Offering prayer

You Need Nothing ~ An Offering Prayer

/ The Pastor

To suggest that You need anything,
Oh God,
is to suggest that You are not sovereign
and thus not self-sufficient.
To think that You need our meager gifts is to think You are impotent without us. May we never think thus.

Rather, may these gifts be an extension of our faith;
our response to Your amazing grace;
for we give not because the church needs these gifts
but rather
we need to give as an outlet to show our love for You.

So bless and multiply these gifts as You see fit that You may be glorified in this unholy world.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Worship prayers for 07-26-15 ~ Awesome God

/ The Pastor

Good morning and a blessed Lord’s Day to you all. I commend these worship prayers to you as you prepare to worship our awesome God. May this day be filled with praise and holy wonder as you glorify God through your life.

Opening Prayer
Holy God, to worship You is our honor and joy for You are awesome and worthy. We long to see the beauty of Your face and long for the peace that surpasses all understanding. We also long for the faith to turn away from the temptations of this world and long for the strength to run away from the Father of lies. Holy Father, we long for life in You and for that perfect fellowship with Your son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Receive our praise, hear our prayers and change our hearts that the world may see our worship and run to glorify You. Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.

Prayer before Preaching
Mighty King, Sovereign Lord, by the power of Your Word Your created the heavens and the earth. Through Your infinite wisdom You created life. And through Your awesome grace Your redeemed all of creation through the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. And now He lives and reigns over all creation. This and this alone should be enough to draw all people to you in endless worship, but yet we continue to look for other authorities in our lives. We think we know what we want but we really have no clue. We think we can save ourselves but we are sorely mistaken. We think there is something better than you but nothing ever comes close. Through Your compassion continue to draw us back to you that we may see Your awesomeness. And may we ever be fixated on Your beauty. It is through Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Prayers of Intercession
As finite creatures, created out of Your awesome love, we do not know how we ought to pray. We do not see the whole picture and therefore we do not know what to ask for that would bring You glory. But we boldly come before You with these prayers asking that You may give to us according to Your will and that we may have the faith to receive from Your gracious hand. Lord in Your mercy…“Hear our prayer”.

For those affected by violence in someway, please show Your love and peace. May they find healing through Your Son, Jesus Christ and may they know a peace that surpasses anything this world can promise. Lord in Your mercy…“Hear our prayer”.

For Christians around the world who deal with persecution, torture and death because of their faith. Grant them strength to cling to Your Word and grant them Your Spirit to speak Words of hope to those who would try to silence them. Lord in Your mercy…“Hear our prayer”.

All these petitions and anything else You see that we need, we commend to You through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Offering Prayer
Through the depths of Your love You have given us Jesus. Through the richness of Your mercy You have offered forgiveness through his death and resurrection. Through the wideness of Your grace you have given us salvation. Now may these gifts given here be blessed, multiplied and used that we may share this Good News to others. We pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Benediction
May the One, in whom we have redemption through the blood of Jesus; the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of His grace, lavish on you all wisdom and understanding,
so that you might keep your heart on the right path.
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

The First Love

/ The Pastor

God bless you as you prepare to worship tomorrow. May you enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise.

My preaching text for Sunday, July 19 is Mark 11:15-19; Jesus cleansing the temple. The sermon focus deals with Church returning/keeping focus on it’s “first love” (Revelation 2, the letter to the Church in Ephesus).

May you, too, remember and keep your eyes focused on your first love, Jesus Christ.

Opening Prayer
Father God, our faith in Jesus Christ leads us to worship You, for it is our joy to lift our praises to You. You sent Your son to save a rebellious bride, the Church, and to sanctify her; washing her clean through the blood of the Lamb.
Oh God, we praise Thee and worship Thee.
Oh God, we thank Thee and adore Thee.
Oh God, we come before Thee, humbled and thankful.
Receive our worship and send Your Spirit. Fill our hearts with praise and may we spill that praise throughout our lives. It’s in Jesus most holy and awesome name we pray, Amen.

Prayer before Preaching [the words of Charles Spurgeon in bold]
Holy Father, do not let any of us lose our first love. Let not our church grow cold and dead. We are not, we fear, what once we were. Lord revive us! All our help must come from Thee. Give back to the church its love, its confidence, its holy daring, its consecration, its holiness. Give back all it ever had and give it much more. Take every member and wash their feet, Sweet Lord, most tenderly, and set us with clean feet on a clean road, with a clean heart to guide us, and do Thou bless us unto your glory. And so, Lord God, I ask that Your Holy Spirit may guide my Words that we may hear Good News and receive encouragement and faith to be Your hands and feet. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Prayer following the Sermon
Holy God, may we not be founding lacking. May we not be found clinging to other loves in this world, but may we be found clinging to our first love, Jesus Christ. Strengthen our faith through Your Holy Spirit; revealing to us, over and over, the truth of the Gospel and the hope of the resurrection. It’s in Jesus’ name that I pray, Amen.

Offering Prayer
Receive these gifts here this morning, oh God, as an expression of our thanks and worship. Though our offerings don’t even come close to what You have done for us, may this offering be multiplied according to Your wisdom and will for the advancement of Your most glorious Kingdom. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Worship prayers for 6/21/15 ~ Happy Father’s Day

/ The Pastor

Happy Father’s Day to fathers of all kinds as God, our heavenly Father, continues to bless and use you for His glory.

