Epiphany Prayer: Christ of the West

Here’s a prayer for the second Sunday after Epiphany Sunday from the Christian Aid website. It was adapted from “Invocation to the Christ of the Four Directions” (South, West, North, East), written by Suzanne Fageol.

Epiphany Prayer:

Christ of the West

We call upon the Christ of the West:

You, who saw the harvest bounty of your mission,
You, who reaped the wisdom of the Spirit,
You, who sat in thanksgiving with your friends,
You, who were betrayed at the price of your body and your blood,
You, who prayed alone in the garden 

contemplating that which could not be altered,
You, who understood that transfiguration comes 

through the gateway of death,
You, who bore your death for us all.

As sunset and twilight come upon us,
O Christ of the West:

Comfort us with your knowledge of the darkness.
Lead us, in silence and solitude, to see that which we must allow to die in us.
Teach us to pray, 'Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.' 

Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts 

and give us the pure water of righteousness 

to quench our everlasting thirst.

O Christ of the West, protector of our souls,
we call upon you. Amen. 

~ adapted from “Invocation to the Christ of the Four Directions” written by Suzanne Fageol. Posted on the Monthly Prayers page (now Weekly Worship) of the Christian Aid website. https://www.christianaid.org.uk/churches/weekly-worship

Pastoral Prayer: Epiphany

Here is a prayer of thanksgiving and intercession from Richard J. Fairchild’s Kir-shalom website.

Prayer for Others

Eternal God,

you are the maker of us all, and we are your creation,

people formed in your image, as individuals, as community;

formed and fed and furnished with understanding of who you are

and of who and whose we are.

We worship you today in recognition of your calling,

of your communicating,

of your caring to invite us to share in your creative and healing work. 

We are here because we have heard you speak in us and through others. 

Help us, dear Lord, to ever respond to you

and your invitation to your grace...

Lord hear our prayer...

God of all our moments, of our days and our nights,

you speak and you act in the world around us,

not only to call all people to you,

but also to direct and guide us in the way of healing and wholeness. 

Awaken us Lord, to hear what you would say to us. 

Help us to open our ears, our eyes, and our hearts to your presence.

Help us to know when it is your voice we are hearing

and it when it is our prejudices and desires to which we are paying heed....

Lord hear our prayer...

Lord, we pray that your church may rise up with renewed commitment

in answer to your call,

that your people may be instruments of your grace and love....

Lord hear our prayer....

We pray for those who consider themselves inadequate

and dismiss or avoid your calling in their lives. 

Give them a new vision,

a vision in which you are their strength and their hope...

Lord hear our prayer....

We pray for those who, in answering your call,

must leave the known for the unknown,

the oasis for the desert, the comfortable for the uncertain.

Grant them courage and steadfast faith...

Lord hear our prayer....

We pray too, today, O Lord, for those in want and need –

for those of us and of the larger community who suffer in body or in soul. 

We remember before you…[various intercessions]

Lord, hear our pray.....

Loving Father, bless us all with an abundant faith,

a fruitful ministry, a joyful life. 

Bless us and all those who gather together to continue the work of Jesus,

who came to heal, save, and deliver us all,

and who taught us to pray as one family, saying...

Our Father....

~ written by Rev. Richard J. Fairchild, and posted on Kir-shalom. http://www.spirit-net.ca/sermons/b-or02sm.php

Call to Worship: Come, Follow Me

Here’s a responsive call to worship inspired by Jesus’ call to his disciples. It was written by Joanna Harader, and posted on her Spacious Faith website.

Call to Worship

(based on Mark 1:17, Mark 2:14, Matthew 4:19,

Luke 5:27-28, John 1:43-45)

Jesus comes along side us and calls us by name:
“[your name], follow me.”

A simple call. A hard call.
Because following requires leaving.
And we look around to see who else Jesus could be talking to.
And we look around to see the trappings of the life we know.

It’s hard to leave our nets and walk away from the lake.
But we have come this far,
to this place,

where we can listen and be transformed.

~ written by Joanna Harader and posted on Spacious Faith. https://spaciousfaith.com/

Prayer: 1 Samuel 3: 1-10

Here’s a prayer of petition and commitment, or an opening prayer of invocation inspired by 1 Samuel 3:1-10. It was posted on the Vanderbilt Divinity Library website.

Prayer

(inspired by 1 Samuel 3:1-10)

Insistent God,

by night and day you summon your slumbering people,

So stir us with your voice

and enlighten our lives with your grace

that we give ourselves fully

to Christ's call to mission and ministry. Amen.

