Never Ending

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

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

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

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

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 -|—

Your Kingdom Come ~ A Prayer

Creator God,
to pray, “thy kingdom come” is to pray for our death;
the death of our old self
but New Life through Jesus.

May this kingdom come onto us as we hear Your most holy Word proclaimed.

But we also ask that we may feel a sense of urgency
to be agents of your kingdom message
and to be Your holy ambassadors in this world.
May we not take up residence here
but rather may we have a restlessness in our souls
that yearns to be home with You,
but not until we have accomplished that task You have for us.

And therefore…

…may we have holy eyes to see the outcast and forgotten.
May we have holy ears to hear Your children crying out.
May we have holy hands to serve one another.
May we have holy feet to go where you direct.

Oh God, mighty Father,
hear our prayer and send us Your kingdom.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

The Son of God ~ A Prayer

Holy Father,
You sent Your one and only Son,
Jesus
to bear the sins of the world for our sake.
You sent Jesus to suffer the cross and enter death
so we could have the hope of everlasting life.
Jesus, Your dear Son,
received the full cup of Your wrath
that we would be spared from it.

Oh God,
may all who hear these words be drawn to You
and make the confession that Jesus,
Your Son,
is their Lord and Savior.
May these words spoken here
convict people to run to you;
confessing their sins and thus hear forgiveness.

But we also remember those who are not here;
who are not hearing these words.
May we be sent out to preach this Gospel.
May those who don’t know Jesus
be overwhelmed by Your Spirit and thus be saved.
Oh God,
holy Father,
bless us now and forever more, as we long to bring glory to Your most holy name.
It’s in the name of Jesus I pray,

Amen.

A Prayer of Praise and Adoration

Holy, holy, holy, is Your awesome name, oh God.
Holy, holy, holy are You above all others.
You created with a word,
You save us by Your Son.
You sustain us with Your Spirit.
Oh God,
there is no god that can do that.
There is no god like You.
But yet we insist on trying to find another.
We insist on seeking a savior that can not save.
Oh God,
convict our hearts to see, that You and You alone are the One.
Convict our hearts to hear Your Word of life, Jesus Christ.
Convict our hearts to turn and run away from our sin.
Speak to us Life.
Show us Your glory.
Forgive us our sins.
Send us by Your Spirit.
Heal us that we may live.
All praise, glory, honor and worship be unto You,
holy Father,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Amazing Grace ~ A Prayer

Holy God,
how amazing is Your grace
and how sweet the sound is to our ears;
for You have saved wretches such as us.
We were once lost but now we’re found;
once blind but now we see.

Oh God,
may Your grace continue to teach our hearts to fear
that our worldly fears may be relieved.
Oh how precious You grace indeed is,
from that very moment we first believed.

And despite the many dangers, toils and snares
that will certainly come our way,
Your amazing grace will continue to lead us home;
as You have promised good to us
and thus, through Your most trustworthy word,
our hope is secure, all our life long.

And when we have been worshiping You,
in Your holy courts for 10,000 years,
we will have no less days to praise you than when we first begun.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.

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

The Pastor -|—

Speak that we may Speak ~ A Prayer

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 -|—