Let us pray that the light of Christ may shine upon the Church, the world, and all people according to their need.
A brief silence
Thank you, Father, for granting such faith to Peter that he could boldly confess your Son as the Christ. Thank you for promising that the gates of hell cannot withstand the gracious battering-ram of your faith-filled Church. Thank you for the forgiveness of sin that the Church pronounces in Jesus’ name and at his command.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Lord, cause your Church to boldly confess Jesus as your Son, the Savior and Messiah of the world. Teach it to properly discern sin – and to faithfully preach repentance from it. Strengthen it to generously forgive the repentant sinner, and to be pastoral in withholding forgiveness from the persistently unrepentant. Use the Church to be the means by which Jesus draws new disciples to himself and shapes them into his likeness.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Make disciples of everyone in this congregation. Give us willing and trust-filled hearts. Help us to use our spiritual gifts to glorify you and build up our community of faith. Make us bold to tell others, “This is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Bless the Church wherever it is persecuted on account of Jesus. By its patient witness, turn its enemies from hatred to repentance. For missionaries throughout the world, for our seminaries, church colleges, and schools, and for all who seek to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed, we also lift our hands, hearts and voices in fervent supplication.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
This weekend, we celebrate the confession of St. Peter, and commemorate the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Thank you for this double witness. Teach us to value one another not based on race, creed, or gender, but because you have created all people in your image, and have given your Son as the sacrifice for all our sin. By your Holy Spirit, make the content of our character reflect your will, so that we treat each other with respect, justice, and charity.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Enlighten the minds and purify the hearts of those who take counsel for the nations. Turn them away from the false gods of power, prestige, and ideology; and teach them your ways. Heal the divisions that beset our country. Bestow your favor upon it, so that it may always be a beacon of righteousness, justice and freedom for all.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Stoop down, O Lord, and hear the cry of all who are afflicted by any kind of suffering or sorrow – especially: {List}. Lift them out of their desolation; make their footing sure; and put a new song into their mouths. Restore them to all who love them, that together we may proclaim your faithfulness and deliverance.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Most gracious Father, we thank you for your faithful servants who have died to us but whose lives are safely in your hand. Sustain us with that same strong and merciful hand. Equip us with every spiritual gift we need to trust and follow Jesus; and to bear the light of his forgiveness and goodness to everyone around us. And, sustained in fellowship with Christ Jesus, may we be found guiltless on that day when he is revealed to the world; and made fit to dwell with him in the glory he shares with you and the Holy Spirit forever.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
All these things, and whatever else you see that we need, grant to us, dear Father, for the sake of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
