Worship Prayers for March 11

CENTERING PRAYER:  Loving God, draw me to your light, that I may avoid the dangers of sin

and receive the freedom of your grace in Jesus Christ.  Amen.

  

          

CALL TO WORSHIP (Psalm 107)

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
         Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, those he redeemed from trouble

         and gathered in from the lands, 
from the east and from the west,
         from the north and from the south.

Come!  Let us worship our God together!

   PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Merciful God, we confess the folly of our sin and the hypocrisy of our complaints.  We grumble about the evils in our world, even as we commit injustices and profit through deceit.  We fret about the scarcity of resources while hoarding earth’s goods and ignoring the poor.  We protest the problems of our world, but we do not actively work to address them.  Merciful God, expose our sins before the light of your grace.  Heal our sin and free us from our foolish ways so that we may know the joy of eternal life in Jesus Christ, in whose name we continue to pray. (Silent Confession)

   PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER

Merciful God, hear our prayer.

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen.

[Prayer requests may be given to one of the pastors before the service.]

† AFFIRMATION OF FAITH - Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.  Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING                                                                           John 3:14-21

For the sermon "Saving Light", Click here