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Fire of the Holy Spirit, light the lamps of our hearts. Shine with the light of your Truth, that as we read your scriptures, we see your love flowing through everyone we meet. Amen.
God of love and justice, you are alpha and omega, beginning and end…and in between you are the breath of life, the rock on which we stand and the hand that holds us fast. We come into this place, gathered as your people, listening for the voice of your Spirit, still speaking in the wilderness of our hearts. We know your commandments, we can say all the right words…and yet we confess to you that our lives are not always a demonstration of your love. We have looked for loopholes, or created reasons to follow our own way. We admit that we have trusted in other gods—gods of money, security, family, or power. We are on a first name basis with the gods of greed and jealousy, and we are loathe to turn away from the god of privilege. Our everyday actions often proclaim any number of idols, and we come now to ask your forgiveness and help. We cannot leave them behind without your strong hand to guide us in the right way. Give us once again the joy of your grace, and set us on the sure foundation of your word. It is in you, lord, that we live and move and have our being. As you forgive so freely, fill us again with the blessing of creator, redeemer, and sustainer, that we may show your glory in every word, thought, and deed. We pray in the name of Christ, whose faithfulness is our hope and our light, and who taught us to pray together…
Submitted by Rev Teri Peterson, Marchmont St Giles parish, Edinburgh Scotland
Lord, you are our guiding light. But when your world grows dim, when tragedy strikes, we confess that we tend to retreat from faith. We may lose our way, our vision clouded by anger or gloom. We fall back to our former ways because we may not know any other way to respond. Help us in our confusion. By your Holy Spirit, gird us with your holy strength to hold fast to what you have always taught us. So that, as the world may seem to fall apart around us, we stand strong, one Church, Your People, faithfully facing the darkness together, lit from within by your wisdom and hope. ~silence~ Amen.
Submitted by Rev. Amy Pospichal, First Presbyterian Tucumcari, New Mexico
Beloved God, your hopes for us can seem far removed. How can we work for a better tomorrow when today is so difficult? How can it be that people so different from us can also be your children? You call us to serve each other in love, and we instead demand service from others. You call us heirs to your Kingdom of peace, and we act like spoiled children, throwing tantrums when we don’t get our way. Help us to see your way before us – and call us back to right relationship with you and each other. Amen.
Family of God – hear this good news: God’s mercy is boundless, and God’s love is beyond all understanding. God has already forgiven you, and is calling on you again to serve each other, to build the Kingdom, and to celebrate your ties with one another.
Praise be to God! Amen.
Submitted by Rev. Lucus Levy Keppel, Trinity Presbyterian Church in Bixby, Okla.
Child of God, you are welcome here.
We gather with our siblings, sustained by the faith of Christ.
Child of God, you are called.
Our hope is in God’s light, working together to build the Kingdom of Heaven.
Child of God, you are loved.
May God’s love always fill us to overflowing, sustaining our Spirits. Amen.
Submitted by Rev. Lucus Levy Keppel, Trinity Presbyterian Church in Bixby, Okla.
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