Prayers for Sunday January 21, 2001
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Invocation or Call to Worship

Holy One, You have spoken to Your people across the ages. As we open the pages of the Scriptures, and as we listen for Your voice, be present and speak. Open our hearts and ears so that we can hear what You would have us hear. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

Merciful Lord, We confess that we often do not read the Bible as we should. We confess we like to escape into television. We find the time to read only the headlines and never Your word. O Lord, let us escape not into the unreal world of TV but in the comforting real world of Your Word. Instill in us a longing to discover what You have spoken. Let us see that Your promises are being fulfilled in our own lives. We ask this in the name of our gracious Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication

Bountiful God, we thank you for all your many blessings. We come to thank You for sharing Your thoughts with us in Your words to us. One of Your wishes for us is that we share the talents and resources that You have endowed us with, so that we might move forward in the way that You are leading us. Empower us to do so. Amen.

Pastoral Prayer

O Lord, help us to respond to You in ways that fill our lives and the lives of others. We thank You for the many different gifts that exist among Your people. We thank You for teachers and missionaries. We thank You for doctors and nurses and all who devote themselves to healing. And we thank You as well for those who live out their faith in ways that often goes unnoticed: those who send a heart-felt note to a shut-in; those who stop by the hospital to offer a friendly smile; and those who, in the seclusion of their own homes, offer their fervent prayers on behalf of those who are hurting. Remind us each day of the talents that you have given us, and show us how we might use them for the building up of Your Kingdom.

Empower us to announce Your good news to all people. Enable us to bring words of hope to those who are oppressed. And lead us to announce to all the wonderful words you have given us. We lift these prayers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.