WorshipPLUS

Advent 2 Call to Worship and Prayer of Invocation

Call to Worship | Romans 13:11-12 (NIV)

“Do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”

Come, let us worship God.

Prayer of Invocation | based on Psalm 80:1-7

The Lord is glorious and exalted.

Lord, shine in our hearts and lives.

God’s people are often in distress and sorrow.

Lord, show Your might and deliver us from evil. 

We sometimes do not feel the Lord’s presence.

O Lord, let Your face again shine on us.

The Lord was the shepherd of His people Israel.

Lord, lead us in our way and guide us in our walk.

In this Advent season we stand on tiptoe—

Immanuel, invade our lives. Amen.

From The Worship Sourcebook, © 2004, CRC Publications.

The Lord's Prayer

This is the version of the Lord's Prayer that we prayed during our worship this morning:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
  hallowed be Your name.

May Your kingdom come,
  and Your will be done,
  on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins
  as we forgive those
  who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation,
  but deliver us from evil;
For Yours are the kingdom
  and the power and the glory
  forever and ever.

Amen.

The Trinity

This morning we prayed the prayer The Trinity which comes from our Puritan Heritage. You can find this prayer and many others in the book The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Highly recommended!

Three in one, one in three,
  God of my salvation,
Heavenly Father, blessed Son,
  eternal Spirit,
 I adore You as
  one Being,
  one Essence,
  one God in three distinct Persons,
 for bringing sinners
  to Your knowledge
  and to Your kingdom.

O Father, You have loved me
 and sent Jesus to redeem me;
O Jesus, You have loved me
 and assumed my nature,
 shed Your own blood
  to wash away my sins,
 wrought righteousness
  to cover my unworthiness;
O Holy Spirit, You have loved me
 and entered my heart,
 implanted there eternal life,
 revealed to me the glories of Jesus.

Three Persons and one God,
 I bless and praise You,
 for love so unmerited,
 so unspeakable, so wondrous,
 so mighty to save the lost
 and raise them to glory.

O Father, I thank You that
 in fullness of grace
 You have given me to Jesus,
 to be His sheep, jewel, portion;
O Jesus, I thank You that
 in fullness of grace
 You have accepted, espoused,
 bound me;
O Holy Spirit, I thank You that
 in fullness of grace
 You have exhibited Jesus
 as my salvation,
 implanted faith within me,
 subdued my stubborn heart,
 made me one with Him for ever.

O Father, You are enthroned
 to hear my prayers,
O Jesus, Your hand is outstretched
 to take my petitions,
O Holy Spirit, You are willing
 to help my infirmities,
 to show me my need,
 to supply words,
 to pray within me, to strengthen me
  that I faint not in supplication.

O Triune God,
  who commands the universe,
 You have commanded me to
  ask for those things
  that concern Your kingdom
   and my soul.
Let me live and pray as one baptized
 into the three fold Name.

(The song we sang this morning, Heavenly Father, Beautiful Son, is based on this very prayer...and I must confess that this is the most horribly named song we sing...after all, it's about the Trinity! I supppose the writers just thought Heavenly Father, Beautiful Son, Spirit of Light and Truth was just to bulky!)

Prayers of the People

This morning we used a form of guided prayer that is also called the Prayers of the People. For many in the church worldwide, this is a regular feature in their worship experience. It was good for us to join our brothers and sisters in prayer.

Here is the form we used this morning should you wish to use it in your personal prayer throughout the week:

Leader: Let us pray for the Church, here and around the world.

<offering of individual prayers>

Leader: Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your Name may be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal your glory in the world. May the Church, in faithful witness to You, preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Lord, in Your mercy and grace…

All: Hear our prayer.

Leader: Let us pray for those who do not yet believe.

<offering of individual prayers>

Leader: Reveal the light of Your Gospel to those in darkness, O Lord. May the power of Your grace bring them into Your kingdom. Lord, in Your mercy and grace…

All: Hear our prayer.

Leader: Let us pray for the poor, the persecuted and all who suffer.

<offering of individual prayers>

Leader: Bring relief and protection, dear God, to those in need. Let justice roll down from Your throne of righteousness. Lord, in Your mercy and grace…

All: Hear our prayer.

Leader: Let us pray for those who are sick.

<offering of individual prayers>

Leader: Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit; give them courage and hope in their troubles, and bring them the joy of Your salvation. Lord, in Your mercy and grace…

All: Hear our prayer.

Leader: Let us pray for the needs of those around us, whether family, friend or neighbor.

<offering of individual prayers>

Leader: Lord, we lift up to you those whose lives are closely linked with ours, our families, our friends, our neighbors. Free them from anxiety. May they live in your joy, peace and health. Grant that we may serve Christ in them, and love one another as You have loved us. Lord, in Your mercy and grace…

All: Hear our prayer.

