Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on God’s Name
Grant us, Lord, to hope on your name,
the primal source of creation
and open the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know you,
who alone is the highest of the high,
the holiest of the holy;
who humbles the proud
and elevates the lowly;
who makes rich and makes poor;
who kills and makes alive.
You alone are the God of spirits and of all flesh;
who sees into the depths,
who surveys humanity’s works;
the relief of those in danger,
the savior of those in despair;
the creator and ruler of all spirits;
who spreads the nations over the earth,
and has chosen out of all mankind those
that love you through Jesus Christ, your beloved son,
through whom you taught us, sanctified us, honored us.
Opening of the Great Prayer of Clement of Rome, from 1 Clement 59:3. Originally translated by J. B. Lightfoot (1890). Adapted for modern liturgical use.
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.
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)
From Psalm 22
I will tell of your name to all people;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
It shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.
Selections from Psalm 22:22-31 (ESV)
God our Father, Savior and Sustainer—
You are the God who knows our name,
and the God who revealed Your name as “I Am Who I Am”
and shows us Your face in the face of Jesus.
You are known to us … and we are known to You.
You know what brings us joy,
what makes us laugh,
what we celebrate and are most grateful for—
the birth of a child,
the healing of a loved one,
the restoration of a relationship,
a new job,
a wedding anniversary …
and You rejoice with us.
(Prayer of Adoration)
Wonderful, Counselor, … Everlasting Father, Prince of peace.
King of Kings, Lord or Lord.
Mighty, Holy One of Israel.
Immanuel, Comforter,
Lion and Lamb, Alpha and Omega:
With your names we adore and praise you!
(Prayer of Confession)
Oh, but how often we take your names in vain.
Declaring we trust in you with our lips,
we trust in our selves with our actions.
We name your names when it’s easy
but deny them when it gets costly.
We claim to speak truth but tell lies instead.
Forgive us for taking your name in vain,
bringing shame to the name Christian; …
and to the One who gave us that name.
This is our prayer –
and in the silence of this moment
we also ask your forgiveness
for what we’re too ashamed to mention aloud. (Silence)
(Assurance of Pardon)
The promise is true, that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just he will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Therefore, by His grace active through you faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior : you are forgive and free of all your sins. Hallelujah! AMEN.
(Prayer of Adoration)
Lord, our Lord – How excellent is your name in all the earth.
Because of who you are – we praise You.
Because of what you’ve done – we thank You.
You are a Father to the fatherless.
the Strength of the weak,
the Protector of the powerless,
and an Advocate for the disenfranchised …
just in all your ways and righteous in all your judgments.
While those all around us spin facts and lie to us,
You alone speak clear, unvarnished truth.
While the love of most comes with small print and strings attached,
Your love is gracious, unfettered and free.
(Prayer of Confession)
Yet – when we encounter the light of Your purity, truth and glory,
we ourselves are revealed for who we are,
our shadow-sides are unmasked,
our motives laid bare
and we must confront what we’d rather hide or hide from.
However, we know your grace is sufficient for even that,
and Your mercy is lavish beyond imagination.
So we humbly come to you confessing our errors, faults and sins –
all of which are first degree –
Amen.
(Assurance of Pardon)
The love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.
Nothing you do can make Him love you any less …
so free and gracious is His love;
And nothing you do can make Him love you any more …
so abundant and overwhelming is His love for you.
Because of His grace, mercy and love for us:
I declare to you
that by His grace active in your faith
in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior –
you are forgiven all your sins;
and you are free
to live life in the joy and fullness of the Spirit
now and always. AMEN!