leadinginworship

God our Provider Call to Worship Prayer

God our Provider,
we walked into church today
needing you in different ways.
Some of us need strength
because we are facing a big challenge.
Some of us need hope,
because we are feel like giving up.
Some of us need love
because we are feeling alone.
We trust that you will provide for us,
whether through words or music,
or in a quiet moment of reflection.
You are here,
you are with us.
Amen.

Prayer to a Faithful God (in Hard Times)

Your mercies are new every day.
When I could hardly catch my breath,
fear clenching my stomach,
and every horizon dark,
you were there for me.
Whether I stood on the precipice
of grief, or pain, or loneliness or despair:
you heard me calling.
My prayers not echoing
in empty chambers,
not ricocheting into nothingness;
you listened to every word.
You come, not always with quick fixes,
not always with the solutions I’ve planned.
You teach me that every road is walkable
with you beside me.
Your steadying voice gentles me.
You are the faithful One,
from generation to generation,
seeking out our sad souls,
picking up the lost and left behind,
taking care of the woeful.
God of great grace,
hear this prayer of thanks
even from the land of broken dreams.

Family Prayer

Loving God, thank you for our families.
Thank you for the people who light up our lives,
whose tender presence is dear beyond all words,
people who have enriched our lives beyond all measure.
Give us love for our families,
accepting them as they are,
encouraging them to be all they can be,
appreciating them as we want to be appreciated.
Sometimes the people we love the most
can be the people with whom we have the most conflict,
help us persevere in our love.
You know our relationships inside out,
you know that we have people in our family we love,
but there are also people in our family we only tolerate,
and people in our family we can hardly stand.
Give us patience with our families this week.
When we would keep track of hurtful words,
call to mind the thoughtless words we have spoken.
When we would count the ways we have been neglected,
teach us to remember that we too overlook others.
Jesus, you walked a fine line of love with your own family;
help us know when to stay, and when to walk away,
when to hope, and when to draw a line.
Help us to live in peace while still respecting ourselves;
to refuse to abuse, and not to let others abuse us either.
Be our familiar guide in all we do and say this week. Amen.

Prayer for the Future

All-seeing God,
hear my prayer for the future that I will not see.
For all the children of my children's grandchildren,
and all the others born when this century
is a long ago memory.
Let their feet touch this good earth,
let it still be good, growing green as it always grows.
Let their hands be reaching to connect,
not grasping, not fighting.
I want to pray that we would be beyond all that,
but I think that's asking for too much.
Instead, I pray for what we have survived.
The upheavals I cannot imagine or name,
the suffering that is beyond speaking.
I pray that we could still be good,
still loving in the face of hatred,
still hoping in the face of despair,
I pray that we would be skilled at beginning again
even when it seems like the end of everything.
For you are with us.
Time can't stop you from loving us.
Your everpresent ear takes this tiny message,
and transports it forward through the years.
My dear future friends:
Believe. Love. Cherish.
Look up at the distant stars 
and say prayers for the future.
We pray together, you and I,
that hope will arrive in time.

The Confession of Dirk Willems

What I remember most
is the joy of God’s words on our lips,
in our hearts.
That good news bubbling out,
freely shared with any person we met,
old categories of friend and foe forgotten.
I remember the power of God changing us,
from empty Christians
to disciples full of fire.
I confessed my faith
and chose baptism, freely, consciously,
my prayer as the water trickled over me,
“O my Lord, my God!”
My family and friends,
my neighbours near and far,
they flocked to my house to hear that story.
We read from the Bible,
we prayed together.
And always every meeting,
their words echoing in my ears,
“Can I too be baptized?”

Yes, there was danger.
It was a crime for us to baptize
since we weren’t priests,
and the authorities were out to find us.
But we Brethren were quick,
our feet given godspeed.
So often we escaped
even when escape seemed impossible:
ducking out windows,
fleeing to the fields in the dark,
our pursuers’ lanterns bobbing behind us.
So often God protected us from evil.

The persecution became more severe.
First one brother, and then a sister,
another and another,
arrested, tortured, brought to trial,
made an example.
They were an example to us,
so many, so faithful,
freely bearing their cross, like Jesus.
A witness to God’s glory even in death. 

