Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on Darkness
Arise, shine, for the Light of the World has come!
Darkness covers the earth and its people,
but the radiance of God’s Light
burns away its shadows,
illuminates the smallest corner,
and heralds in the start
of a new dawn,
where hearts no longer fear,
souls might be set free,
and sister shall follow brother,
nation shall follow nation,
and kings and princes bow down in awe
before the one who comes to reign.
Arise, shine, for the Light of the World has come!
Alleluia!
John Birch, Faith and Worship
(Prayer of Adoration)
Loving God—Father Son and Holy Spirit—
we come today as thirsty people
to You who are the Spring of Living Water.
We come as hungry people
to You who are the Bread of Heaven.
We come as sinful and lonely people
to You who are the Friend of Sinners.
We come as confused and lost people
to You as our Counselor, who is the Way, the Truth,
and our Pole Star.
With Thomas, we call Your our Lord and our God—
the giver of peace, the source of hope and the reason for our joy;
and that’s why we praise You.
That’s why we worship You.
(Prayer of Confession)
However, … sometimes we forget who You are
and begin to worship ourselves instead:
trusting our wisdom and strength more than Yours,
following our wants and desires more than Yours,
stealing for ourselves the honor and glory that’s Yours alone. We’ve loved ourselves too much,
others too little and You hardly at all.
Forgive us.
Help us to change—to think differently, to speak differently,
and to act differently.
Now, in the quiet of these moments, hear the cries of our hearts
declaring what we’re too ashamed of to say aloud: (silence).
(Assurance of Pardon)
Hear the Good News – Jesus Christ came in to the world to save sinners, like you and like me. By His grace active in your faith in Jesus as savior and Lord, I declare as true that you are forgiven and free from all your sins. Alleluia! AMEN.
Lord our Shepherd,
Spirit of the Living God,
One in Three … and Three in One:
We praise You our Creator, Savior, and Provider.
By Your grace, we lack nothing.
You feed us in body and in soul.
You give us rest when we are weary.
You direct us on ways that are good and right.
You go with us through the dark times
so we will not walk them alone.
You protect us in Your goodness
with Your strength.
You spread before us
a banquet in the wilderness
and a feast in the face of whoever
and whatever threatens us.
You pour over us Your oils
of cleansing grace, of healing, and of gladness.
And no matter where we have wandered,
You open wide Your arms to welcome us home.
That is why we praise You;
That is why we love You;
That is why we are here to worship You today,
our God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
the One in Three and the Three in One. AMEN.
Heavenly Father:
You know all about us – our weakness, our failing, our sin;
And you still love us enough to give your Son to redeem us.
Hear the cries of our hearts today.
There’s someone for whom it was hard to get out of bed today.
They’re tired, discouraged or stressed out.
It was an effort just to get here.
Give them hope today:
a light in the darkness, a whisper in the silence.
There’s one for whom everything they touch comes apart:
She’s having a hard time holding the marriage together;
His project at work is going poorly;
There’s a divide between him and his son,
between her and her daughter;
Everything he touches turns to sawdust;
And no matter what she does, she can’t get well.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Come and redeem the relationship.
Take the lessons learned in failure and build a new life.
Use the pain to create compassion.
Create something delightful out of what feels like disaster.
Restore what the devil has stolen;
turn what was meant for evil to good.
We pray on behalf of those who can’t pray for themselves.
We pray for those afflicted in body or soul, who need your healing.
Put your hand on them.
Touch a mind that’s tormented;
a body that’s ill or injured. a heart that’s broken.
Restore them all.
Father God – You invite us to come as a child
to his / her daddy.
You invite us to open our souls to You.
You invite us to lay our desires before You.
You are fond of us, Your children – so we come to You
humbly, lovingly, yet confidently.
We pray for your world – which You created and called “good”.
Now we see it so riddled by war and hatred,
infected with hopelessness and despair,
confused, having lost its way,
and refusing to walk in Yours.
Shine Your light in the dark corners of the earth:
Ignite your followers as lamps to show the Way.
God, our heavenly Father
and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:
We praise and thank you today and always!
You are worthy of our praise
simply for who You are:
You are good and You are strong,
You are gracious, just and loving.
As we confront this world that lacks hope,
a world caught up in war, hunger, poverty and
spiritual emptiness,
in Your great mercy You freely give us a new birth
into the living hope
through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
There is no darkness so great
that your light is not greater still.
There is not conflict so disruptive
that your peace cannot quell it.
There is no death so final,
that your resurrection life
cannot break its icy grip. And, …
There is no thief so sneaky or strong
that he can steal the inheritance you give
that can never perish, spoil or fade—
kept in heaven for us.
Therefore, we rightly worship You!
However, we are quick to trust
our strength more than yours,
our wisdom more than yours,
our abilities more than yours,
our resources more than yours.
our love more than yours.
And our misplaced trust in ourselves
has led us into sin.