THE PRAYERS,

1^st Sunday after Christmas, Cycle A (December 29, 2019)

With joy and confidence, let us pray to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the needs of all people throughout the world.

A brief silence

Dear Father, thank you for the gift of your Son. Thank you for making us his brothers and sisters, and for giving us the privilege of calling you Abba. Thank you for making us your family!

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Guide and protect your Church. Let it cherish and share the gifts of life, forgiveness, and union with your dear Son.  Give it grace to proclaim them boldly and faithfully; and to bestow them generously, so that the family you have created in him may grow and flourish.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Grant that your Son Jesus is always cradled in the hearts of the people in this congregation; and that we always speak and act in ways that are worthy of our calling as his sisters and brothers. We pray that more and more, we think, pray, speak, and act as your disciples, bearing the great gift of Jesus’ love to everyone we meet.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

On account of Jesus, innocent children were killed by Herod. We pray for our sisters and brothers across the world who are tortured and killed because they name Jesus as Lord. Protect them from evil. Keep their faith strong and their hearts pure. By their witness to the Babe of Bethlehem, call their tormentors to repentance and to faith.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Bless all who care for the poor, sick, grieving and lonely in this season of joy. Shine the light of your love upon those in nursing homes, mental institutions, and hospitals. Grant your mercy and guidance to prisoners and to all who are addicted or despairing. Be the sure hope and protector of the homeless and refugees, especially little children; and lead them to safe shelter.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Give the leaders of the nations a holy fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. Teach them your ways of faithfulness and justice. Bring healing and hope to people overwhelmed by natural disasters or human malice. Help us all to live in peace with each other.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Bless and protect our military; police; first responders; and all who protect life and liberty. Grant them wisdom, integrity and courage. Let the innocent, the weak, and the vulnerable call on them confidently. Bring them safely home to their loved ones; and heal those who are wounded in body, mind or soul.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

We sing of Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness, risen with healing in his wings. Let the light of his countenance shine upon everyone troubled by pain, confusion, sorrow, sin, or grief. Especially we pray for: {List}. Restore them to life, health and hope; and to all who love them.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Lord, keep safe those who have died trusting in your promised mercy. Comfort all whose grief runs deep during this season of joy. Keep us close to Jesus, so we know him as our wise brother as well as our mighty Savior throughout our earthly pilgrimage. You kept him, Mary and Joseph safe throughout their exile, and brought them into the Promised Land. Therefore we pray that you would bring us through the dangers and sorrows of this life into the eternal Home you have promised to those whom you name, for Jesus’ sake, your beloved children.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Hear and mercifully grant us, dear Lord, all that we ask that conforms to your good and perfect will for us, for your Name’s sake. AMEN.

THE PRAYERS,

Christmas Day, Cycle A (December 25, 2019)

As we worship the newborn Son of God, let us also pray that he may bring healing, salvation and peace to the church, the world, and all its people.

A brief silence

O Word made flesh, who dwells among us, bless the Church with a glimpse of your glory. Conform its worship to the adoration of the angels, the bliss of Mother Mary, the quiet goodness of Joseph, and the faithful reverence of the shepherds. Give it words to proclaim your glory and your love, especially to those who do not know you, so that through its witness, the whole world may join the song first sung at your birth: “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth!”

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

You are higher than every angel, and yet you are pleased to dwell in our midst. Bless this congregation, therefore, with joyful hearts, fervent worship, eager witness, loving service, and kindly fellowship, so that in all we say and do, we bear witness to you, our Savior and our God.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

O Prince of Peace, silence the taunts and break the spears of persecution against your servants, especially during this season of light. Turn their suffering for the sake of your Name into great joy. And transform their tormentors into confessors of your undeserved mercy.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Even the feet of your servants are beautiful when they speed to announce your strong saving love to those who despair of your existence, your power, or your goodness. Bless, therefore, all missionaries of the Gospel of Peace; all Christian relief organizations throughout the world; every soup kitchen, homeless shelter, and hospice; and every herald of your Kingdom who gladdens the hearts of any that sit in darkness and sorrow.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Born a Child, you are the King of all nations, and their Lord. Conform the rulers of this world to your glorious and gentle rule. Teach them to do your will; love justice and mercy; to walk humbly with you; and to be a blessing to the people entrusted to their care.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

