God, the action of this offering
is a public sign of our allegiance to you:
we proclaim you ruler of our lives,
of our families,
of our finances.
of our future.
We give you thanks for all you have given us,
and all we have the privilege to give.
Use these gifts for the work of your church,
we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
God, make us truly faithful; body and soul.
Faithful to your love, your trust in us;
sticking close to you through thick and thin.
Faithful to those dear to us,
putting their needs first.
Faithful to our partners, if we have them,
loving their flesh as our own.
Faithful to the stranger,
honouring their humanity.
Faithful to the hungry and hurting,
sharing food and comfort.
We confess our unfaithfulness:
our mercies are new every day, God.
When I could hardly catch my breath,
fear clenching my stomach,
and every horizon dark,
you were there for me.
Whether I stood on the precipice
of grief and pain, or loneliness and despair:
you heard me calling.
My prayers not echoing in empty chambers,
not ricocheting into nothingness;
Ever-faithful God,
we long to be faithful givers,
modelling ourselves on you
who gives everything to us.
May your Spirit of abundance,
which gives more than we ask or imagine,
grace these gifts for your kingdom
in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for
the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
We come to worship faithfully, God–
we’re here again this morning.
We come faithfully,
but there’s a part of all of us that doubts, that wonders,
“Are you really there?
are you really listening?
can we really trust you?”
We live in a world where we can’t live without you.
This morning, give us an assurance of what we cannot always see,
a conviction of hope in your presence and your power.
We want to be faith-filled,
confident in your abiding and unfailing love for us. Amen.
Before the offering:
We don’t always know how much money we have,
or how much we will need;
in precarious economic times we are tempted
to hoard our money for ourselves.
In this offering we have the opportunity to show our faith,
that our God will supply all our needs.
Let’s collect our offering
After the offering:
We walk by faith,
we live by faith,…
Glorious God, we come together as your people.
We come as a praising people, singing your goodness;
we come as a hungry people, longing to be fed;
we come as a praying people, bringing our needs, our joys;
we come as a journeying people, looking for direction.
In this hour of worship,
empower us for faithful living.
We pray this in the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, Amen.
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
Get regular resource updates and special announcements!
