Archive - Page 30 of 72 - Leading in Worship

Dark Imaginings

October 27, 2018

ight time brings with it
a host of fearful thoughts crowding;
sickness striking and life changing forever,
debts looming and bills that can’t get paid,
governments floundering and security teetering,
nature hurling storms and earthquakes everywhere,
humankind falling, evil actions blighting all that’s good.
Scrolling the news in my cozy bed,
I rehearse this night time litany too many times to count,
adding it all up, building a tower of catastrophe,
and I pace its floors obsessively.
But then the moonlight touches my cheek,
recalling me to life

A Prayer for Muddlers

June 27, 2018

Hear our prayer for muddlers everywhere.
People with good intentions doing the wrong thing, diligently.
Seekers heading in the wrong direction, energetically.
Helpers choosing the wrong methods, heartily.
Do-gooders rushing in to make a difference,
not realizing that the difference they are making
is not in a positive direction.
It’s so easy to see this in others;
give us insight into our own missteps,
our own misguided blunderings.
We aren’t setting out to do harm,
and we truly want to help,
help our unhelpfulness.
Give us ears to hear the voices of victims,

Constant Calling Congregational Prayer

April 4, 2018

Great God:
Thank you for the constant call we hear from you every day.
The wind whispering around our ears,
the birds singing to us from the trees,
rain pinging on the window,
the good earth inviting our steps.
We hear that call again and again,
through kind hands and warm hearts around us.
Open our ears to your call,
which is as expansive as the world,
and as particular as a poor man walking a dusty road
to a cross on Calvary.
Like him, help us to love, not just in word, but in deed:
love for our neighbours who are hard to love,

Watching Divorce Happen

April 2, 2018

What God has joined together now lies in pieces.
What began with delight and tenderness,
reeks now with bitterness and festering pain.
What began with soft words of love,
grates now with harsh words of blaming.
Jesus, we look for you
as we stand near this relationship’s slow crucifixion.
Each says to the other, “Why have you forsaken me?”
As we stand on this barren Golgotha
we are desperate to repair this relationship,
which is not in our power to fix.
We urgently want to end this bleeding,

Great Provider Offering Prayer

April 2, 2018

You are the Great Provider,
the Giver of all gifts;
your love the only true currency.
Thank you for putting money into our hands,
and so we freely offer it back to you,
for use in your service.
We do this in the name of Jesus, Amen.

People of Peace Communion Service

March 29, 2018

We come to the Lord’s supper together
as children of our one God.
Jesus makes the guest list, not us.
Our family, chosen by God,
is gathered from west and east,
and includes everyone,
even the lowest and the least.
Jesus, when he was resurrected from the dead,
revealed himself to his disciples
in the breaking of bread around a table.
May we see the face of God today as we come to the Lord’s Supper.

Living for Jesus Communion Service

March 29, 2018

Let’s pray together:
God of grace, we give you thanks for this bread,
and your son Jesus Christ who came to save us.
The love of Jesus shines through the years,
his death on the cross, his broken body
has become the bread of life which sustains us.
As we eat this bread,
remind us that we are part of his body,
living for him, giving for him. Amen.
My brothers and sisters……..The body of Christ, broken for you. [eat the bread]

“It is the Lord” Congregational Prayer

March 29, 2018

God, thank you for the dawn that comes every morning,
even after our darkest nights.
We give you thanks for life resurrecting from the death of winter.
For birds singing their spring songs in the dark before the dawn;
for the ice on rivers, shattered,
for the first green spikes of spring poking up through the melting earth,
for the smell of spring air fresh when we open the door,
for the sun’s rays on our face, warming us.
For every sign of spring, we give you thanks!

We give you thanks for your son Jesus Christ,
for his sacrifice for us, for his teaching.
Help us to grasp resurrection; to understand its power,

Easter Morning Call to Worship

March 29, 2018

Early in the morning we come to you, God,
with gratefulness and wonder,
and with awe at your power to save us.
This morning we want to follow the women to the tomb.
We want to hear the surprising words, “He is not here!”
We want to kneel before Christ with joy and thankfulness.
And we want to leave here bursting with good tidings of great joy
which shall be for all people.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

About Carol Penner

I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.

I love to write and to lead worship! If you are finding my writing helpful, I would love to hear from you! Feel free to use or adapt the material here, it is all written by me. If printing material, please credit “Copyright Carol Penner www.leadinginworship.com” (and say whether you modified it). If publishing, please contact me for permission. Contact me at carol@leadinginworship.com

Dark Imaginings

A Prayer for Muddlers

Constant Calling Congregational Prayer

Watching Divorce Happen

Great Provider Offering Prayer

People of Peace Communion Service

Living for Jesus Communion Service

“It is the Lord” Congregational Prayer

Easter Morning Call to Worship

About Carol Penner

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