I also pray for those affected by the tragedy in Charleston, SC. On Father’s Day (or any day for that matter) we shouldn’t have to deal with something like this hanging over us. But I praise God that Jesus was found hanging on a cross for sinners that His Kingdom may be established, and thus sin and evil ultimately stamped out. So on this Father’s Day, cling to that hope as we praise and worship our heavenly Father.

So with that I commend to you these worship prayers/blessings prepared for today. May God be glorified.

Opening Prayer
Holy God, mighty King, loving Father, we come before You in holy awe; for there is no other response that is close to being worthy. We also come before You in fear and grief and sadness and confusion and anger and a myriad of other emotions we dare not name; but ones You know very well. We hold close to our hearts those who died in the Charleston shooting along with their friends and family members and others who are intimately connected to this tragedy. And today we especially remember those who are mourning the death of a father. We struggle to make sense of things; why in a house of prayer did this happen; why these people; why this event; why, oh God, why? There are so many questions; so many conflicting emotions. But You are a God of peace in a world that is anything but peaceful. So I ask that Your peace may be what wins the day. Grant faith to make us witnesses of Your love in this world and may our lives be a living worship service that brings You glory each and everyday. Bring healing. Build hope. Erase hate. Ignite Revival. Draw people together as Your bring Your glorious Kingdom. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Prayers of Intercession
…For The City of Charleston, SC as they mourn. It’s hard to imagine the feelings these people are experiencing. So instead of us trying to imagine and thus minimizing their grief, grant us empathy that we may mourn with our brothers and sisters in Christ and then work to be grace-filled witnesses in this world that Your Spirit may affect a world-wide, heart-changing revival. Lord in Your mercy…

Father’s Day prayer (based on Tweets from my colleague @rev_david)
We give thanks for loving wonderful fathers, who have given their children so many invaluable gifts.
We pray for all those whose fathers have died, who grieve on this day; celebrating their father in his absence.
We pray for fathers who have made the difficult and loving decision to give a child up for adoption.
We pray for those who were given abuse and heartbreak by the very ones called to love them.
We pray for all who are spending this Father’s Day in a hospital bed or at a hospital bedside.
We pray for the fathers of children with special needs and chronic illness, who know anxiety and exhaustion better than most.
We pray for those who struggle with infertility, whose desire to share parental love is met with frustration.
We weep with fathers who have born the silent grief of stillbirth or miscarriage.
We weep with every father who has had to bear the unimaginable burden of burying a child.
For men who choose to remain without biological children, sharing love with the world, we give thanks.
For far too often overlooked stepfathers, we give much needed thanks.
For uncles and godfathers and neighbors, who share fatherly love with so many children, we give thanks.
We give thanks for those who have answered the call to fatherhood through adoption and foster parenting, who model the adoptive love of God.
We pray for new fathers, with bleary eyes and hope for the future, welcoming new life into the world.
We pray for all men; for showing fatherly love to children of all ages; serving as an example of Your Fatherly love, oh God.
Lord in Your mercy…

Offering Prayer
Father God, You offered Your life that we may live. We therefore offer these meager gifts in response to the enormous gift of eternal life that we have through faith in Jesus Christ; knowing that we can never give enough to match Your gracious love. So may we continue to offer You our lives in faithful witness to others that our living offerings may bring You glory. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Benediction
May you be blessed to be a blessing to others.
May you be strengthened that you may strengthen others.
May you know God through Christ Jesus so well that others see Him in you.
May your light shine bright that others are blinded by His love.
May you show grace and mercy and love that hate and racism are stamped out.
And may the peace that surpasses all understanding sustain you through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Worship prayers for 05-03-15

/ The Pastor

Below are some more prayers I prepared for worship tomorrow (I posted the opening prayer yesterday). The text for preaching is Mark 9:42-50. This is the text of Jesus talking about the seriousness of sin. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off…” For the sermon, I begin with some opening words from Jonathan Edward’s sermon from 1741 titled, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. It’s definitely one of those “fire and brimstone” type of sermons. I wish I had more time to share more from that sermon. If you haven’t read it, simply Google that sermon and you can find a copy to read. I would suggest finding an audio version to listen to.

So with that context I commend these prayers to you. May God bless your Sabbath day as you worship and praise our awesome God.

Prayer before the sermon
Oh God of power and might; worthy and righteous; holy and awesome. You hold our lives precariously in Your holy hands, and as sinners this should cause us to pause and shutter, because really, we are deserving to be dropped into the fires of hell. But You are also a God of compassion and mercy; love and forgiveness; A just God who sees our fallen-ness and our need for a Savior. So it is through Jesus Christ that we worship You and give You thanks.

Oh God, send Your Spirit that those who are here gathered, listening to Your words, may come to a holy fear of You but yet also run to You for mercy and know Your holy love. May sin be adhorant to us and may repentance be our daily worship of You. Through Jesus’ most holy name I pray, Amen.

Offering prayer
This offering here is an extension of our worship of You, oh God; as we place our lives into Your gracious and holy hands. We don’t give these gifts as an investment program; hoping to receive even more from You. We give these gifts because You are worthy and we give them as a matter of trust that You will continue to bless us to be a blessing to others. And so may these gifts bring glory to You, oh God, as we continue to share the love of Christ in this mission field. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Post-communion prayer
Holy Father, You have fed us with Your holy Word and now You have fed us with this holy food. And so with these may Your Spirit drive us to our Savior, Jesus Christ, as we humble ourselves with the fact that we are sinners worthy of hell. But through Christ’s redeeming work, You have shown amazing mercy. Send us forth, now, to live lives of worship and praise of You. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

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 -|—

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 -|—