Worship Prayers for August 31

 CENTERING PRAYER

 

Holy God, you alone are worthy of honor and praise. Open our eyes to see the world as you see it. Give us the wisdom to witness your presence in all people. Transform us in love, grow us in our faith, call us to love with a full heart and to share your promises with all people. Amen.

 

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

 

God calls us to service,

rather than honor.

God calls us to love the unknown,

rather than the familiar.

We come to this time of worship,

trusting in the grace of Jesus Christ,

who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

 

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

 

Merciful God, forgive us for we exalt ourselves and mock the humble. We choose to believe we are self-sufficient rather than trust in your strength. Open us to your Spirit, that we might serve all people without regard to the outcome, devoting ourselves to your honor alone. We continue to pray in Jesus’ name. (Silent Confession)

 

 

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – The Apostles’ Creed

 

OFFERING

 

Invitation to the Offering

 

God gives us endless grace and sustains us in ways we cannot imagine. With a spirit of generosity, let us free offer ourselves and our gifts for the world.

 

Prayer after Offering

 

Let us pray...

 

God of grace, we give thanks for your faithfulness to us and your hope in us. We rejoice in the knowledge of your steadfast love. Please accept these offerings we return to you. Amen

 

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Concluding Exhortations

13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”[a]

6 So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?”[b]

7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

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Worship Prayers

 CENTERING PRAYER

God of healing and reconciliation, you free us from our burdens and promise us safety and refuge. Help us to trust in your power, that we may praise you without qualification and rejoice in the power of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

 

God is our rock and our fortress.

The Lord is our refuge and strength.

God is our hope and our trust.

Let us praise the Lord together!

 

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

 

God of Life, you come to us as a consuming fire, and the one who consecrated us before time. You promise us a kingdom that cannot be shaken and call us to serve you with praise and thanksgiving, but we forget and yield to fear. We put our trust in the things we can touch in the world and neglect your promises. We confess we are a divided people fostering separations and widening rifts in our families, in our communities, and in the world. Open us to your healing. Free us from all the distances us from your presence. Give us your grace and inspire us to serve you with courage. We continue to pray through our savior, Jesus Christ. (Silent Confession)

 

 

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – Heidelberg Catechism Question One

 

 

OFFERING

 

Invitation to the Offering

 

Mindful of the generosity of God

and the awareness that all we have has been given,

let us respond with the offerings of our lives and labor.

 

 

Prayer after Offering

 

Please join me in prayer.

 

Loving God,                                                               

we rejoice that our lives are already consecrated by you.

Inspired by the knowledge of your love,

giving thanks for the gifts you offer us each day,

we pray that these offerings

and our lives

may further your kingdom on earth. Amen.

Scripture for August 23

 Jeremiah 1:4-10

⁴ The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew^[a] you,
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

⁶ “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

⁷ But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

⁹ Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰ See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Worship Prayers August 16

 CENTERING PRAYER

 

God of Peace, your call, at times, appears to divide us from one another. Help us to overcome our fears and respond in courage. Give us faith to trust the unity that is beyond our sight. Give us your eyes to recognize the signs before us. We ask this in the confidence of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

 

Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

let us also lay aside every weight

and the sin that clings so closely.

And let us run with perseverance

the race that is set before us.

We come to worship together!

 

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

 

God of hope, we confess our disregard of your care, our doubt of your providence, and our blindness to signs of your love. We are afraid to risk our comforts to find new life; we separate ourselves from you and from others and foster divisions between those you love. Help us amend our lives and make us your faithful people who bear the good fruit of your Word in the world. We continue to pray this in Jesus’ name. (Silent Confession)

 

 

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – The Apostles’ Creed

 

 

Invitation to the Offering

 

Mindful of the abundance we receive in Christ, we offer ourselves and our gifts to the world.

 

Prayer after Offering

 

Let us pray... We trust, O God, in your provision and loving kindness. Use these gifts and our lives that we might bear your fruit with praise and thanksgiving. We ask this in the confidence of your mercy and love. Amen.

Scripture for Aug. 17

  

Isaiah 5:1-7

The Song of the Vineyard

5 

I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside.
2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones
    and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
    and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
    but it yielded only bad fruit.

3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard
    than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
    why did it yield only bad?
5 Now I will tell you
    what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
    and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall,
    and it will be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland,
    neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain on it.”

7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
    is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
    are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
    for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Blood Donors Needed

 

BLOOD DONORS NEEDED!!! 

BEEN THINKING ABOUT DONATING?  NEW DONORS ALWAYS WELCOME!!!

Please join us!

 

Sunday:  August 17th, 2025

Time: 8:30 am to 1:30 pm

Where:  Gleason Hall

 

We encourage you to schedule a blood donation appointment by visiting  https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive  and use:

Saintmarkpres

 

Not sure your schedule this coming Sunday?  

WALK-INS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME

 

We appreciate all who have already registered.