Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on Glory
We Cry, “Glory!” based on the Parable of the Sower
Lord of Life
You sow extravagantly
Generously
Some would cry, “Foolish”
We cry, “Glory!”
You sow your Word
Your Promises
Your Salvation
Your Self
“Glory!” to your grace and mercy
You save us from the stealing
The shallow
The choking thorns
“Glory!” to your deliverance and power
You make our lives good, rich soil
Ready for your seed
In you, we grow up and increase and yield
“Glory!” to your goodness and faithfulness
We rejoice in you and in being your harvest
Help us bear your good and lasting fruit
now and always,
for the honor and glory of your name. Amen
We Cry, “Glory!” © 2018 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Glory to you. O God, glory to you!
Heavenly Ruler, Comforter, Spirit of truth,
Come and dwell within us.
You who are everywhere and who fills all things. Treasury of all good and giver of life,
Come, Holy Spirit, and dwell among us.
Cleanse us from all sin
And through your goodness, redeem our souls.
Come, Holy Spirit, and dwell among us. Amen.
Orthodox prayer, adapted
Adapted from Psalm 8:1-2, NIV
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise.
There is glory
within each sunrise, Lord,
a warm effusion of praise
reaching upwards and out,
connecting earth
with heaven,
creator
with created,
Shafts of sunlight,
arms outstretched in worship
encourage participation
from those who watch
and wonder,
at the beauty of it all
John Birch, Faith and Worship
Opening Prayer for Transfiguration Sunday
Radiant Christ,
You are Mystery
You are Holy
You are God
Give us eyes to see you and your glory
Eyes to see your sustaining and saving
Eyes to see your future and your now
Eyes to see and to follow. Amen
Radiant Christ © 2021 by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Transcendent Lord,
in the midst of ordinary days draw us to wonder
to fall on our knees and cry, “Glory!”
You are the Holy One, Above and Other.
May we tremble, knowing how deeply you know us and love us
The fierceness of a tsunami does not compare to your passion for us
and for the salvation of all things.
Shake away our apathy and distraction.
Shake the depths of our motives so the great stones of destruction are laid waste.
Shake us awake to your wild, thundering dance of true life.
Amen.
Cry, “Glory!” © 2011 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Almighty God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
We ask Your blessing on the people in this place.
May the despairing find hope—and proud be humbled.
May the doubting find faith—and the anxious be encouraged.
May the tempted find help—and the sorrowful find comfort.
May the weary find rest—and the strong be renewed.
May the lonely find a friend—and the cluttered find stillness.
May the older one find consolation—and the younger be inspired.
And may You find glory in our worship—and we find joy in You.
Now, Lord: pour out Your Spirit of grace and love today
as we together we worship You – this we pray
to Your glory … and in your name. Amen.
(Prayer of Adoration)
Holy God of light and glory:
You alone are good.
You alone are pure and righteous.
And, therefore,
You alone are worthy of our praise,
our devotion and honor.
In the brilliance of Your light,
we are revealed as we are and
left speechless … without excuse;
were it not for Your grace and mercy
we are hopeless as well.
(Prayer of Adoration)
Seeing who we really are,
we can hide no longer behind our bravado,
our rationalizations and our protests.
We confess that we are sinners
in need of your forgiveness.
As individuals and as a body.
we therefore join our hearts and voices to pray
together confessing our sins …
(time of silence) AMEN.
Inspired by Psalm 8
Lord, our Lord – How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
From star to star and galaxy to galaxy,
From pole to pole and horizon to horizon
There is no place where Your glory is hidden,
No-one and nothing
of which You are not beginning and end.
We praise You our Creator, Lord of all!
The heavens are Your throne room, and
the oceans of earth barely moisten the palm of Your hand.
Yet, You know each of us by name.
You where there when we were born.
You laughed at our first smile,
You cried when we cried
And when we slept, you stood by our cradle.
Still – you laugh when we smile, cry when we cry
And stand guard over us when we are asleep or awake.
We worship You – our Father-God, Lord and Holy Spirit.
However, we admit to being mystified about “Why?”
We know ourselves too well;
and wonder why anyone should care;
especially the Lord of all!
We hide behind masks of civility – afraid;
afraid that if others knew us as we really are
they couldn’t or wouldn’t love us.
But you know us,
you know us better than we know ourselves;
and You still love us … You still care.
You care so much that You run after us
when we run away from you.
And although you love us as we are,
You also love us too much to leave us that way.
It’s your love and grace, then,
which allows us to come out from behind our masks,
to step out from our protective walls, and
acknowledge who we really are,
confessing our sins corporately and individually
using the prayer of confession in our bulletin –
(Read together … time of silence)
Lord of glory and honor –
You are worthy of our worship and allegiance.
You are Faithful and True.
With authentic justice You judge the world,
and each of us in it.
You’re the Word of God – made flesh.
You’re the King of kings and Lord of lords
who makes all things new.
Yet, even in the face of such awesome grandeur,
we treat you as small and insignificant.
We value things more than you.
We hold tight to our money and loose to you.
We trust ourselves –
our wisdom and strength,
our abilities and human resources –
far more than we trust You.
We’ve made You too small in our eyes
and made ourselves too big, and so
turning reality on it’s head.
Forgive us. Hear now our silent confessions
offered up to you in these moments … AMEN.