Opening prayer

A Mother’s Day prayer

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

I know there are a lot of them out there, but here’s my humble submission to the bunch. Happy Mother’s Day and may God be glorified.

Holy God,
on this Mother’s Day,
we come first and foremost to worship You.
May we not lose sight of that.
For we are especially reminded,
on this day,
that it is You, though the love of mothers of all types,
who show what it truly means to love a child.
For it is through the death and resurrection of Your one and only son,
Jesus,
that we have eternal life.
That is love
and that right there is deserving of our worship and thanks.

But also, Lord God almighty,
we honor those women
You have used as instruments of Your love in our lives.
In whatever form they come,
we thank You, oh God.
In whatever role they have played in our lives,
we thank you, oh God.
Therefore,
it is not only the passage of DNA that determines the motherhood of a woman
but rather the love that they show.

May You continue to nourish Your children
through the self-sacrificing love of a mother.
May you continue to bless these women
that you may be glorified through them.
To You,
oh God,
be all worship and praise this day and always.
In Jesus name I pray,
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 -|—

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 -|—

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 -|—

From the Heart ~ An Opening Prayer

/ The Pastor

Join me in preparing your heart for worship. Let’s pray…

From within the depths of our hearts,
we worship You, oh God.
It is from our heart that we cry out to You.
It is from the heart that we raise our prayers to You.
It is from the heart that we offer our praise and thanks to you.
Oh God,
You are our salvation.
You are our life.
But it baffles me,
oh God,
that You would show mercy to sinners such as us.
For we are
disobedient,
obstinate
 and faithless.
We are lovers of this world;
lovers of our lives,
but You, oh God,
are the lover of our souls through Jesus Christ.

And so I appeal to You to send Your Spirit to those who do not know you;
to soften the hearts of those who would hold grudges,
and to embolden those who would hold back from serving you.
Receive our praise,
hear our prayers,
speak to us through Your holy Word.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.

May your worship this morning be authentic and from the heart for God is worthy of nothing less.

The Pastor -|—

Opening Prayer ~ Performing for God

/ The Pastor

A prayer in preparation for worship. The part in bold type are the words of Charles Spurgeon. May God be praised and glorified in your worship this morning.

The Pastor -|—

“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 our Lord
to express our entire confidence in You.
We come before you in humble submission
to express our obedience to You.
We come before you in joy to express our thanks to You
for the life we have in Jesus.
So receive our worship
as our holy performance for You;
may you be pleased
and may we be filled with Your Spirit.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.

In preparation to worship ~ Agape Love

/ The Pastor

Loving God,
Your love is what gives life
breath,
meaning and
hope.
Your love came to this world in Jesus Christ.

Through faith in Jesus,
Your love saves sinners from eternal condemnation.
And Your love is what binds together Your Church in
mission and
ministry
in this world.

And so we gather as Your beloved children
to praise Your holy name
for Your awesome Agape love.
May love show forth in our worship
and
may love lead us to serve our neighbors.
Receive our praise and feed us with Your Word.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Mighty God ~ An Opening Prayer

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Mighty God, holy Father,
Your power and majesty go beyond all human understanding
and comprehension.
Your grace breaks through the hardest of hearts.
Your peace puts at ease the most anxious of souls.

Mighty God,
may the truth of Your power be revealed to us through Your Word
and may our faith grab hold of Your majesty and never let go.
May we continue to go deeper in You
and may the Gospel continue to give us hope.

And so we fall at Your feet in worship to praise Your holy name
and to be built up into a holy people sent out into an unholy world.
May we never be found lacking
and may we never be drawn to the lords of this world
whose promises are shallow.

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

The Pastor -|—

Worship prayers for 08-16-15 ~ The Image of God

/ The Pastor

I am back.

I was off last week for some continuing education and now I am looking forward to getting back into the pulpit and worshiping with the saints/sinners of Salem and Belmont. It’s nice to take a break once in a while but I do itch to get back into the saddle, as it were.

So here you go, the prayers/blessings I prepared for worship this morning. The preaching text is Mark 12:13-17 where Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ question about taxes: Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. What strikes me is that Jesus draws their attention to the image on a coin and then says render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But what is God’s? Well, we are created in God’s image, so therefore what is God’s is that which bears His image. You and me. So this morning I am playing with this glorious reality of being created in God’s image.

May your corporate worship time be pleasing to God Almighty and may you leave refreshed for ministry out in the world; bringing glory to God. Let us pray and praise our God…

Opening Prayer
Holy Father, we enter this time of worship with joy and thanksgiving. We come before with all that we are to perform for You. We enter this space with no other expectation than to sing praises to Your holy name. For this time is not about us. It is not about what we get out of it. It is not about us feeling good. This is about You and You alone for You are worthy of all our attention. You are worthy of all our focus. You are worthy. So may this corporate time of worship be pleasing to You and may our lives the rest of the week be ones that deflect all attention to You, oh Lord, as we continue our worship 24/7. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Prayer before Preaching
Creator God, you created us in Your most glorious image. You created us with a purpose. You created us to worship you. But many have turned to worship the creature rather than You, the Creator. Many have turned away, rendering to Caesar that which belongs to You. Holy God, loving father, may You send Your Holy Spirit that these words may pack the punch needed to turn people back to You and render to You that which is due to You. May people see You as Creator and redeemer, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Post-Communion Blessing
Now may the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ embolden your words and deeds as you live as forgiven sinners; saved by grace through faith, and proclaim the life and death of Jesus to the glory of God our Father. Let us pray…

Post-Communion Prayer
You have fed us with this holy food; the body and blood of Jesus, and now You send us out into this mission field. Strengthen our faith to speak boldly of Your Kingdom and may we be ever mindful of the fact that we are Your image bearers. To you be honor and glory, forever and ever, Amen.

The Pastor -|—