~ posted on Revised Common Lectionary Prayers copyright © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress.  Posted on Thematic, Intercessory and Scripture Prayers for the RCL, Vanderbilt Divinity Library.http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/

Epiphany Prayer: 1 Samuel 3

Here’s an opening prayer inspired by 1 Samuel 3:1-10, one of the suggested scripture readings for the second Sunday after Epiphany, Year B. It was written by Mike Elliott, and posted on thisischurch.

Prayer

(inspired by 1 Samuel 3:1-10)

Heavenly Father,

creator of a universe full of wonder

and many still-hidden mysteries.

Help us in our modern, sometimes confusing

and fast changing world

to pause and reflect on your glory and unending grace

and in the stillness to listen, like Samuel,

for your voice speaking to us alone.

~ written by Mike Elliott, and posted on thisischurch. http://www.thisischurch.com/

Blessing for Knowing

Here is a thoughtful blessing from Jan Richardson’s Painted Prayerbook website. It is inspired by the suggested scripture readings for Epiphany 3B (Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, John 1:43-51).

Jan writes: “With each passage, the lectionary this week presents us with a God who calls to us, seeks us out, draws close to us, inhabits us. Again and again the word know appears, its repetition pressing upon us how serious God is about wanting to know us, and us to know God.

This God who calls to us, who fashions us within the womb, who inhabits our own bodies, who recognizes us in the midst of our daily lives: for those of us who need some breathing room in our lives, this God can fairly overwhelm. Do we want to be this sought, this known from the inside out?

Yet the God we see in these passages is not an intruder invading our lives by stealth or by force. Nor—though too many have absorbed such an image—is God’s persistent presence with us a form of surveillance designed to keep track of everything we do wrong. Somehow, this God who pervades all of creation, down to our very cells, manages to offer a spacious hospitality that calls to us but does not confine us; that continually invites but will not force us; that simply asks us to see and hear and know the One who is ever in our midst and in our own selves.

This week, this day, how are you listening? Where are you looking? What holy space are you making for God in yourself? How are you opening yourself to the God who wants to know and be known by you?”

Blessing for Knowing

(inspired by Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18, 1 Samuel 3:1-10,

1 Corinthians 6:12-20, John 1:43-51).

To receive this blessing,

it may feel like

you are peeling back

every layer of flesh,

exposing every nerve,

baring each bone

that has kept you upright.

It may seem

every word is written

on the back of

something that your life

depends upon,

that to read this blessing

would mean tearing away

what has helped you

remain intact.

Be at peace.

It will not be

as painful as that,

though I cannot say

it will be easy

to accept this blessing,

written as it is

upon your true frame,

inscribed on the skin

you were born

to live in.

The habits that keep you

from yourself,

the misconceptions

others have of you,

the unquestioned limits

you have allowed,

the smallness you have

squeezed into:

these are not

who you are.

This blessing simply wants

all this to fall away.

This blessing—

and it is stubborn on this point,

I assure you—

desires you to know yourself

as it knows you,

to let go of every layer

that is not you,

to release each thing

that you hide behind,

to open your eyes

to see what it sees:

how this blessing

has blazed in you

since before you were born;

how it has sustained you

when you could not see it;

how it haunts you,

prickling beneath your skin

to let it shine forth

in full and unstinting

measure;

how it begins

and ends

with your true name.

~ written by Jan Richardson, and posted on her website, The Painted Prayerbook. http://paintedprayerbook.com/2015/01/12/epiphany-2-known/

Call to Worship: Psalm 139

Here’s a call to worship inspired by themes in Psalm 139.

Call to Worship

(inspired by Psalm 139)

We’ve come to worship God,

who loved us before we were yet born,

who knows us even better than we know ourselves,

whose presence never leaves us,

and whose love for us never ceases.

This is our God.

Let’s worship together!

Prayer of Confession: Loving Others

Here is a prayer of confession and words of assurance from Rev. Mindi’s Rev-o-lution website. They were inspired by the scripture readings for Epiphany 7A.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession

Holy God,

we confess that we do not always love our neighbor.

We confess that we have despised others,

even to the point of hatred.

We confess that we have been hurt by others.

We confess that forgiveness and reconciliation at times

are just impossible for us.

We know that nothing is impossible in You.

We come to You, seeking healing and wholeness for us.

Help us, whenever possible, to live in peace with others,

to seek reconciliation and healing and forgiveness.

For Your Son came and lived among us,

was betrayed and denied,

abused and put to death.

He rose again,

and came with the message of peace to those

who had denied him and abandoned him.

