Holy Spirit

Fear and Hope

/ The Pastor

Holy God,

there is much to fear in this world.
Satan is running around
trying to lead us astray through false worship.
He is trying to drag us down into hopelessness.
At times Satan succeeds
and thus paralyzes us with fear,
so much so,
that the Gospel is not proclaimed.

But we ask that You may send Your Holy Spirit
to teach us
and remind us
of the victory we have through faith in Jesus Christ.

Show us the cross.
Show us the empty tomb.
Show us Jesus.

May we see the life we have in You
and know that death has been defeated.
May we rejoice in You
and thus share this Joy with others.
And in the end,
may You and You alone be glorified.

Now may the words of my mouth
and the meditations of our hearts
be acceptable to You,
oh God,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Your Spirit

/ The Pastor

Holy God,

Send Your Spirit today
to rest upon us.
Teach us,
remind us,
show us
Your ways.

Send Your Spirit today
to rest upon Your Church.
Make it bold with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Make it firm in it’s faith.
Make it knowledgeable of
Your ways.

Send Your Spirit today
to rest upon this nation.
Stir hearts.
Renew minds.
Open eyes to
Your ways.

Send Your Spirit today
that all who call upon Your holy name
may speak of Your Son, Jesus, with
passion and conviction without backing down. May our Gospel proclamation be done with all grace. May our witness shine brightly with Your love. May forgiveness win the day.

Send Your Spirit today
that we may speak to a culture
that has drifted away from You. May our words and actions engage this culture with love without us conforming to this culture.

Send Your Spirit today, oh God.
Heal us.
Draw us to You.
Raise us up to New Life in Jesus Christ.

Send Your Spirit today, oh God,
and send us out in the name of
Jesus.

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Never Ending

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

Holy Father, loving God,
in this life we live in the reality
that all good things come to an end,
but You,
the Supreme Good,
ever ends.
It’s that reality we cling to
and the reason we gather to worship You.
You formed creation out of nothing with a simple Word.
You sustain creation with Your mighty hand.
You redeem creation with Your love and grace.
Oh God, in the same way
create faith here this morning with Your Holy Word.
Sustain faith through Your Holy Spirit.
Renew faith through Your love and grace.
May all who hear Your Word this morning look to You.
Strengthen us and embolden our words and deeds
that You may be glorified.
All praise, glory, honor and worship be unto You,
holy God,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Open ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Oh God,
Open my eyes that I my see Your glory.
Open my ears that I may receive Your most holy Word.
Open my heart that the junk therein my fall out and Your Spirit enter to reside.
Open my mind to learn more of You.

Oh God,
Open my hands to serve my neighbor.
Open my mouth to speak of Your grace and love.
Open my life that I my receive my neighbor.
Open a door that I may walk through to glorify You.

Oh God,
You are the opener of all things.
You are the creator of all opportunities.
May I not miss the openness of Your grace
and thus miss a grand opening to share the truth of Jesus Christ.

Oh God,
open closed doors,
and send me,
to the glory of Your holy name through Christ Lord my Lord.

Amen

The Pastor -|—

Escaping Words ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy God,

words escape me
as I try to bring you the glory that is due Your holy name.
For our human language can not come close
to ascribing to You all that You deserve.
So all we can do is to come before You;
humble and contrite,
falling on our knees before Your holy throne,
to attempt to worship You as the saints in heaven do.
And as we worship You
we come before You with thankfulness
that Jesus suffered death on a cross
and subsequently rose from the grave
to give us the victory through faith.

And so we come before You as sinners in need of Your mercy;
as sinners in need of Your Spirit.
Fill us now with Your Holy Spirit
and may we run to those around us with the Good News
that Jesus is alive and well.
May the Gospel burn within us;
driving us to speak boldly in Your name.

All worship, praise, honor and thanks be unto You,
holy Father,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Prayer of Anti-Laziness

/ The Pastor

Holy and awesome God,

What a privilege it is to gather together and worship You.
What a joy it is to lift up our thanks and praise to You.
What a peace-filled thing it is to rest in Your promises.
What a comfort it is to know Jesus.

