Worship

Prepare the Soil

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Prepare the soil of my heart,
Lord,
prepare the soil of my heart
as the seed of Your Word is sown.

Satan lurks,
as a bird waiting for the grain truck
in order to snatch away any stray seeds.
Satan lurks,
as a prowling lion waiting for prey
in order to devour an unsuspecting soul.
Satan lurks,
as a thief scoping out a house
in order to rob it of it’s treasure.

Prepare the soil of my heart,
Lord,
prepare the soil of my heart
as the seed of Your Word is sown.

The world entices,
as a forbidden lover
looking to steal away someone’s love.
The world entices,
as a wolf in sheep’s clothing
looking to deceive unto death.
The world entices,
as a desert mirage
only to provide sand to quench a dry mouth.

Prepare the soil of my heart,
Lord,
prepare the soil of my heart
as the seed of Your Word is sown.

For…

Jesus saves,
that’s it.
Jesus saves.

So…

Prepare the soil of my heart,
Lord,
prepare the soil of my heart
as the seed of Your Word is sown.

The Pastor -|—

A Reformation Prayer

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Let’s pray…

Holy God,
nearly 500 years ago, one man,
Martin Luther,
started a reformation that would change the Church
and the world forever.

But…

we are not here to worship this man
but rather worship You through another man,
Your Son and our Savior,
Jesus Christ.
For it is through Jesus’ death and resurrection
that we are made righteous in Your eyes.
It is through the Holy Spirit
that we come to know this truth.
It is through Your love
that we even have hope in the first place.

So I ask that Your Spirit may move
in,
through and
around us today
as we hear this Word of Truth from Your Holy Word.
May Your Word create, sustain or strengthen faith
and may it not return to You empty.
And through this Word of Truth,
may we be modern day
reformers
as we lead people to Your Son,
Jesus Christ.

All honor
and glory
and worship
and praise
be unto You, holy God, through Christ Jesus our Lord,

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Intimacy ~ A Prayer before Preaching

/ The Pastor

Holy God,
To seek You in prayer,
is to seek intimacy with the Creator of the universe;
the lover of our souls.
May we not take this moment for granted through
worries or
distractions or
forward looking to some activity.
May we dwell in this moment
but
also be willing to leave this moment and transition back to the mission field. May we hear this proclaimed Word and take it to heart
and not hear these words as just information.
Heal our hearts, oh Lord.
Transform our hearts, oh Lord.
Now may the words of my mouth be Your holy and inspired word.
Grant me boldness and faithfulness.
Grant me the holy desire to speak and preach from the heart
that You may be glorified.
To You be honor and worship through Christ Jesus our Lord,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Gathering Around Your Word ~ An Opening Prayer

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Holy God,
mighty and merciful;

send Your Holy Spirit as we gather around Your most holy Word.

May You drive away all that clings to our hearts;
weighing it down.
May You direct our eyes to the cross;
wherein the King of glory died for us.
May we gaze into the empty tomb to see our Savior gone;
risen to New Life for us.

And as we have our attention redirected from the sinful ways of the world,
fill our hearts with Your peace
that we may grow closer to You and
fall into Your loving arms;
not the arms of this decaying world.
May Your word penetrate the hardest of hearts and
draw Your children back to You.

All praise and glory be unto You,
Holy Father,
through Christ Jesus our Lord

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Open my eyes ~ A Prayer before Preaching

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord;
open the eyes of my heart.
I want to see You.
I want to know You.
I want to be obedient to You.

There is so much in this world that vies for our attention;
drawing us away from you.
But we too often unwilling to fight this battle.
We would much rather acquiesce than to make a stand.
We would much rather worship the creature than worship You;
our Creator.

Oh Lord, lover of our souls,
may we not be so selfish.
Open the eyes of our heart that we may worship You wholly;
with everything we are.
Open the eyes of our heart that we may follow wherever You lead.
Open the eyes of our heart that we may know Jesus,
the author and perfecter of our faith;
through whom we have salvation.

All praise
glory,
honor
and worship
be to You, holy Father, through Christ Jesus our Lord,

Amen.

To Know God ~ An Opening Prayer

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

To know You, Oh God,
is to know a peace that surpassing all understanding;
for You are the sovereign ruler of all creation.

