Worship Prayers April 29

CENTERING PRAYER:  O gracious and holy God, give us diligence to seek you, wisdom to perceive you, and patience to wait for you.  Grant us, O God, a mind to meditate on you; eyes to behold you; ears to listen for your word; a heart to love you; and a life to proclaim you; through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord.

  

        

CALL TO WORSHIP (from Psalm 22)

From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear God. 
        The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek God shall praise the Lord.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;

        and all the families of the nations shall worship before God.

Posterity will serve God future generations will be told about the lord,

        and proclaim god’s deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying God has done it.

Come!  Let us worship our God together!

   PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Almighty God,

you love us, but we have not loved you.

You call, but we have not listened.

We walk away from neighbors in need,

wrapped in our own concerns.

We condone evil, prejudice, warfare, and greed.

God of grace,

help us to admit our sin,

so that as you come to us in mercy,

we may repent, turn to you, and receive forgiveness;

through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. (Silent Confession)

SCRIPTURE READING                                                             Acts 8:26-40

† AFFIRMATION OF FAITH - A BRIEF STATEMENT OF FAITH

               In life and in death we belong to God.

                    Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

                         the love of God,

                              and the communion of the Holy Spirit,

                    we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,

                         whom alone we worship and serve.

               We trust in God the Holy Spirit

                         everywhere the giver and renewer of life.

                   The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,

                         sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,

                         and binds us together with all believers

                         in the one body of Christ, the Church.

                    The same Spirit

                         who inspired the prophets and apostles

                         rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,

                         engages us through the Word proclaimed,

                         claims us in the waters of baptism,

                         feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,

                         and calls women and men to all ministries of the Church.

                    In a broken and fearful world

                    the Spirit gives us courage

                         to pray without ceasing,

                         to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,

                         to unmask idolatries in Church and culture,

                         to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,

                         and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.

                    In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,

                         we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks

                              and to live holy and joyful lives,

                         even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth,

                              praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

               With believers in every time and place,

                    we rejoice that nothing in life or in death

                    can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

               Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.*

For the sermon " Can You Feel the Spirit Moving?", click here if it doesn't appear above.