For You sent Your one and only Son to do battle for us.
For You sent You one and only Son to suffer and die for us.
For You sent Your one and only Son to rise victorious for us.

Holy and awesome God,
Thank you!

Receive our worship,
hear our praise,
accept our cries,
and cradle us in Your holy arms.

But as we rest peace-filled and thankful, may we not be complacent.
May we not cheapen Your grace through selfish desires.
May we not turn our backs on those who are lost.
May we not take You for granted.

Holy and awesome God,
send Your Holy Spirit that we may know You better;
that our lives may be ones of worship and praise;
glorifying Your most holy name.

Bless us now, that we may be a blessing to others.

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray,

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Send ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy God,
may You send Your Holy Spirit
that those here who do not believe
may come to a saving faith in Jesus.

Send also, Your Holy Spirit
to those struggling with doubts,
that the resurrection of Jesus may be confirmed in their souls.

Send Your Holy Spirit
that the peace that surpasses all understanding
may hold us firm when Satan is strongly attacking from all sides.

Send Your Holy Spirit
that we may know You better and better.

Oh God, please send Your Holy Spirit.

All praise, worship, glory and honor be onto You,
Holy God,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,
AMEN.

The Pastor -|—

Speak that we may Speak ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Creator God,
in the beginning You spoke life into existence.
To remain silent, then,
would have meant our non-existence
and
it would have meant no one to glorify Your holy name.
And so we exist;
to worship You, to praise You, to glorify You.
And to do this we must speak and abhor silence.

Holy God,
stir in Your people a burning desire
to speak the Truth of Your love and grace through Jesus Christ.
May the fear the world proclaims
be silenced through our faith in the one who overcame the world,
Jesus.
May the flaming arrows of the evil one
lose all its potency through Your holy Word.
May the shield of faith
embolden us to speak the name of Jesus no matter the situation.

Send now Your Holy Spirit
to bring power to the words of Truth
that we will hear this morning,
for through them You create faith and thus life.
Send us forth, then, in Your power
to the glory of Your awesome name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Holy Trust ~ A Morning Prayer

/ The Pastor

Good morning all. I was out of town last week but I am now back; preparing to lead worship and preach God’s holy Word. May God be praised as we worship. Let’s pray…

Holy God,
You make the impossible possible.
You forgive sins.
You raise the dead.
You defeat Satan and death.
You give eternal life.

But yet,
when presented with this news,
too often we follow after Zechariah more than we do Mary.
Too often we want proof rather than to worship.
We want sensory satisfaction rather than rely on holy trust.

We see the impossible and blow it off.

But as Your children;
as Your servants,
may Your Word be to us as You have decreed.
May we not doubt but rather receive this life-changing Word.
May Jesus be our proof and life.

Send now You Holy Spirit,
oh God,
that this word here spoken may build and lift us up onto Your glory.
May we not seek to see with our eyes.
May we not seek to hear with our ears.
May we seek to believe in our hearts.
May we seek You.

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

The Pastor -|—

Bursting Forth ~ A Morning Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy Father, awesome God,

Your Word is life.
Your Word is our hope.
Your Word is our very breath.
You created with a word.
The serpent deceived with a false word.
Adam and Eve were expelled with a word of curse, warning and finally hope.
You created a people and nation with a word of promise.
You gave new life with a Word
and that Word is embodied in our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ.

And so we come to this Advent season with anxious anticipation of this Word. May we not doubt.
May we not impose self-inflicted mutism when is comes to the Gospel,
but rather,
may we burst forth in praise
with what the birth of Jesus means for a dark and lost world.
May we sing the glories of your name
to a wearied people.
May we announce hope
to a hopeless word.

Send now Your Spirit, oh God,
that we may hear this Word
and be filled with awe,
so much so,
that we can’t wait to burst through these doors
and fill this world with the hope of the resurrection.
It’s through Jesus Christ our Lord, I pray,

Amen.

God bless you as you begin this Advent season. May the light of Christ shine brightly in and through your life to the glory of God.

The Pastor -|—