And then it was my turn to be arrested.
They were there waiting for us
hidden in the darkness as we gathered,
no time to run, just a quick whispered prayer,
“O my Lord, my God!”

Into the prison, and there I had time
to sit and think and pray,
to prepare myself for the ordeal to come.
I was more surprised than anyone
when the opportunity arose
for me to escape.
God works in mysterious ways,
and like Paul before me,
the way was open and I took it.
I ran like the wind;
I could hear shouts behind me
and I knew I was being pursued.
Over that wintry river I fled,
the ice creaking ominously below me.
Even as I ran I prayed,
“O my Lord, my God,
let me run on water this day,”
Cracks formed with every step I took,
and like Peter I doubted.
I pictured them fishing
my frozen body with a hook
out of the cold river.

But God be praised,
my feet reached solid land
and running still, I spared a glance behind me.
I saw my pursuer stepping on the ice,
one of the guards sent to catch me.
I doubled my pace along the river
but my eyes were drawn to him
lumbering, lumbering along.
Suddenly there was no figure at all.
My legs kept running
but my whole attention shifted.
I saw the arms and head appear in the watery pit
bobbing and grasping, ice breaking, splashing.
I could hear his frantic call for help.
I stopped, and looked to his friends.
They all hugged the shore,
afraid to venture to him on the ice.
They were not going to help him.

Having just crossed that wide white river,
having feared that icy grave,
my heart went to him.
I turned around.
It was I who would be a fisher of men this day.
Running back toward my pursuer this time,
I reached that treacherous surface,
and when the cracks seemed louder than my heartbeats,
I dropped gently down on my stomach, sliding sideways,
arms spread wide, reaching for him.
Him reaching for me with freezing fingers,
and then our hands locked,
and the slow, slow, pull to safety.
We did it. I saved him.

We both lay on the ice for a long moment.
Me totally spent from the chase and the rescue,
he totally spent from being immersed in fear,
dazed at returning to the land of the living.

The voice of the burgomeister shattered the silence,
calling from the safety of the shore:
“Arrest that man. 
Arrest that man right now! 
Do your duty.”
I looked at him,
my companion on the ice.
Our eyes held each other,
frozen there on that hard river.
We both watched transfixed
as his hand slowly reached out
and grasped my elbow.
I closed my eyes,
“Oh my Lord, my God.”

And so I am here in the prison again.
They have convicted me,
and today I am to be burned.
In the icy river or in flames of fire,
I am not alone.
Jesus is with me as I take up my cross.
Be with me now,
Oh my Lord, my God.

 

Faithful offering prayer

Ever-faithful God,
we long to be faithful givers,
modelling ourselves on you
who gives everything to us.
May your Spirit of abundance,
which gives more than we ask or imagine,
grace these gifts for your kingdom
in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Congregational Prayer for Doubters

You call us to be people of faith,
yet we are often people with doubts.
We doubt that love can grow again in relationships
where anger and bitterness reign supreme.
You know the strength of love and the power of prayer:
help us to be faithful lovers.
We doubt that peace can come in Israel and Palestine;
where hatred and racism are so powerful.
You know that peace is growing there:
help us to be faithful peacemakers.
We doubt that the hungry can be fed in countries that are experiencing drought,
and that children will continue to perish.
You know that there is enough food in the world;
help us to be generous and faithful.
You specialize in impossibilities;
you walked on water, you heal the nations,
you forgive sins, you set the captive free,
you set us free from our captivities.

This morning we pray for people here who are filled with doubts,
who wonder whether you exist and whether you are listening to our prayers,
who wonder what this whole community is about.
We pray for people who doubt the purpose of life,
who wonder whether to end it all,
who face feelings of meaningless and despair.
Even when we have that sinking feeling,
give us the wisdom to turn to you.
Jesus, we want to believe, help our unbelief!
Finally, we ask for good news for people in our community,
people who are sick, or who are grieving,
who need your help in practical ways--
empower us to show that love.
Give us faith, small as a mustard seed,
so that we can be your faithful people,
believing in your power to save,
believing in your power to reign supreme,
believing that we can share this good news
with everyone we meet.
We ask all this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Faithful call to worship

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for
the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

We come to worship faithfully, God--
we’re here again this morning.
We come faithfully,
but there’s a part of all of us that doubts,
that wonders,
“Are you really there?
are you really listening?
can we really trust you?”
We live in a world where we can’t live without you.
This morning, give us an assurance of what we cannot always see,
a conviction of hope in your presence and your power.
We want to be faith-filled,
confident in your abiding and unfailing love for us.
Amen. 

