Worship Prayers September 21

 CENTERING PRAYER

You hear the cries of your people for justice and mercy; you answer our prayers with the gift of your Son, who bears our burdens and sets us free. Speak your truth to us; purge and refine us; that we may love and serve you alone. Amen.

 

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

 

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name;

deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name sake.

We come to worship our saving Lord together!

 

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

 

Creator of the universe, we come trembling before you for we have hoarded and bartered what has never been ours in the hope of securing our future. We have yearned for wealth more than we have sought you. We have squandered your trust and grieved your heart with our betrayal. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins for your name sake. (Silent Confession)

 

 

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – The Apostles’ Creed

 

 

 

OFFERING

 

Invitation to the Offering

 

God longs for us to bring everything we are, everything we have, to this relationship; God loves us that much. May the offerings we bring this day be tokens of our gratitude.

 

Prayer after Offering

 

Let us pray…

 

Gracious God, you feed us with your love and give us everything we need to live abundant lives. Receive the offerings of our wounded spirits, our guarded purses, our meager strength, and continue to expand our hearts. We pray this in the name of your son, Jesus, and by the power of your Spirit. Amen.

 

Scripture for September 21

 Luke 16:1-13

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

6 “‘Nine hundred gallons[a] of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels[b] of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

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Art By Phillip Medhurst - Photo by Harry Kossuth, FAL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7550875

Worship Prayers

 CENTERING PRAYER

 

Merciful Lord, in Christ we see the lengths and depths to which you go to save us. Make us glad in our salvation, so we may share this good news with friends and neighbors and with the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

 

Rejoice with me, people of God.      

God has gathered us in from the wilderness.

Rejoice with me, people of God.

God has swept away the darkness of the night.

Rejoice with me, people of God.

Today, there is joy in the presence of the angels.

 

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

 

O Lord, forgive your foolish people. We are skilled in doing evil, but we do not know how to do good. Create in us a clean heart, O God; put a new and right spirit within us.

 

We forget all you do for us and make false idols to be our gods. Create in us a clean heart, O God; put a new and right spirit within us.

 

We act faithlessly, violently, and scorn your name. Create in us a clean heart, O God; put a new and right spirit within us. (Silent Confession)

 

 

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – The Apostles’ Creed

 

 

OFFERING

 

Invitation to the Offering

 

As a shepherd searches for a lost sheep, as a woman searches for a lost coin, God seeks us out to save us. With gratitude and joy, let us offer our lives to the Lord.

 

Prayer after Offering

 

Let us pray…We rejoice and give you thanks, O God, for the lost have been found, sinners have received mercy, and the dead have been restored to life. Send us out in your service to tend your sheep and show the riches of your grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture for September 14

 Luke 15:1-10

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

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Painting Attributed to Jean Baptiste de Champaigne - [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4502600

Worship Prayers September 7

 CENTERING PRAYER

 

Extravagant God, you pour out blessings upon us and lead us on paths of true life. Help us to choose your way again and again, that we might revel in your love and reflect it to all we meet. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

 

 

CALL TO WORSHIP (Psalm 139)

 

O, Lord you have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

Even before a word is on my tongue,

O LORD, you know it completely.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works.

In life and in death, we are yours.

 

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

 

Holy God, we confess we fail to put our whole trust in you. Instead, we calculate our gains and losses, hoarding the things that do not lead to abundant life. Forgive us, and help us to treasure only you, so that we may follow you faithfully and discover the blessings you alone can give. (Silent Confession)

 

 

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – WCF SC Q1

 

 

OFFERING

 

Invitation to the Offering

 

Our God is eternally generous with love, mercy, and grace. Let us know respond to this abundance by responding faithfully.

 

 

Prayer after Offering

 

Let us pray…

 

We give you thanks this day for the goodness and love you show us in Christ. We pray your blessing on these gifts: may they build your love in the world, to the honor of your name. Amen.

 

Scripture for September 6

 Luke 14:25-33

The Cost of Being a Disciple

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

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