Isaiah 55 – katyandtheword

Call to Worship:

God we are thirsty for you.

Come Holy Spirit, fill us up.

God we long for peace

Come Christ, we long for your Peace.

God we are ready.

Come let us spend some time with God today.

Jesus we are here longing for you

Prayer of Confession: God we are thirsty for your presence, because we know when we get it our purpose will become clear, and our need to pursue and accumulate anything and everything will disappear, and we will finally, finally be at peace. But God, we confess, we are not at peace yet, we continue to thirst for more, we continue long for all that we do not yet possess. Forgive us, and help us to see the feast you set before us and to be satisfied, we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Christ’s mercy is from everlasting to everlasting, we are already forgiven. Let us glory in the good news; In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of Dedication/Day: God you are enough. Let us remember and dedicate ourselves to you today and everyday we pray. Amen.

Hymns: See Advent Candle Suggestions

Children

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A broad number of prayers from a variety of pastors/denominations. All variations of theology and kinds of prayers were accepted to show the vast richness of God’s work.

These prayers are meant for personal spiritual practice or for congregations who follow the narrative lectionary.

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

Dec 17^th, 2017 Prayer Resource Created by Rev. Dr. Marilyn Pagán-Banks

Isaiah 55:1-13 and John 4:13-14

Call to Worship from Psalm 126

One Voice: Beloved, as we gather on this third Sunday of Advent, let us recall with gladness the God who has kept us thus far.

ALL: We gather with mouths filled with laughter, and we lift our voices with shouts of joy. Even through our tears and our struggles in these times, we rejoice for we know that we are never alone. Today, we can boldly declare in all circumstances that the Lord has done great things for us. Our joyful praise belongs to God. Alleluia and amen.

Call to Confession

Too often we lose sight of what is important and what is good for our souls—our bodies even! We spend our resources, our time and our energy on things that are not life-affirming or joy-inspiring—and sometimes we even fill up on things that cause harm to us, others and our planet.

Let us take a moment and reflect on the things we need to let go of? those places in our lives we need God to restore? Let us confess our sins, not out of guilt but with a desire to have our joy made complete in God. Let us pray in silence…

(Moment of Silent Prayer)

Prayer of Assurance

Sisters, brothers, siblings—God desires to be in right relationship with each and every one of us. Just as God forgave David and promised God’s steadfast love to him—so it is for us. Let us with joyful hearts turn back to God and as the prophet Isaiah declares “be led back in peace.” Having claimed this peace for ourselves, let us now share the sign of peace with one another.

Lighting of the Advent Candle

One Voice: Today we light the 3^rd Advent Candle—the candle which represents joy.

ALL: In the lighting of this candle—we invoke God’s joy into this holy season, which can be painful and lonely for so many. We declare God’s joy in these times when the world is filled with hardness and hate. We believe that God’s promise of joy is everlasting and burns boldly within each and every one of us. Like the light of this flame, today we let our joy shine for all the world to see! Amen.

Dec 3rd by Rev. Johanna Rehbaum

Dec 10th by Rev. Mike Williams

Dec. 24th Christmas Morning by Rev. Kate Johnson Martin

Dec 24th Christmas Eve by Rev. Lee Ann Higgins