Proper 25
Worship
Lectionary Worship Aids
Series VI, Cycle A
Words Of Assurance
May the Father surround you with loving kindness, bathing your soul and body in mercy, and restoring you to wholeness and peace. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer
Our Father, in some ways it has been a good week for us. Some of us have accomplished our work, have been loved by our family and supported by our friends, have escaped dangers, and enjoyed a measure of well-being. In other ways it has been difficult for us. Some of us have suffered financial setbacks, or have been involved in personal disputes, or have become emotionally tired or physically weak. We need this time together, and we need this sense of your special presence. We ask that our strength will be renewed, our vision will be restored, and we will once again bask in the peace of your presence.
We know, Father, that you have given us many opportunities to be of real help to people, and all too often we have allowed these opportunities to sift through our fingers. We sensed that someone wanted to talk about a serious problem, but we kept the conversation on a superficial level. We knew that someone needed our companionship, but we felt we couldn't afford the time. We didn't want to get involved. We thought only of our own convenience and our own welfare. Forgive us, Father, for our complacency and our coldness, and help us to embody the loving concern of Jesus Christ.
Realizing that we are sometimes negative in our thinking and critical in our opinions of others, we ask that you will heal our attitudes. Help us to greet each new day with anticipation, expecting the best. Remind us to try to understand others before condemning or criticizing them. Help us to be sensitive to the feelings of others, and not to look down on them because they have different likes and dislikes than we have. Help us to be open to suggestion and correction. May others detect in us the quiet hope of Christian confidence, and may they see in us a reflection of the compassion of Jesus Christ.
We ask these things in Christ's name. Amen.
Benediction
May the Lord walk before you to guide you, hover over you to protect you, and live within you to strengthen you; and the blessing of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be yours. Amen.
May the Father surround you with loving kindness, bathing your soul and body in mercy, and restoring you to wholeness and peace. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer
Our Father, in some ways it has been a good week for us. Some of us have accomplished our work, have been loved by our family and supported by our friends, have escaped dangers, and enjoyed a measure of well-being. In other ways it has been difficult for us. Some of us have suffered financial setbacks, or have been involved in personal disputes, or have become emotionally tired or physically weak. We need this time together, and we need this sense of your special presence. We ask that our strength will be renewed, our vision will be restored, and we will once again bask in the peace of your presence.
We know, Father, that you have given us many opportunities to be of real help to people, and all too often we have allowed these opportunities to sift through our fingers. We sensed that someone wanted to talk about a serious problem, but we kept the conversation on a superficial level. We knew that someone needed our companionship, but we felt we couldn't afford the time. We didn't want to get involved. We thought only of our own convenience and our own welfare. Forgive us, Father, for our complacency and our coldness, and help us to embody the loving concern of Jesus Christ.
Realizing that we are sometimes negative in our thinking and critical in our opinions of others, we ask that you will heal our attitudes. Help us to greet each new day with anticipation, expecting the best. Remind us to try to understand others before condemning or criticizing them. Help us to be sensitive to the feelings of others, and not to look down on them because they have different likes and dislikes than we have. Help us to be open to suggestion and correction. May others detect in us the quiet hope of Christian confidence, and may they see in us a reflection of the compassion of Jesus Christ.
We ask these things in Christ's name. Amen.
Benediction
May the Lord walk before you to guide you, hover over you to protect you, and live within you to strengthen you; and the blessing of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be yours. Amen.