Leader: For yours is the majesty, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;

All: Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Ancient Prayer | St Patrick's Lorica

I had been aware of the prayer St Patrick's Breastplate which consists of the "Christ" statements below. But when Patrick Knaak was ordained here at Naperville Presbyterian, he introduced me to the fuller St Patrick's Lorica. (Lorica is a Latin word meaning "body armor".) This prayer has been attributed to St Patrick in the late 4th century. Here is the version we prayed today, slightly adapted for our use:

I arise today through a mighty strength,
  the invocation of the Trinity,
through a belief in the Threeness,
through confession of the Oneness
  of the Creator of creation.

I arise today through
  God’s strength to pilot me;
  God’s might to uphold me,
  God’s wisdom to guide me,
  God’s eye to look before me,
  God’s ear to hear me,
  God’s word to speak for me,
  God’s hand to guard me,
  God’s way to lie before me,
  God’s shield to protect me,
  God’s hosts to save me
    from snares of the devil,
    from temptations of vices,
    from every one who desires me ill,
    afar or anear,
    alone or in a multitude.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise

Christ in the heart
  of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth
  of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye
  that sees me,
Christ in the ear
  that hears me.

I arise today through a mighty strength,
  the invocation of the Trinity,
through a belief in the Threeness,
through confession of the Oneness
  of the Creator of creation.

May this inclusive God everywhere, Christ everywhere, Trinity everywhere prayer be an encouragement as we seek to lean ever more fully on our God in this coming year.

Bible Prayer | The Lord's Prayer

The prayer commonly known as The Lord's Prayer is a beautiful gift from Jesus to us. When examined closely, we find it to be stunningly simple and powerfully deep at the same time.

This prayer provides a great opportunity for us to pray together. But which version? Do we base our prayer on Matthew 6:9-13 or Luke 11:2-4? And once we decide that, which translation do we use? Or do we go with the traditional phrasing? Even then we have to ask which one? Debts? Trespasses?

We've chosen to pray this day one of the versions that has found widespread use in the church today, that recaptures the simplicity of Jesus' words given to us. This version of the prayer begins with the familiar cadence of "art" and "hallowed" but then moves to English as we normally speak it. Just as Jesus' words were in everyday language. (Perhaps we should even pray the first two lines as Our Father in heaven, holy is Your name!)

Our Father, who art in heaven,
  hallowed be Your name.

May Your kingdom come,
  and Your will be done,
  on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins
  as we forgive those
  who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation,
  but deliver us from evil;
For Yours are the kingdom
  and the power and the glory
  forever and ever.

Amen.

Prayer for the Proclaimed Word (December 20)

The words of the prayer before today's message:

Mighty God,
  the shepherds of old were full
    of your praises,
  saying that all that they had
    heard and seen
  was mirrored by what they had
    been told.

Move among us now with your Holy Spirit,
  that we too might hear and experience
  the wonder and joy of the living Word
  as we seek to welcome the written Word
    into our lives.

Amen.

A prayer for this day and all days.

Prayer for the Proclaimed Word (December 13)

The words of the prayer before today's mesage:

God of the universe,
  revealed to us in Holy Scripture
  through the writings of the prophets
    and the preaching of John the Baptist,
  you have called us to prepare our hearts
    for your visitation.

Ready us now to hear your Word
  and to respond as faithful servants,
  to the glory of Christ.

Amen.

May they be just as appropriate as we come to the Word throughout this coming week.

Prayer for the Proclaimed Word (December 6)

Here are the words from the prayer before today's message:

Creator God,
  you remind us that the darkness
    of ignorance and doubt
  cannot overcome
    your life-giving Word.

May your Holy Spirit,
  who first inspired these
    words of Scripture,
  shine our light and
    once again awaken us
  to the hearing and living
    of this radiant truth.

In Jesus' name,
  Amen.

May they bless you as you approach the Word throughout this week.

O Holy Spirit

Preceding our spoken Prayer for the Proclaimed Word throughout Advent, we will be lifting up a sung prayer with O Holy Spirit. These simple words get to the heart of our need to listen to God, but more importantly to our need for help in being able to listen.

O Holy Spirit, teach us to listen
O Holy Spirit, teach us to listen

Descend on us, descend on us,
  descend on us, Holy Spirit

By Cory DeAngelo. (C) 1994 by marksofchrist.com publishing.

This song has special meaning for me, for it was written by Cory DeAngelo, one of the original worship team members (once we started having worship teams) at Naperville Presbyterian back in the 90's. It brings me great joy to have brought this song back.

If you'd like a recording, you can find it on Songs that Surround Me by Marks of Christ (Cory's current worship group out in Pennsylvania) available at CDBaby.com.

Prayer for the Proclaimed Word (November 29)

Throughout this Advent season, as we continue to reflect on The Coming Word and before Chris comes to proclaim the Word in his message, we will be praying during our Sunday services that the Holy Spirit would open the text and our hearts, that the Word might dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16). Here is our prayer from this past Sunday:

God of love and power,
  You are revealed to us in Your Word,
  in accounts of prophecy and fulfillment
  that direct our attention to Jesus Christ.

Illumine us now as we hear Your Word proclaimed,
  that we may open our heart to Him,
  yearn for His coming in glory,
  and serve Him with joy.

Amen.

It may be that these words of prayer, with but little adaptation, could be used as we approach our regular reading of God's Word.