Prayers for Sunday December 17, 2000
Third Sunday of Advent

Invocation or Call to Worship (Adapted from Isaiah 12:2-6)

Leader: God is our salvation, in God I will trust and not be afraid.
People: Sing praises to the LORD, for God has done glorious things.
Leader: Shout, and sing for joy, for in your midst is the Holy One.

Prayer of Confession

O God it is so easy to criticize at every turn. We find ourselves hiding behind the armour of our skepticism. We meet an old friend and without even half a thought, we remind our selves of their faults and weaknesses so we can feel better about ourselves. When it comes to other people's ideas and dreams we find ourselves playing the character of "Dr. No." We are so busy finding a problem or a better solution we tune out the their enthusiasm and insights.

In an age when everything should be effortless and immediate we have no time. There are things in our lives that need to be examined not with the eyes of skepticism but with the eyes of faith. Please Lord clear away the mist of doubt and skepticism and give us the clear heroic vision of faith. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication

Through these gifts may others feel the promise and joy of the faith given to us by Jesus Christ. May these gifts increase the vision of this congregation and may it add weight and substance to the promises first seen in the life and vision of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Pastoral Prayer

Dear Lord, we ask for just a few minutes to live in a time when there are no more front page headlines full of scary and frightening news. We ask for a quick look into a time when we no longer live in a time of uncertainty and doubt. We ask You, Our God, to help us glimpse a future when there is no need of juries and judges of arguments and compromise.

Our thoughts are full of worry about ourselves and others. We worry about our future and those of our children and family. We worry about our friends and what is going to happen to them. Dear Lord, help us to imagine days not filled with anxiety and worry but the sure knowledge that things are not only alright now, but will always be alright. Help us imagine a future, an eternal future, full of hopes fulfilled and promises kept. Amen.