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Call to Worship (from Psalm 8)

L: O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
P: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;
L: what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
P: Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
All: O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

 

Opening Prayer

Creative God, you make all things new in heaven and on earth.
We come to you at the dawn of a new year with new desires and old fears, new decisions and old controversies, new dreams and old weaknesses.

Because you are the God of hope, we know that you create all the possibilities of the future.  Because you are a God of Love, we know that you accept all the mistakes of the past.

Because you are the God of our faith, we enter your gates with thanksgiving and praise, we come into your presence with gladness and a joyful noise, and we serve and bless you.   Amen.

 

 

Prayer of Petition for Epiphany Sunday

Encouraged by the radiant light of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ, let us pray with boldness and confidence, saying: "Hear us, O God, and show us your glory."

For all who are on a journey to find the source of grace and forgiveness, that like the magi they may be led to Christ and freely offer him their gifts, let us pray to the Lord:

Hear us, O God, and show us your glory.

For the mission of the church that, like the holy star of Bethlehem, we may be a beacon of hope, safety, and love for all who are seeking your face, let us pray to the Lord:

Hear us, O God, and show us your glory.

For the people of the world, that the poor and needy be sustained and victims of violence and oppression be restored, let us pray to the Lord:

Hear us, O God, and show us your glory.

For those who bear the burden of illness and long for healing, that their health may be renewed, and that they may see God's holy light in our compassion and love, let us pray to the Lord:

Hear us, O God, and show us your glory.

For the people of this congregation, that we may continue to be fed by God's Spirit and may lay the offerings of our lives before the one born to save us, let us pray to the Lord:

Hear us, O God, and show us your glory.

In thanksgiving for all those who bore Christ's light, revealing his glory, and who now rest in God's eternal peace, that we may follow their course until the day we stand with them as one holy people, let us pray to the Lord:

Hear us, O God, and show us your glory.

Into your hands, great God of heaven, we lay our prayers, trusting in your mercy through the one who showed us your face, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen

 

Litany for Epiphany in time of Disaster

Oh God, the wise men sought you because of a star, We don’t know why they looked for you What they expected What they needed.

We seek you because of our need, In times of despair and turmoil, When parents are burying their children in mass graves, When loved ones are lost in a sea of bodies, When the terror of nature captures us.

We seek you out – look for you in the stars, Expecting calm from the storm, Knowing only you can give us the peace we need, Trusting the sadness will lighten someday, Hoping fully in your promise of eternal life.

Send more light God, Send it in the form of workers to help in disasters, Send it in the form of people who will pray, Send it in the form of money to bury the dead and clear up the debris. Send it in the form of hugs and sympathy and passion. Let your light pierce us and move us. Amen.

 

 

A New Year's Day Prayer of Thankfulness

by Ralph I. Tilley

O God, my heavenly Father, it is with great gratitude that I, Your unworthy child, surveys the countless tender mercies You have showered upon me this past year. How can I ever adequately express my heart-felt thanks for Your bountiful care?

Because of Your sovereign, steadfast love I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus my Lord.

You have sustained me in adversity.
You have comforted me in trials.
You have offered Your gracious hand when I stumbled.
You have encouraged my spirit when I was downcast.

You have been my ever-present Friend, Strength, Rock, Refuge, Defender, Advocate and Helper.

As I look to the coming year, I do so with an unwavering trust in You and Your promises. Whatever Your sovereign providence has planned for me in the days ahead, I am assured of Your infinite goodness, love and wisdom.

In the name of Christ my Lord I offer this prayer. Amen.

 

New Year's Prayer of Petition
W.R.Hunt

Dear Lord, in this new year please give us . . .

. . A few friends who understand us and yet remain our friends.
. . A work which has real value, without which the world would feel the poorer.
. . A mind unafraid to travel the journey ahead of us, even though the trail be not blazed. .
. . An understanding heart and a sense of humor.
. . Time for quiet, silent meditations and a sense of your assuring presence.
. . And the patience to wait for the coming of these things, with the wisdom to know them when they come.

 

New Year's Prayer for Clarity of Vision
Barry in OH

O God beyond every calendar, and every season under the Sun, how foolish we can be with our obsessions and fixations on time, its courses, vagaries, and purposes.

Speak to us with power and wisdom from your secret dwelling beyond time, which has a door in every heart, and a window in every soul. Help us see with utter clarity how you are at work in our lives, through our lives, with our lives, giving birth to the fullness of time and the goodness of creation.

Give us strength and courage to follow Christ Jesus, all the time, for the sake of our time, until the end of our time. Amen

 

New Year's Prayer for God's Help
by F. Schaefer

Almighty and gracious God, we ask that each one of us may receive new strength and vision this year to serve you better. Let us be drawn closer to you; enable us to follow in Jesus's footsteps.

Protect us from discouragement, from deception, from contention, and from weariness. Make us wise in the use of our time, and show us when to say "yes" to and when to say "no". Help us not to become so busy doing the worldly tasks that we forget to seek your presence for ourselves.

We will give You honor, glory, and praise in Christ's holy name in this year and forevermore! Amen.

 

Canticle of Light and Darkness

We look for light but find darkness,
For brightness, but walk in gloom.

We grope like those who have no eyes;
We stumble at noon as in the twilight.

Blessed be your name, O God, for ever.
You reveal deep and mysterious things;
You are light and in you is no darkness.

Our darkness is passing away
and already the true light is shining.

 

Closing Prayer (in unison)
Wesleyan Covenant Prayer

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt,
rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low by thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

 

Closing Prayer

Almighty and gracious God, we ask that each one of us may receive new strength and vision this year to serve you better. Let each one of us be drawn closer to you and help us follow in Jesus's footsteps.

Please protect us from discouragement, from deception, from contention, and from weariness. Make us wise in the use of our time, and show us what to say "yes" to and when to say "no". Help us not to become so busy doing the worldly tasks that we forget to seek your presence for ourselves.

We will give You honor, glory, and praise in Christ's holy name in this year and forevermore! Amen.