May we walk in his ways. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance of Pardon
(inspired by Matthew 19:26, Psalm 139, Romans 8:31-39)

For nothing is impossible with God.

There is no place you can go,

no end of the earth you can run,

where God cannot find you.

There is nothing on earth or beyond death

that can separate you from the love of God

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You are forgiven.

You are loved.

You are reconciled to God.

Go and live with the love of God. Amen.

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

Litany of the Called

Here’s a litany which focuses on the call of Jesus. It was written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on Mucky Paws.

Hamilton writes: “For four people reading from a single microphone in the middle. As one finishes and moves away, another comes in to pick up the story. One story, made up of each other’s stories.

There are so many stories we could have used for this. This is but a pinhead’s selection of people called to follow, to come from the darkness and shadows of one life… and called to be fully alive in the world, for that is what Jesus calls of us: not to be church members, or signatories to some doctrine, but to he fully alive with the life God grants and set that free in the world.”

Litany of the Called

Voice 1 (Male):
“Come follow me,” he said as he walked towards us.

“Leave the nets behind. Become nets yourself.

We have an adventure to be part of.”

And so we left with him not knowing what lay in front of us.

Voice 2: (Female):
In front of me was a crowd of Pharisees: all of them hypocrites.

They knew what I had done and done it mainly with them,

yet they were ready to stone me for it.

Jesus called out,

“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone,”

and there was silence

and one by one they left me with him

who called me to go and find my humanity again,

and so I went more alive than ever before.

Voice 3 (Female):
She was more alive than every before, my daughter.

When her father left her to find Jesus

he knew he’d never see her again, my poor daughter,

not able to make it to womanhood.

But Jesus never gave up hope.

We left him with her

and after what seemed an eternity he called for food,

‘Your daughter is alive and hungry”

and so we threw our sadness into celebration

that she had been called back to life.

Voice 4 (Male):
I was called back to life.

I was once dead,

not the death of eternity, worse than that,

the death of the living.

I am a tax-collector.

My death was the silence and hatred of others

until I climbed a tree,

and was invited back into my own home by Jesus

for a meal through which I was reborn,

a new person now called a friend of God.

I was on my way.

Voice 1 (Male):
We were on our way, ten of us,

unclean with bandaged limbs,

dirty rags covering our hands and feet

that leprosy was eating away.

Everyone avoided us except Jesus who touched us,

befriended us and called us back into community,

clean once more and acceptable.

I ran back to Jesus to thank him,

it was all I could do.

Voice 2 (Female):
It was all I could do to say ‘Yes!’

Yes to God asking me to be his handmaid:

mother of a child who would be the salvation of the world,

who harboured hope enough

to bring down the oppressor and the tyrant

and lift up the poor and hungry.

I was called to be the mother of God

and I said ‘Yes!’

Voice 3 (Female):
I said ‘yes’

but it wasn’t in some biblical story.

It was now.

I said ‘yes!’ to God’s justice today,

God’s hope now,

God’s intent in me,

to call out the life in me,

and set it free in the world,

to be a follower of adventures,

a follower of dreams,

a follower of love.

Voice 4 (Male):
Be a follower of love,

and join the fishermen and the sinners,

the women and the children,

the sick and the poor,

the needy and the hopeful:

called to be fully alive in this world,

called to be the hands and feet of heaven,

called to be all we can be,

called to follow.

~ written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on the New Kilpatrick Parish Church website. https://www.nkchurch.org.uk/original-liturgy 

Responsive Reading: God, You Are Calling

Here’s a responsive reading about the call of God from Joanie Thurman Williams.  It was posted on Consider Your Call.

God, You Are Calling

Gentle and patient

God, you are calling.

Careful and persistent

God, you are calling.

In grieving and in praise

God, you are calling.

Through dawn and midday

God, you are calling.

Unexpected and planned

God, you are calling.

In a still small voice and in power

God, you are calling.

Spontaneous and prepared

God, you are calling.

Willing or protected

God, you are calling.

Our God is eager to share with us,

wherever we are in our journey.

May we be diligent to listen.

God, you are calling.

~ written by Joanie Thurman Williams, and posted on Consider Your Call. http://www.consideryourcall.org/sites/default/files/CYC-Media/Toolbox/Materials/Worship-Toolbox.pdf

Responsive Call to Worship: 1 Samuel 3: 1-20

Here’s a responsive call to worship about the call of God.  It was written by Richard Bott.

