OPENING
PRAYER
God
of hope, in a world of despair,
we
open ourselves to your presence.
God
who saves, in a world of threat,
we
pray for protection of those who are the most vulnerable.
God
of presence, in our time together,
reveal
yourself to us, remind us that hope and the Kingdom will yet prevail
over despair and oppression.
We
pray in the name of the baby who birth we await,
Jesus
of Nazareth, the promised Saviour,
who
taught his friends to pray saying...
LORD'S
PRAYER
PRAYER
FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God,
we live in a world with many voices telling us how to live.
And
if we are honest, sometimes following a different path is hard.
God
who calls us to follow the Way of love and life,
we
know that sometimes we take the path of “go along” because it is
easier.
God
who calls us to be bold, to see visions, to proclaim your word of
hope,
give
us the grace and courage we need.
God
of grace, pour your grace upon us.
On
our fear and on our courage, on our hope and on our despair.
...time
of silence...
Lions
come in many shapes and sizes, and live in many types of dens. God
may lead us into the valley of fear. But God is there with us, ready
to lead us from fear to courage, from hope to despair. Through God’s
grace:
We
are not alone! Thanks be to God! Amen.
COMMISSIONING:
People
of Hope! Go into the world!
We
go to share God’s vision of Hope and promise with the
world
People
of Hope! Go into the world!
We
go remembering that God is with us, that we are not alone.
People
of Hope! Go into the world!
We
go knowing that the Hope of the World will soon be born
We
go to prepare for His birth.
Jesus,
the one who saves.
And
as we wait,
we
WILL have hope.
Thank you for sharing your gift!
ReplyDelete