You are the heaven-born Prince of Peace. But in this sinful world, violence and warfare trouble your people even on Christmas morning. Let your holy angels shield, strengthen, and direct the words and actions of all in the military; all first responders; and anyone whose work is difficult and dangerous. Give their loved ones “tidings of comfort and joy,” and homecomings that are filled with solace, healing, and peace.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

O Sun of Righteousness, arise with healing in your wings and bestow the glorious light of your salvation upon all who sit in the darkness of suffering and the shadow of death. Restore them to life and hope; encourage all who care for them; and let the great good news of your birth among us adorn their suffering with unconquerable joy.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

In you, dear Jesus, we see the eternal love of your Father’s heart, and the eternal glory of his Kingdom. We thank you for drawing into that loving heart and glorious Kingdom, all those who died trusting in your goodness. Wipe away the tears from everyone whose grief runs deep. Bestow on all of us your blessed comfort, your holy and precious forgiveness, and your ever-faithful guidance. Fit us for your Kingdom; and lead us into the bright courts of heaven, and into the endless Day, where with your Father and the Holy Spirit, you reign in undisturbed joy and blessedness, now and forever.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Hear and mercifully grant us, dear Lord, all that we ask that conforms to your good and perfect will for us, for your Name’s sake. AMEN.

THE PRAYERS,

Christmas Eve, Cycle A (December 24, 2019)

As we worship the newborn Son of God, let us also pray that he may bring healing, salvation and peace to the church, the world, and all its people.

A brief silence

Lord Jesus Christ, we come to your cradle with joy and wonder! We adore you for your loving-kindness. We thank you for making yourself small and meek, that we might approach you gladly and without fear. Thank you, dear Jesus; accept our hearts as our best and loving gift.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Make the Church your manger and your throne. Bless it with your dear presence, your great goodness, and your holy love. Like herald angels, let it constantly announce your mercy and favor to all who will receive you into their hearts and lives.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Make this congregation into a welcoming Bethlehem stable. Give us joyful souls, eager to adore and proclaim your precious Name. Give us generous hearts, so that we see and welcome you in the unexpected people touching our lives. Give us tireless hands and feet, so we may hurry to share your great love with those who need it most.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

O Prince of Peace, silence the taunts and break the spears of persecution against your servants, especially during this season of light. Turn their suffering for the sake of your Name into great joy. And transform their tormentors into confessors of your undeserved mercy.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Little Lord Jesus, bless all the dear children who most need your tender care. Kindle faith in their hearts, and keep them safe from every danger. And give childlike and humble faith to everyone who doubts your existence or despairs of your forgiveness, and give them peace.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Born a Child, you are the King of all nations, and their Lord. Conform the rulers of this world to your glorious and gentle rule. Teach them to do your will; to love justice and mercy; to walk humbly with you; and to be a blessing to the people entrusted to their care.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Angels sang of peace and good will at your birth. In this sinful world, violence troubles your people even on this holy night. Let your holy angels shield, strengthen, and direct the words and actions of all in the military; all first responders; and anyone whose work is difficult and dangerous, this night and in the coming days. Bring justice and mercy to places of discord and chaos; and bestow the blessings of your peace upon us all.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

O Sun of Righteousness, arise with healing in your wings and bestow the light of your salvation upon all who sit in the darkness of suffering and the shadow of death. Restore them to life and hope; encourage all who care for them; and let the good news of your birth among us adorn their suffering with unconquerable joy.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus, you have come to save us from evil, from our sins, and from death. Deal mercifully with the tears and sorrow of those whose grief is raw and deep. Stay near us, Lord Jesus, and love us and guide us throughout our lives. Bless us with your love, so we may be a blessing to others. And bring all your dear children to heaven, to live with you forever in the holy light of your love, which you have shared eternally with your Father and the Holy Spirit, for with them you are one God, now and unto the ages of ages.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Hear and mercifully answer our prayers, dear Lord, according to the favor you bear for your people. Amen.