To know You, Oh God,
is to know contentment;
for Your will, will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

To know You, Oh God,
is to have a heart that can not help but burst forth in worship;
for how can one conceal a joy like this.

And so we gather in this place to sing Your praises,
to lift our songs,
to shout our “Amens” and
to offer ourselves to You,
holy God.

May You be praised and worshiped;
not just now but always and forever.
May You be praised and worshiped;
not just here but in everyplace.
May You be praised and worshiped,
always and forever;
with every ounce of our being and
with every breath that flows from our mouth,

Amen.

A Pleasing Aroma ~ An Opening Prayer

/ The Pastor

Let us prepare our hearts to worship our awesome God…

Holy God, loving Father,
we come before You, this morning, to worship.
But we come with baggage filled with sinful desires.
We come distracted over worldly cares.
We come weighed down with burdens.
Some come with open hands,
longing to be filled.
Some come with closed hearts;
only making an appearance for selfish gain.
Some come with jubilant hearts,
thankful for Your abundant grace and mercy.

However we come and with whatever intentions,
may Your Spirit fill our hearts,
so much so,
that we are lead in authentic worship
that brings glory to Your most precious name.
And through our worship,
may we be sent out to continue living lives of worship
that glorifies your name among others.

May hearts be focused on You
and
may heart-filled words leave our lips as a pleasing aroma to Your ears.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen.

As always, may God be glorified in your worship this morning.
Praise be God!

The Pastor -|—

Worship ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Father God,
worship is at the heart of our being;
for to know You
is to burst forth into joyous praise.
To know You is to sing of Your glory.
To know You is to shout of Your faithfulness.
To know You is to fall at Your feet in humble submission.

Yet…
our hearts seek other gods and give them our devotion.
We seek other gods and give them our praise.
We forgo worshipping You to please ourselves and to please other’s expectations.

But You are worthy of so much more.
Forgive us, oh God.

Convict hearts that they may turn to You.
Show people Your faithfulness.
Draw us to You, oh God.

May the gods of this world be deposed from our hearts and may You reign supreme in our hearts.

All glory, praise and worship be to You, oh God, through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen

The Pastor -|—

Your Holy Word ~ A Prayer before Preaching

/ The Pastor

It never ceases to amaze me that I get to preach God’s Word in this way each and every week. It also never ceases to amaze me that these fingers manage to pound out words through this keyboard, that when put together are something that proclaims Christ to people. And so my prayer each and every week (and day), as I approach God’s Word, is that I may be faithful with God’s Word and approach God’s Word with an open heart; one ready to receive.

May God be glorified in this sermon this morning and may the Holy Spirit do it’s thing in this place and wherever you are at. Let’s pray..

To approach Your holy Word faithfully
is to do so with fear and trembling;
not only because of how it convicts us of sin
but also because
of it’s awesome power through the Holy Spirit.
For Your Word kills and gives life.
It convicts and redeems.
It’s alive.
It’s does something.

And so may we approach Your Word here this morning with great expectation;
leaning on Your promises
and joyfully basking in Your faithfulness.
May we toss off all that would hinder our hearing of Your Word
and fix our eyes on
You.
May we receive this Word with all joy
but not just receive it,
but also put it into faithful action that proclaims Your glory.
May we embrace its transformative power
that gives courage in a fear-filled world.

All glory,
honor,
worship
and praise
be onto
You,
holy Father,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Awesome Creator ~ An Opening Prayer

/ The Pastor

As you prepare your hearts to worship our awesome God, this morning, humble yourselves as you ponder God’s creative beauty and power. Let’s pray…

Creator God,
in the beginning You created with a
word.
You said it and it came into being.
You breathed life into all living things.
You set the course of creation into motion
and
continue to reign over all as You are our very life that we breath.
And because You are King and Lord of all,
we gather to worship
You.
We gather as broken people in this hospital for sinners,
needing You to heal us.
We gather as a redeemed people;
thankful and grateful for the Life we have through Jesus.
We gather as one body, with one Lord,
to lift up our praises in a unified voice.

May we sing not from selfish motives
but from a jubilant heart.
And may we ever keep our eyes fixed on Your glory
as we long to gaze on Your holy face in Your temple
forever and ever.

All praise and worship be to
You,
Creator God,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,

Amen.

May God be glorified in your worship this morning and may the Spirit fill your hearts with joy.

The Pastor -|—