Eternal God, from whom flows all the goodness of our world, the hope we have for better days, the courage we possess to challenge the lies and speak the truth … and your daily grace, our daily bread, dear God, to see us through.
Eternal God, in your wisdom, we find our intelligence …
In your love, we find our direction ..
In your mercy, doors are opened, pathways cleared …
In your goodness, O God, we find ourselves, what it means to be human, created in your image, commissioned to care for your earth, called to follow your Christ.
Eternal God, we offer ourselves to you … lest we offer ourselves to the lesser gods of the day, the whims and fancies of the marketplace … the latest promise of salvation …
Save us, we pray, from these lesser gods, that we might remain in Christ, clear of mind and heart.
By your Holy Spirit, teach us the way of Christ … the way of compassion and mercy … hope and peace … grant to us, we pray, fresh courage, to face the demands of our age … to endure the pitfalls of life, to walk bravely through the valley of the shadow of death, for thou art with us … the eternal companion, in whom we find our future … that we are your, in body and soul, in life and in death, now and forevermore.
We pray this day for the flashpoints of our world … the war in Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan, fresh fighting in Sudan … we pray for politicians and leaders, for women and men of good conscience, who choose the pathways of virtue, faithful to the highest ambitions of heaven and earth - human dignity, freedom, safety, and welcome.
We pray, dear God, for loved ones and friends, those in need, some in grief, searching for their way … grant to them all, we pray, the kindness of your Holy Spirit, the assurance of Christ, the comfort of many friends, and the strength of wise mentors.
We pray now for Westminster, dear God - a place of worship, mission, and peace … we give thanks for everyone here today … for all who join us via YouTube … for all who’ve been here in the past, for all who shall take our place one day, the great company of saints, the church of Jesus Christ, a voice of hope in a clamoring world.
In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
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