Call to Worship

(inspired by 1 Samuel 3: 1-20)

What do you do, when God calls?
Wake up. Listen. Act.
What do you do when God asks you
to do something difficult?
Wake up. Listen. Act.
What do you do when God asks you
to do something impossible?
Wake up. Listen. Act.
Because, with God,
nothing is impossible.
Even changing ourselves?
Even changing the world.
Wake up. Listen. Act.
And, with all this living,
we worship God.

~ written by Richard Bott, and posted on Sharing Liturgy.  http://liturgy.richardbott.com/

Unison Reading: Called by God

Here’s a unison reading on the call of God.  It was posted on Consider Your Call.

Called by God

O God, giver of all good gifts,

you have given me life.

You have bestowed upon me your love

and that love includes your plans for me.

What am I to do?

All life is a call and a response.

I pray for grace to hear God’s voice

and a heart to respond.

I am ready to listen.

Help me to listen to the rhythm of each day, day by day,

so that I am not overwhelmed with thoughts of the future.

Yet guide me into that future so that I know who and whose I am.

I shall listen.

I shall listen to the voices of those witnesses who have lived before me.

I shall listen to those who are here to give me guidance and encouragement,

for it is clear that whatever plans you have for me,

I will never journey alone.

I will listen to my feelings as I grow and change,

processes that I know will be lifelong.

I shall listen to you.

And even though I want easy answers,

I know that what you want is a relationship.

So when I answer you,

may my response be to my potential

and to your love of all creatures on your good earth.

Let me serve with the gifts you give me.

O God, I know that vocation is truly a gift of your love.

What am I to do?

I am ready to listen.

~ posted on Consider Your Call. http://www.consideryourcall.org/sites/default/files/CYC-Media/Toolbox/Materials/Worship-Toolbox.pdf

Call to Worship: Here We Are

Here is a responsive call to worship and prayer inspired by 1 Samuel 3.  It was written by David Inglis.

Call to Worship: Here We Are

God whispers to each of us:

you are my beloved,

created in love for love.

My spirit answers,

Here I am, Lord.

Speak to me anew.

God breathes on us the Holy Spirit,

knitting many members into one body,

the body of Christ.

Together we answer,

Here we are Lord.

Come, Holy Spirit.

God has yet more vision for the people.

Who will work for God to extend God's kingdom

into our hurting world?

Here we are Lord.

Empower us for your work.

God calls the small, and helps them do great things.

God calls the weak, and reveals their hidden gifts.

God calls the rejected, and opens their eyes to their worth.

Here we are Lord, humble and waiting.

Then let us gather, old and young, small and great,

to dream God's dreams,

receive God's power,

and do God's deeds.

Here we are Lord.

Shine the light of your love on us.

Kindle your Spirit within us.

Work your redeeming will in us,

that all the world may be one

through the power of your love.  Amen.

~ written by David Inglis.  Posted on the Henrietta United Church of Christ website. http://www.henriettaucc.org/PastorsPage/CallsToWorship.shtml

Prayer: 1 Samuel 3: 1-20

Here’s a prayer inspired by the call of God to the boy Samuel in 1 Samuel 3: 1-20.  It was written by Richard Bott.

Prayer

(inspired by 1 Samuel 3: 1-20)

You speak in unexpected places,
and with unexpected voices, God.
And we aren’t always sure how to listen.
We aren’t always sure who to listen to.
We aren’t always sure if we’re really hearing you.
Be blunt with us, please. Be clear.
Give us the challenge
of loving you,
of loving the other,
of loving ourselves.
And help us to live it out!
Because you are God who loves us all,
even when we don’t know where to turn.
In Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen!

~ written by Richard Bott, and posted on Sharing Liturgy.  http://liturgy.richardbott.com/

Litany: 1 Corinthians

Here’s a two-voice litany from April Yamasaki which she wrote to introduce the overall focus and content of the first letter to the church at Corinth.

Litany

(inspired by 1 Corinthians)

For no one can lay any foundation

other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. (3:11)

The foundation for blessing and grace.

The foundation for our unity.

I always thank my God for you

because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. (1:3, 4)

The source of wisdom.

The source of our ministry and teaching.

God is the source of your life in Christ Jesus,

who became for us wisdom from God,

and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1:30)

What is God’s wisdom for human sexuality, legal disputes,

marriage, singleness, widowhood, food sacrificed to idols?

What is God’s wisdom for testing and temptation?

Do you not know that your body

is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,

which you have from God,

and that you are not your own?

For you were bought with a price;

therefore glorify God in your body. (6:19-20)

How do we glorify God in what we wear for worship,

how we celebrate the Lord’s Supper?

