Worship

Worship prayers for 04/26/15 (Belonging to Christ)

/ The Pastor

I offer these prayers to you for the glory of God; prayers written/compiled for worship on Sunday. A common thread running through many of these prayers is the theme of “belonging to Christ”. The sermon text is Mark 9:38-41 with the focus verse: [41] For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. 

May God be glorified in our worship.

Opening prayer [the italicized portion are the words of Charles Spurgeon]
“Hallowed be Thy Name.” Oh that all the earth would ever reverence it. As for ourselves, enable us by Thy grace to use it with awe and trembling; and may a consideration of the glorious character which is intended by Thy gracious name, ever lay us in the very dust before Thee, and yet lift us up with holy joy and with an unwavering confidence. We come before Thee this morning through Christ Jesus to express our entire confidence in Thee. Oh God, may our songs and praises be pleasing to your ears as we come before You in humble obedience. All praise and worship to you, holy Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Prayer before the sermon
Holy Father, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to You, for You are worthy, oh God. May we be found faithful and obedient to Your Word and to Your commands. So please send Your Holy Spirit to give life to the words that I speak here this morning; that they may create and/or nourish faith. May the ears of those listening be turned away from me and directed towards You. May any praise that comes from the lips of those listening be directed towards You and not towards me. And therefore may all praise and glory and honor and worship be to You, holy Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Prayer after the sermon
Once again, holy Father, I ask that Your Holy Spirit may take the words I have spoken here and use them for Your glory. May those hearing these words this morning see their lives as belonging to Jesus, for without Jesus there is no life. It’s a hard thing to be submissive like this; to turn everything over to Jesus; including our very lives, but it’s our very lives You came to redeem from sin and death and the power of Satan. So send us forth as beloved children belonging to You through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Offering prayer
We offer these gifts this morning as an act of faith and worship; remembering that all that we have belongs to You. Be pleased to use them for Your glory and multiply these gifts as You see fit to advance Your kingdom. Through Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom we belong, Amen.

Benediction/Blessing [based on Colossians 1:11-14]
May you be strengthened with all power, according to HIS glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. For He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. So go and make disciples; proclaiming this Good News, as people belonging to Jesus. Amen.

May the joy of the Lord give you hope and peace this day and always.

The Pastor -|—

Worship Prayers for 04/19/15

/ The Pastor

I was on vacation last week so that is why you didn’t see any worship prayers posted. But now I am back in the saddle and excited to be leading worship and preaching again.

Below are some of the prayers I wrote for worship today.

May God be praised, worshiped and glorified.

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Opening prayer
Your holy Word, oh God, in Revelation 4 says, “Worthy are You…to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.” And it is for this reason and this reason alone that we gather here this morning. You are the Creator and the giver of all good things. You are the author of life and the giver of New Life through Jesus Christ. You are the Alpha and the Omega; the beginning and the end. And no one else is worthy of our praise. So we beseech You to turn Your ear towards us and receive our praise and worship this morning. Bless our hearing of Your holy Word and send us forth to make disciples of all nations. May You be glorified. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Prayer before preaching (Sermon text ~ Mark 9:33-37)
Holy and Faithful God, send now Your Holy Spirit to stir our hearts that we may receive this word. And may this holy word, convict us of sin and our need for a Savior. And may we run to this Savior, Jesus Christ, and cling to the life he brings. And may we proclaim this life to the world around us that others may come to know salvation. And may this salvation be the greatness we focus on in such a way that You, oh God, are glorified. Bless these words and our hearing of them. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Closing prayer
[From Charles Spurgeon] We cry to Thee this morning for the preservation of Thy church in the world, and especially for her purity. Oh Father, keep us, we beseech Thee, with all keeping, that the Evil one touch us not. We shall be tempted, but let him not prevail against us. In a thousand ways he will lay snares for our feel, but, oh, deliver us as a bird from the snare of the fowler. May the snare be broken that we may escape.