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who
is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which
things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught
by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”  (1 Corinthians 2:12-13)

What we are given is directly
from the Lord because it is the Lord who speaks to us.  It is not just about receiving knowledge and
acting on it; it is about living in a relationship with the One who made you
and walking alongside Him now and forever. 
Walk in the way of the Lord by walking with the Lord.  Live in His presence and He will guide you
all the days of your life in the way He has established.

Lord, help me to see through the clouds of this age where people take
what You give and claim it as their own. 
Help me to live by Your Spirit, knowing that only in You can I live into
the life to which You have called me.  Teach
me to live in utter dependence upon You. 
Teach me to listen that I would now and always abide in the truth of
Your presence.  Guide me according to
Your will.

Holy Spirit, You are in me and
with me.  Clear the way that I would
always listen to You and know when other voices are trying to crowd You
out.  Teach me what I need to know today
and guide me live according to Your direction. 
May I now and always listen to You and obey according to Your word.  Open my ears to hear and lead my feet to walk
in the way You direct.  Amen.

“For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit
searches all things, even the depths of God. 
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the
man which is in him?  Even so the
thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”  (1 Corinthians 2:10-11)

What are the depths of your
being?  Do you allow the depths to be
searched?  The depths of God are beyond
any mortal, yet it is the Spirit of God which searches the depths of man’s
heart.  Come willingly into the
relationship the Lord offers, have the Spirit search your heart and follow as
the Spirit leads you where you need to go. 
The Lord, who is love, will lead you always.

Lord, I resist going to places where I do not want to go and yet
wherever I go, You are there.  Soften my
heart so that I willingly go to the places where You know I need to go.  What You find that needs to be dealt with or
removed, take care of.  Let me be a
willing follower that wherever You lead I will go.  Guide me in Your goodness to see through my
resistance to come to the place of willing submission to Your will.

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for
loving me enough to see that only with You and by Your leading can the issues
that are in my heart be dealt with.  You
know me better than I know myself, for You know what You will make of me.  Help me to willingly follow wherever You
guide me that I may now and always abide in Your presence and walk in the ways in
which You lead.  Amen.

“The wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if
they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;  but just as it is written, “Things which eye
has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of
man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”  (1 Corinthians 2:8-9)

The world steps one upon
another, each seeking his own will above all others.  The will of the Lord is what created
everything and He will accomplish what He willed.  So take your will out of it.  What then? 
Live according to the will of the Father and know that in His grace and
mercy, He will lead those who abide in Him to dwell with Him eternally.  It is not a contest of all against all, but a
life of love, joy and peace that the Lord offers.

Lord, I look all around and I see the competition.  People vie for positions and authority.  Help me to be a help to others and to live as
You would have me live.  Guide me
according to Your purposes to humbly abide in You and You in me.  Bring me beyond the dog-eat-dog  of this world to live in peace and in harmony
as far as I am able, that I may fulfil Your purpose for me being created.

Come Holy Spirit and stir my
heart to abide in the truth that has been revealed once for all.  Amidst the mysteries of life, lead me beyond
my need to understand everything that I may live in the wisdom You give.  Guide me to turn to You at all times and
accept Your leading as You guide me in living my daily life.  Keep my eyes upon You now and always that I
may walk the straight and narrow path. 
Amen.

“Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however,
not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we
speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before
the ages to our glory;” (1 Corinthians 2:6-7)

What is wisdom but knowledge and
understanding?  Once you understand that
the Lord God who created all things is Sovereign over all He has created, you
begin a new journey.  Then you know that
He who created all things has come to redeem those who are lost without Him.  Then you walk in a life alongside Him, being
prepared to remain with Him forever.  God
knows what He is doing and the truly wise live in this reality.