How do we recognize and release the gifts of the Spirit

 for the common good?

And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three,

and the greatest of these is love. (13:13)

Let us receive and proclaim the good news

of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

 Let us give thanks for this life

and for the resurrection of the dead.

Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Where, O death is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting? (15:54-55)

For Jesus Christ is our sure foundation.

For Jesus Christ is our sure foundation.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” (16:23)

~ written by April Yamasaki, and posted on the website of Emmanuel Mennonite Church. http://www.emmanuelmennonite.com/2013/10/11/a-litany-of-1-corinthians/

Litany: The light of God has come!

Here’s a litany of commitment from Christine Sine.

Litany

Come and see!

The light of God has come into our world

to proclaim God’s justice and love;

It has overcome the darkness and brought new life.

Come and follow!

Christ our companion has redeemed our world

He draws us into a loving family

From every tribe and family and culture.

Go and tell!

The Spirit has equipped us for service

To love our neighbours as we do ourselves

To bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth.

Come and see, come and follow, go and tell!

In God’s Love the nations of the earth will put their hope.

~ adapted from a prayer by Christine Sine on Godspace. http://godspace-msa.com/  Posted on the website of the Irricana United Church. http://irricanaunited.efirehose.net/Jan%206%2013%20Epiphany.pdf

Call to Worship: Come and See!

Here’s a responsive call to worship inspired by John 1:38-39, and John 1:46.

Call to Worship

(inspired by John 1: 38-39, John 1:46)

Come and see, come and see!
We come to see for ourselves who this Jesus person is.
Come and see, come and see!
We come with open hearts to experience Jesus
Come and see, come and see!
We come to follow Jesus
Come and see, come and see!
We come to deepen our relationship with God.
Come and see, come and see!
Yes, Lord we come to follow you!

~ posted on Lutheran Retreats, Camps, and Conferences. http://lrcchome.com/

Responsive Litany: Psalm 139

Here’s a responsive litany based on Psalm 139.  It comes from the Seekers Church community.

Responsive Litany

(inspired by Psalm 139)

God, you search me and know me.

Before I sit, you know when I will rise.

God, you search me and know me.

Before I speak, you know what I will say.

God, you search me and know me,

in my joy and despair,

in my breathing in and breathing out.

God, you search me and know me.

Your knowledge is too deep to reach,

too vast to comprehend.

God, you search me and know me.

Search me, O God, and know my heart.

~ from Pentecost 2005, a liturgy from the Seekers Church community. http://www.seekerschurch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=903:pentecost-2005&catid=5:liturgies&Itemid=80

Prayer: Psalm 139

Here’s a prayer of confession and petition inspired by Psalm 139.  It was written by Rev. Susan A. Blain and Rev. Scott Ressman.

Prayer of Confession and Petition

(inspired by Psalm 139)

God, you know us better than we know ourselves.

You know our thoughts,

our weaknesses,

our motivations,

our sins.

And you love us still.

Forgive us when we don’t believe such love is true or possible;

When we wonder how You could love us just as we are,

when we forget our intricate construction,

fearfully,

wonderfully made,

in Your image!

Remove from our minds every thought which keeps us from you.

Break down the walls,

push aside the pride,

and help us to trust anew.

You know our hearts.

And you love us still.

Amen.

 ~ from All Things New, written by Rev. Susan A. Blain and Rev. Scott Ressman. Posted on the United Church of Christ website. http://www.ucc.org/50/pdfs/worship-resources.pdf

Prayer of Commitment: To Love as You Love

Here’s a prayer of commitment from Terri on the RevGalBlogPals blog.  She wrote it for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but it would work well in many other situations as well.

Prayer of Commitment

Holy God, may we hear your voice
In the stillness of night, in clatter of day
You call us, and we respond,
Here I am!
May we follow you and
May we love as you love.

Holy One, through trials and turbulence
Make us steady, your hands
Holding strong the fragile and weak
May we love as you love.

Gracious God, may the fruits of our lives
be food for the hungry, bread
clothing, shelter, fire, water, Word
May we love as you love.

God of justice, remove the barriers
Of our lives that keep us from
One another, barriers we construct
Based on skin color, religion, or gender
May we hear, and follow, graciously.
May we love as you love.

Loving God, take this day our fears our
Worries, distractions, and all
Turn them into grace and mercy,
And, following the example of Martin Luther King, Jr.
and all your Saints,
May we love as you love.

Amen.

— written by Terri, and posted on the RevGalBlogPals blog.  http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com/