Prayer of Confession: Matthew 2: 1-18

Here’s a thoughtful prayer of confession for the Christmas/Epiphany seasons from Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy.

Unison Prayer of Confession
(inspired by Matthew 2: 1-18)

Gracious God,
we would like to be among those who saw the coming of the Christ Child,
those who dropped all that they were doing
and traveled to worship the coming of God's love into this world. 
We would like to be those who cared for God in infant vulnerability;
who tickled and cuddled and comforted the growing child,
that he might know love and safety. 

And yet, merciful God,
we must recognize all the times we are more like Herod. 
Whenever we, in our actions or in our inactions,
find our own need for control more compelling
than the needs of others for health and safety. 
Whenever we cling to the security of our privilege,
rather than standing up for the rights of the oppressed. 
Whenever we are complicit in the harming of innocents
for the sake of profit, or power,
or because we fear to know, and to change,
the injustices of this world.

Loving God,
we confess our sins against you and one another,
and pray that you will fill us with your light,
that we may live our lives as true disciples in your name,
without counting the cost. 
In the name of Christ,
the one who showed us the way, we pray.  Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

God's light is present in this world. 
Present in the Christ child, born to lead us out of darkness. 
Present in the star, in all that guides us to love. 
God's light is in the world, and the darkness did not overcome it. 
God's grace is in the world, and our mis-steps will not overcome it. 
We are loved, we are forgiven.  Alleluia!  Amen.

~ written by Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy, Pastor at First Church Congregational, Rochester, NH.  She blogs at http://sermonizing.wordpress.com/

Call to Worship for the New Year

Here’s a responsive call to worship for the start of the New Year.  It was written by Rev. Mindi.

 

Call to Worship

 

A new day has dawned, a new year begun

O Lord, call us so we may hear Your voice

 

The world turns to hopes and dreams of the future

O Lord, keep us in Your ways and on Your path

 

We enter this new year with hope and excitement

O Lord, remind us that You lead us

O Lord, guide us as look to You, and worship You.

Amen.


~ written by Rev. Mindi and posted on her Rev-o-lution website. http://rev-o-lution.org/


Prayer at the Threshold

Here’s a prayer from Jan L. Richardson.  It was posted on Prayers and Creeds.

Prayer

And so we take the ragged fragments,

the patches of darkness
that give shape to the light;
the scraps of desires
unslaked or realized;
the memories of spaces
of blessing, of pain.

And so we gather the scattered pieces

the hopes we carry
fractured or whole;
the struggles of birthing
exhausted, elated;
the places of welcome
that bring healing and life.

And so we lay them at the threshold, God;

bid you hold them, bless them, use them;
ask you tend them, mend them,
transform them
to keep us warm,
make us whole, and send us forth.

Posted on Prayers and Creeds. http://prayersandcreeds.wordpress.com/

New Year Intercessions

Here’s a pastoral prayer for the start of the New Year.  It was written by Rev. Ian Elston.

Pastoral Prayer for the New Year

Lord God, as we look ahead to the year ahead,
we do so with wonder and praise,
knowing that whatever the year brings You will be with us,
knowing that however lost we get you will find us,
knowing that you will be by our side.

We bring before you our prayers for the World.
Knowing that all are in your arms
and you love the greatest and the weakest;
the oldest and the youngest;
the wisest and the most foolish.

We pray for the World:
that this year may find the News not dominated by greed and fear
and war and violence
but be full of hope and expectation
and that it may mark the end
of the numerous conflicts around the world.

We pray for our own country
that she may lead the world in diplomacy and peace.

We pray for all politicians this year
that they may be filled with a duty to the poorest and weakest among us.

Lord, we pray for this church this coming year
(mention any upcoming events or challenges)

We pray for the individuals who work together
to ensure smooth running of church
(mention by name)

And we pray that all who come here may find a warm welcome.
We pray for (mention any local or national issues)

Lord you are with us at all times and in all places.
Bless each one of us,
in Jesus Name
Amen

~ excerpted from a prayer written by Rev. Ian Elston, and posted on the Church of Scotland’s Starters for Sunday website. http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/18473/12_January_2014.pdf

Prologue: Sounding the Seasons

Here’s a thoughtful poem from Malcolm Guite.

Sounding the Seasons

Tangled in time, we go by hints and guesses,
Turning the wheel of each returning year.
But in the midst of failures and successes
We sometimes glimpse the Love that casts out fear.
Sometimes the heart remembers its own reasons
And beats a Sanctus as we sing our story,
Tracing the threads of grace, sounding the seasons
That lead at last through time to timeless glory.
From the first yearning for a Saviour’s birth
To the full joy of knowing sins forgiven
We start our journey here on God’s good earth
To catch an echo of the choirs of heaven.
I send these out, returning what was lent,
Turning to praise each ‘moment’s monument’.

Prayer for the New Year

Grant us grace, O God, 
to begin this year in your faith 
and to continue it in your favour, 
that being guided in all our doings 
and guarded all our days, 
we may spend ourselves in your service 
and finally, by your grace, 
attain to the glory of eternal life; 
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

~ written by W E Orchard, 1877-1955

Advent Prayer: Matthew 3: 1-12

Here’s a prayer from Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy. It was inspired by Matthew 3: 1-12.

Advent Prayer
(inspired by Matthew 3: 1-12)

Prepare, for the day of God's coming draws near!
We are here.  What is there to prepare?

Prepare for peace.
Holy God, may the divisions between us be erased. 
May we, people of all backgrounds, walk with one another;
listen to one another;
bear one another's burdens.
May we be peacemakers in everything we say and do.

Prepare for hope.
Merciful God, when we look around,
the promises of your Kingdom seem so distant. 
Grant us tenacity:
to bring light where there is darkness;
peace where there is strife,
comfort where there is despair.
Let the light of your presence shine in us,
so that all may know that the darkness will not win.

Prepare for God.
Almighty God, you stripped yourself entirely to come into this world.
Weak, fragile, and dependent,
you gave yourself into the care of an unwed teenager. 
In following you, may we become as vulnerable. 
May we strip away all that protects us, all that we hide behind,
and let it burn like chaff. 
May our actions bear fruit that glorifies you,
eternal God, love incarnate.  Amen.

~ written by Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy, Pastor at First Church Congregational, Rochester, NH.  She blogs at http://sermonizing.wordpress.com/