Year A ADVENT 1
Isaiah 2.1–5; Psalm 122; Romans 13.11–14;
Matthew 24.36–44 Keep awake, therefore, for you
do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
Call to worship based on Isaiah 2.1–5
This call is read by the two halves of the congregation
responding to each other:
In the place where swords become ploughshares,
we meet you, our God.
In the place where spears become pruning-hooks,
we meet you, our God.
In the place where conflict turns to peace,
we meet you, our God.
In the place where prejudice turns to love,
we meet you, our God.
In the place where darkness is filled up with light,
we meet you, our God.
In the place where longing turns to expectation,
we meet you, our God.
A prayer of confession
You ask us, patient God,
to be awake and ready,
but we are sleepy and habit-bound people who prefer
to do what we’ve always done.
Yet we long for you,
thirsty for the light of your goodness.
Forgive our unwillingness to welcome you,
our fear of seeing the shabbiness of our lives in the
light of your holiness
and our readiness to blame others for our own
shortcomings.
Wake us up, gently or urgently, according to our
need, to see your face, and to rise and serve you,
in the name of the baby born in Bethlehem.
Amen.
A prayer for all ages for Advent Sunday
Light a candle in our world, O God,
Thumbs-up symbol and wiggle thumb
let it brighten our faces
Hands at side of faces and wiggle fingers
that we may tell this world
Hands moving away from mouth
the time is arriving
Point to watch on wrist
when you will put on flesh
Mime putting on a coat
and walk among us.
Draw a circle in front of you with both index fingers
Amen.
A prayer for children
Dear God,
In Advent time we are waiting.
We are waiting for the weeks to pass.
We are waiting to play our parts in the school play.
We are waiting to celebrate with our families and
friends.
We are waiting to share presents with each other.
But most of all we are waiting for you.
Help us not to forget that we are waiting to celebrate
Jesus’ birth.
Amen.
A prayer activity
Give everyone a candle. Explain that the wilderness
is a place on the edge, where people are far from
community. Many people are involuntary wilderness
dwellers. Ask the group to think of where the
wilderness places are and who finds themselves
there. As people light their candles, ask them to say:
‘I pray for…’ to which all respond:
For …………, God, be a candle in the wilderness.
A prayer of intercession
In the places in this world where there is greatest
need:
Let there be light.
Where there is war, destitution, hunger, thirst and little
medical care:
Let there be light.
Where there is anger at injustice and inequality;
where there is hopelessness about the future;
where there is violence on the streets and in homes:
Let there be light.
Where there is loneliness;
at home, in prisons, in hospitals:
Let there be light.
Where there is meaninglessness;
where people long to live the life of the Spirit but don’t
know how to begin;
where there is disillusion and despair:
Let there be light.
In the life of our church,
in the hearts of our people,
in our own eyes as we meet with others:
Let there be light.
And let it blaze and grow until the whole world is filled
with peace:
Let there be light.
Amen.
A responsive prayer
If you want to hear the good news of Christmas,
come on out into the wilderness.
See the man dressed in camel’s hair,
hear him calling, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of God
has come near!’
If you want to be transformed at Christmas,
taste his recipe of honesty and truthfulness,
bear fruit worthy of repentance
and be touched by the tenderness of God.
Amen.
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Year B EASTER 5
Acts 8.26–40; Psalm 22.25–31; 1 John 4.7–21;
John 15.1–8 Jesus said, ‘I am the vine, you are the
branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear
much fruit.’
Call to worship
God is the Creator.
We are the created.
Let us abide in the Creator.
Jesus is the Vine.
We are the branches.
Let us abide in the Vine.
A pruning prayer
The Spirit can live in us.
We can live in the Spirit.
Let us abide in the Spirit.
Our God is a Trinitarian God,
abiding in relationship.
We too, shall abide in the Trinity.
A prayer of confession
God, forgive us when we isolate ourselves from you
and one another. Withering away through our clinging
to dead tradition, or stunted because we are afraid of
new growth.
Give us the joy that comes from knowing the words of
Christ dwelling in us and shaping our lives.
Give us the joy that comes from a delight in diversity
and the recognition of the gifts of others.
Give us the joy that bears fruit in love and community,
so that the world may see us as disciples of Christ.
Amen.
A prayer of intercession
My Father is glorified in this, that you bear much fruit
and become my disciples.
Father, we thank you for this community and our
friends; help us to work together so that all flourish
together and your name is made known.
Lord, you are the vine,
and we are the branches.
We pray for all who support others:
the leaders of nations and communities,
those who care and those who educate,
those who serve and those who construct,
those who farm and trade.
Lord, you are the vine,
and we are the branches.
We pray for those who may feel like the pruned
branches:
those who feel unwanted and unloved,
those who feel themselves to be a burden,
those who feel bullied or left out.
Lord, you are the vine,
and we are the branches.
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A ROOTS resource We pray for new shoots,
released into life through the pruning of old branches:
for babies and children,
for those moving to new lives and new ventures,
those passing on from the journey of this life to new
life eternal.
Lord, you are the vine,
and we are the branches.
Hear our prayer, draw near and help us.
Amen.
prayer & prayer activities For the times when I’ve not been fruitful,
Lord, cut away the dead wood.
For the times when I’ve not helped others to grow,
Lord, cut away the dead wood.
For the times when I’ve clung on to my weakness,
Lord, cut away the dead wood.
For the times I’ve separated myself from you,
Lord, cut away the dead wood.
Amen.
A prayer activity
Draw a large plug with three pins, marked, Thank
You, Sorry and Please. Ask the children to write or
draw something they want to say thank you or sorry
for, or someone or something they want to pray for.
Remind the children that prayer is one way of keeping
plugged in and connected to God.
A prayer for all ages together
You are the vine.
We are the branches.
Keep us connected to you.
We want to hear what God is saying.
Like a phone connected to a phone line,
keep us connected to you.
We want to have power to do good for God.
Like a vacuum cleaner connected to a socket,
keep us connected to you.
We want our lives to be beautiful for God.
Like a flower connected to its stem,
keep us connected to you.
We want love, peace, joy and patience to grow in us.
Like grapes growing on a vine,
keep us connected to you.
You are the vine.
We are the branches.
Keep us connected to you.
Amen.
A sending out prayer
God abides in us and we abide in God. So as we go
forth from this place, may our God of goodness and
nurture, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, stay with us and
we stay with him, now and always.
Amen.
© ROOTS for Churches Limited
28/03/2013 14:03