April 22, 2012
Prayers for Worship
by David von Schlichten
Leader: The risen Christ comes to us and says, “Peace be with you.”
People: The Triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit, emboldens us to live the Resurrection.
Leader: Alleluia! Christ suffered and then rose from the dead on the third day.
People: We are witnesses of these things. Alleluia!
God, you overcome our fears with peace and eat with us. Help us to listen to the Word. Let no one deceive us. Energize us to do what is righteous. In the name of our Shalom-Savior we pray. Amen.
Adonai, how eager we are to sin. We chase after vain lies and bow to idols of plastic and metal. We are full of pessimism, saying, “Who will show us some good?”, as if you are ineffective. We embrace lawlessness, confusing it with freedom. We let Easter fade, Good Friday recede to the background of our lives.
We repent and turn to you, so that our sins may be wiped out. For the sake of the Resurrection Lord, forgive us. Lead us again to the empty tomb. Amen.
Alleluia, Christ is alive! Jesus was revealed to take away sins. We are God’s children. All your sins are forgiven, gone, forgotten, because I AM endured the cross. Alleluia!
Open our minds to understand the scriptures. Yes.
That we may eat with and believe in Christ, we pray to you, (congregational response: God of Resurrection.).
Excited and curious about what we will become, we praise you, . . .
Grateful for your magnificent planet and striving to take better care of it, we pray to you, . . .
That we may persist in celebrating Easter no matter how cynical people around us become, we pray to you, . . .
That our nation, the United States, may be a model of protecting non-human nature, we pray to you, . . .
Trusting that you will help all those in need we mention now [Add names], we pray to you, . . .
In awe of the multitude of wonderful church leaders from throughout history, including the evangelist Mark, we praise you, . . .
(You may add other praises and petitions here...)
Take all these prayers and change them into that which honors you and helps to improve the conditions of people around the world. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Through our gifts, we rejoice over the Resurrection.
Leader: Because of the cross and the empty tomb, we have the invincible peace.
People: God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, feeds us, nourishes our faith.
Leader: We are witnesses to the Resurrection.
People: Let’s live the Resurrection. Yes.
(from www.goodpreacher.com/blog/)