Prayer Links for Advent Narrative Lectionary Dec. 3rd

Feel free to use/edit. Credit to the original author (i.e. based on prayer written by XXX) appreciated.

Dec 3rd 2017 Prayer Resource Created by Rev. Johanna  Rehbaum 

Daniel 3:1, 8-30 and John 18:36-37

CALL TO WORSHIP from Psalm 40

I waited patiently for the Lord;
 he inclined to me and heard my cry. 
He put a new song in my mouth,
   a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord. 
Happy are those who make the Lord their trust,
   who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods. 

PRAYER AND CONFESSION

We wait in hope for a God who enters the fiery furnace of the unstable places of our world, who enters the world’s darkness, who enters into our sin. Let us prepare to meet God, but entering into a time of prayer and confession…

Silence for reflection: when has your trust in God faltered this week? When have you put your trust in false promises?

God of the Fiery Furnace, Have mercy on us. We confess that when our feet are to the flames of life’s demands, our response is too often to turn our attention away from you and away from our neighbor. We put our trust in other gods, other idols, that offer false promises of relief. We seek consolation from quick fixes, and not from a relationship with you. Forgive us, God, for the times we have turned inward instead of toward you, and help us to trust in you and walk in your will and ways.

Assurance of Pardon:

Comfort, O comfort my people,

says your God. God is with us in the fiery furnaces of life.

In ☩ Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven

and all things are made new.

Amen.

LIGHTING OF THE WREATH

Despite the shadows of this world, we dare to hope. As we light this candle, we gave thanks to God that even when we are overcome with sin and doubt, God’s light promises to scatter the darkness.

Light Advent wreath.

Let us pray… Come, Lord Jesus,

Come and upset our carefully guarded routine, our carefully ordered structure.

Come crashing in
, making yourself heard in the cacophony.

Come tiptoeing in
, making us sit up and take notice.

Surprise us with all the ways you are present for us.

Bring calm and reassurance
 that your love never falters
 and that your spirit never leaves us.

Come, Lord Jesus,
 be known in our imperfect lives today and by your presence, cleanse and renew us
 with your unpredictable spirit today.
 Amen.

(adapted from Spill the Beans)

OPENING SONG: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O Branch of Jesse, free

Your own from Satan’s tyranny;

From depths of hell your people save,

And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O Dayspring, come and cheer;

O Sun of justice, now draw near

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death’s dark shadow put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to you, O Israel.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

God of fiery flames,

Even the most raging fire could not destroy your servants when they called upon you in faith. Give us faith to withstand anything that rages to deter us from following you.

Amen

(by Kimberly Leetch)

Author: katyandtheword

Pastor Katy has enjoyed ministry at New Covenant since 2010, where the church has solidified its community focus. Prior to that she studied both Theology and Christian Formation at Princeton Theological Seminary. She also served as an Assistant Chaplain at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital and as the Christian Educational Coordinator at Bethany Presbyterian at Bloomfield, NJ. She is an writer and is published in Enfleshed, Sermonsuite, Presbyterian's today and Outlook. She writes prayers, liturgy, poems and public theology and is pursuing her doctorate in ministry in Creative Write and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She enjoys working within and connecting to the community, is known to laugh a lot during service, and tells as many stories as possible. Pastor Katy loves reading Science Fiction and Fantasy, theater, arts and crafts, music, playing with children and sunshine, and continues to try to be as (w)holistically Christian as possible. "Publisher after publisher turned down A Wrinkle in Time," L'Engle wrote, "because it deals overtly with the problem of evil, and it was too difficult for children, and was it a children's or an adult's book, anyhow?" The next year it won the prestigious John Newbery Medal. Tolkien states in the foreword to The Lord of the Rings that he disliked allegories and that the story was not one.[66] Instead he preferred what he termed "applicability", the freedom of the reader to interpret the work in the light of his or her own life and times. View all posts by katyandtheword