of worship, so much so, that those around us are drawn to You, not to us. All glory and honor and praise and worship be to You, oh God, through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

Post-Communion Blessing
May the body and blood of Jesus Christ which brings forgiveness of sins, excite and stir you to forgive others as you have been forgiven; seeking to bring praise to God and to restore relationships for the sake of the Gospel, let us pray…

Post-Communion Prayer
Bring healing to troubled souls, oh God, as we bask in the joy that Jesus Christ was given for us. Bring hope to the hopeless, life to the lifeless, purpose to the lost and joy to the downtrodden. May this holy meal drive us to long for the Great Banquet that You have prepared for all believers. Through Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

Benediction
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and grant you peace.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—