Holy God, I pray that this worship was pleasing to your ears as You are deserving of all worship. Send us now into this great mission field as we proclaim that Jesus Christ has been crucified and raised for sinners. May Your kingdom come among us. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

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May your Sabbath Day be blessed as You worship this great God of ours.

The Pastor -|—

JESUS HAS RISEN!!!

/ The Pastor

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Holy God, You are worthy to be praised. You are worthy of all worship and honor. You are worthy to be glorified. Send now Your Holy Spirit to speak to us as Your Holy Word is read and proclaimed. May the truth of the Gospel take up residence in our hearts and may the resurrection of Jesus give us hope each and everyday of our lives. Bless now our hearing that we may be sent out into the mission field around us to proclaim that Jesus Christ has risen, he has risen indeed. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

May your Easter be a blessing as you celebrate the hope of the resurrection.

The Pastor -|—

Good Friday Prayer

/ The Pastor

As you contemplate the cross on this Good Friday, I offer this prayer for you:

Holy God; loving, compassionate and merciful,

we were not actually there when they crucified our Lord, but we were there, for it was our sin that Jesus died to take away. And when I think about this it indeed causes me to tremble and shudder and be ashamed that Your Son would suffer and die as he did so that we could live.

What an awesome show of love; Jesus laying down his life for us all.

And so I ask that if anyone here tonight does not claim Jesus as their Savior, that Your Spirit may speak to their spirit and convict them of their sin and show them the truth of Your mercy and grace. May they run to You and fall into Your loving arms.

For those who have placed their trust in Jesus may they feel drawn ever closer to You and strive to live a life worthy of the Gospel; bringing You praise and glory.

May the cross convict us and may the empty tomb on Easter bring forth joy from our hearts.

In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Holy Friday ~ Good Friday

/ The Pastor

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It’s Good Friday, a day that has always been very power for me as I contemplate why Jesus did what he did for me. Last night was Maundy Thursday when we traditionally strip the altar at the end of the service. That always get me, too, not just seeing the naked altar and chancel area but being the one who is doing the stripping. It almost feels like I am the one involved in mocking Jesus. And in way, that’s what we do when we sin; we mock God and nail Jesus to the cross.

And so tonight we are going to get involved in contemplating our sinfulness by placing these nails (pictured below) at the foot of the cross (pictured above):

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Throughout the worship service (as we hold these nails) we are going to be hearing about the various ways we “nail Jesus to the cross” through our sin. Then there will be a time of prayer and confession where people are going to be invited to come up, when they’re ready, and place these at the base of the cross. Following worship and as people leave, they will be invited to take another nail but this one they keep. People will be invited to place this nail in their pocket as a reminder of their sinfulness but also of where these nails belong and what they point to:

You are a sinner
Jesus was nailed to a cross
Jesus suffered and died
FOR YOU
Jesus was buried

And then…

…well, the rest of the story (THE Good News) will be coming on the 3rd day 🙂

Praise be to God!

Merciful God, we are sinners worthy of condemnation but Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Wow! Now, there is hope. Wow! Thank you, oh God, thank you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen

The Pastor -|—

Palm Sunday Worship Prayers for 03/29/15

/ The Pastor

Below are a couple worship prayers that I wrote for today; Palm Sunday. Feel free to use them as you so choose.

Prayer before the reading of scripture/preaching:
Father God, with humility we waved palm branches to acknowledge Jesus as our King, and now with humility, we ask that you may send Your Spirit to bless the hearing of these words. For it is only through faith that we can receive the Word of Life into our hearts. It is only through faith that we accept Jesus, and him alone, as our King, Lord and Savior. It is through faith alone that we run to You, holy God, and submit to Your sovereign rule. So may the words of scripture and the words that proceed from my mouth be holy words that create faith and bring You glory, oh God. Through Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Prayer following the receiving of the offering:
Creator God, giver of all things. You provide daily bread that we may live day to day. You provide blessings that we may bless others. You provide abilities that we may proclaim Your holy name through word and deed. And so it is through these offerings that we worship you and thank you for your provision. May You multiply them according to Your will; that Your kingdom may advance and that Your name may be glorified. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

May God bless your day and may your worship bring praise and glory to God.