Faith, Hope, Love Call to Worship

Our call to worship is from I Corinthians 13:3
And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.  

God of Gods:
We come to worship today to hear your good news,
to hear stories of faith, hope and love.
We know that doubt, fear and hatred are everywhere
and can shake even the strongest.
Shape us into faithful, hopeful people:
fill us with your love that passes all understanding.
We pray this together in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

Psalm for Silence

I crave silence like water.
In this noisy non-stop fast-paced high-powered
injection-fuelled people-filled emotion-packed
day, I say,
“I crave silence like water.”
Drop, drop, drop
into my soul, soul, soul.
I will listen for the drip and the echo.
I will look, look, look
for the dropper of silence
and wait, wait, wait to be filled.

Silence expands noiselessly.
It blossoms unexpectedly,
beautifully, completely,
and it doesn’t leave when you open your eyes.
Silence is companionable,
it likes your company,
and wants you to stick around.
Silence is the long-term friend of pause,
and is acquainted with catch-your-breath.
Close cousins with sleep.
Wait’s uncle.
Silence swoops over the world,
its wings brush our hair.

Silence outdistances all takers.
In the vast reaches of space,
supernovas explode in silence.
Silence seeps into the world
through the night sky.
I open my mouth
as round as the moon
and breathe in silence.

Faith offering prayer

Before the offering:

We don’t always know how much money we have,
or how much we will need;
in precarious economic times we are tempted
to hoard our money for ourselves.
In this offering we have the opportunity to show our faith,
that our God will supply all our needs.

After the offering:

We walk by faith,
we live by faith,
we give by faith.
God of great gifts,
you have given us so much,
accept these gifts from our hands,
our faithful response to your abundant grace.  Amen.

 

God of Gardens

God of gardens,
you are the great Cultivator,
growing faith  for the ages.
You aren’t picky about the size of the harvest.
You rejoice in the vast prairie field,
one crop from horizon to horizon,
just as you rejoice in the tiny plant
breaking through the inner city cement crack.
You carefully tend the tenderest of plants,
taking deep delight in burgeoning beauty.
Under the light of your gaze,
faith breaks out in different colours
and different stripes
all over the wide world.
You aren’t threatened by new cultivars
that change through the generations;
you’ve grafted in new strains
cross-breeding for hardiness and vigour.

We come on the scene,
eager gardeners,
anxious to work till kingdom come.
We long for and then write gardening manuals.
We outline what is acceptable and unacceptable,
and what should never be tolerated.
We come to work with books in hand,
ready to raise up something from nothing.
We’re shocked and even a bit dismayed to find faith
growing wild and strong
even before we arrive.
We don’t know what to make of this faith,
undomesticated by us.
You tour us around, smiling broadly,
remembering the lavish generosity
of those who planted so others could harvest.

God, reveal to us the mystery of faith
in the eyes of a child, wide with amazement
as the petal of each new day unfolds.
Reveal to us the work of faith
in the hands of our grandparents,
calloused from decades of labour.
Reveal to us the fundamentals of faith
in the harvest of righteousness
you are growing in the earth today.
Help us to see the harvest
not as something to be owned and controlled
but as something to be celebrated,
pressed down, shaken together, running over.
Help us to see that we are the newly planted,
and give us humility as we grow
into good gardeners in this your garden of life. Amen

Offering Prayer: Our Weekly Deposit

Lord, it’s a small gesture;
pulling coins or bills out of our pockets, writing a cheque.
It almost makes no sound as it drops into the offering plate.
But it is the sound of our hearts opening,
giving you the fruit of our labour.
It is our collective offering of love,
a weekly deposit in the account of your faithfulness.
We do this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

Call to Worship: We Come

Glorious God, we come together as your people.

We come as a praising people, singing your goodness;

we come as a hungry people, longing to be fed;

we come as a praying people, bringing our needs, our joys;

we come as a journeying people, looking for direction.

In this hour of worship,

empower us for faithful living.

We pray this in the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, Amen.