Lord, this age is filled with so many questions, but they are often the
wrong questions.  This world is filled
with so many answers, but they are all too often the wrong answers.  Turn my heart to that which is most
important, that I should have no other gods before You.  Turn my heart to You and put me upon the path
of true wisdom that I would walk humbly with You, my Lord and Savior, now and
forever.

Lord Jesus, You have come to
bring true life to as many as believe. 
Guide me in the way of truth that I would walk humbly with You abiding
in me and I in You.  Teach me Your wisdom
and, by the power of the Spirit, make my heart malleable to the will of the
Father.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way You
know I need to go that I may now and always walk with You.  Amen.

“I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my
message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on
the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” 
(1 Corinthians 2:3-5)

Clever men speak clever things
to woo people into thinking all kinds of things.  How is it than in human history men can be
convinced to do the wicked things that have been done?  The Lord did not come with some clever
scheme, but has revealed the simple truth that we are all sinners who need to
be saved from sin, death, and the devil. 
So come and walk in the way of the Lord and live.

Lord, help me to not be carried away with the insanity of this
age.  Guide me in the way of truth that I
would humbly walk with You now and always. 
Let me neither speak in clever terms, nor be carried away by them, but
always listen to Your Word of truth. 
Guide me, O Lord, that I may listen, hear and obey all that You speak to
me.  Let it be Your power and wisdom that
guide me.

Lord Jesus, You came speaking
truth.  The clever of this age did not
like what You spoke, but You said it anyway. 
Help me to hear Your Word of truth and follow wherever You lead.  Guide me according to Your word to do what is
pleasing in the Father’s sight.  Now and
always, may I abide in You, all that You teach, and follow You all the days of
my life in the way, truth, and life that You have established.  Amen.

“And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.  For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”  (1 Corinthians 2:1-2)

Let the truth of this idea
settle in your mind.  We can often be
carried away in pride with an attitude of superiority.  We are called in the One Lord into the one
faith.  We are called to follow
Jesus.  Each of us are where we are and
are given gifts according to His grace. 
It is a matter of letting the world know that salvation has come
personally to all that they might believe and be saved.

Lord, teach me the simplicity of salvation.  Although I may be curious and desire any
number of things, let me never forget the simple truth that You are the One who
saves.  Guide me according to Your
purposes to live into the life to which You have called me that I might live in
You and You in me.  Lead me according to
Your grace to do that which is pleasing in Your sight.

Lord Jesus, You lead the way for
all who follow.  Guide me according to
Your goodness to live into the life of faith for which You have called me.  Guide me by the Holy Spirit to humbly come,
walk, and do those things which You give me to do.  May I now and always abide in the truth of
the revelation You have given knowing that in You alone is the hope for all
people.  Amen.

“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from
God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it
is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  (1 Corinthians 1:30-31)

It is not what you or I do, but
what the Lord has done that makes all of this possible.  See this clearly.  All our actions in faith are a response to
what He has done first.  We are saved by
grace, therefor all of what we do is a part of the salvation journey.  We do not do to earn, but to respond to the
love which He has first given us.  The
only boast we have is in the Lord.  Boast
then in Him.

Lord, I have heard so many conflicting things and have even thought in
terms of receiving Your wrath when I sin forgetting that You have done what
needs to be done that I would continue walking with You.  Guide me O Lord in the way of truth that I
would humbly walk with You knowing that I am completely dependant upon You for
all I need, Guide me in Your salvation.

Lord Jesus, God in the flesh, You
have come to lead the way for those who believe.  Help me to not make more, nor less of the
truth of salvation than what You have revealed. 
Guide me according to what You have revealed to walk humbly with You in
and through all things.  Lead me to do
what is right in Your sight that I would do what is pleasing in the Father’s
eyes.  Amen.