The Pastor -|—

Hosanna!

/ The Pastor

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Mighty God, as Jesus rode victorious into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday; ride victorious into our hearts today through the hearing of Your Word.

Create in us humble hearts to receive Jesus as King.
Create in us humble hearts to confess our sins and receive forgiveness.
Create in us humble hearts to submit to the Lordship of Jesus.

And through shouts of ,”Hosanna!”, may we see our salvation through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. What a glorious day, oh God. So receive our worship and send Your Spirit. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

May this Palm Sunday be a blessing to you as you shout “Hosanna!” to King of kings and the Lord of lords. And then as you enter Holy Week, may the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday lead you to a deeper understanding of the love and compassion and mercy of our King.

All praise to God the Father through Jesus Christ our King.

The Pastor -|—

New Covenant ~ A Lenten Prayer

/ The Pastor

Tonight is the final Wednesday Lenten worship service of the season. And tonight we get to hear from my brother in Christ, from First Presbyterian, as he brings the Word from Jeremiah 31:31-34. We have been talking about covenant throughout Lent and tonight we end on the sweet note of the New Covenant.

And  so, this is the opening prayer I wrote for worship tonight. Let’s pray…

Behold, the days are coming, oh Lord, the days are coming, when You will fulfill the New Covenant promised to us through Jesus. And how we look forward to that day; that when the trumpet sounds we will be made brand new; glorious new bodies that will shine with Your Glory.

In the mean time, sting us with reminder that death is our rightful punishment but through Your grace, New Life is the amazing gift we have through faith in Jesus. May the sting convict and humble us and may Your response bring us to our knees in worship.

Teach us Your ways
Lead us into all truth
Guide us in obedience,

that we may show our love for You, for all to see, that You and You alone may be glorified.

May this worship be pleasing to your ears and may Your word fill our hearts to overflowing. In Jesus awesome and amazing name I pray, Amen.

God bless you as you prepare yourself for Holy Week (which begins on Sunday).

Praise be to God!

The Pastor -|—

Your Breathed Out Word ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

This is the prayer I wrote to be prayed before the sermon is preached. As I have said many times before, to approach God’s word is an awesome privilege and to proclaim God’s word is an awesome task. One should never enter God’s word without prayer; seeking the Spirit to guide you and open you ears to truly listen.

So may God bless your hearing of His word today.

Holy God,

Your holy word tells us that all Scripture is breathed out by You, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that we may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Your word has a holy purpose and therefore needs to be held in utmost respect.

And there is no where else to turn for words of life; for in the words of Peter to Jesus: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.

So may we take this to heart and not try to tinker with Your word, but listen to it and submit; trusting that You are righteous and true; no matter how hard it is to receive such a word.

And so may our hearts be right that we may receive Your word and therefore be transformed. In Jesus holy name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Word and Authority ~ An Opening Prayer

/ The Pastor

Here is the opening prayer I wrote for worship. I offer it to you as you prepare to worship this awesome God of ours…

Holy God, creator and sustainer and giver of Life; there is no god quite like You. There is no authority quite like You. There is no other truth; no other lord and no other way quite like You. And we praise You that You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. You are our Father. You are our Life. And so we bring our worship and praise here this morning. We also come seeking Your Word of Life; for it is THE authority in our lives. So may Your Spirit speak to our spirits that we may receive this word in all it’s glory and truth for it is from You, oh sovereign God. And in the words of Romans 12, may we not conform to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds; which comes through Your holy word. So here we are, oh God, to worship You for You are worthy. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

May your day be an act of worship.
May your words bring glory to God.
May your acts reflect the Savior.
And may you be blessed that you may bless others.

All praise, glory, honor and worship be to our God for ever and ever. Amen.

The Pastor -|—