Wednesday, November 16, 2016

For November 27, 2016 -- 1st Sunday of Advent

OPENING PRAYER
God of hope, in a world of despair,
we open ourselves to your presence.
God who saves, in a world of threat,
we pray for protection of those who are the most vulnerable.
God of presence, in our time together,
reveal yourself to us, remind us that hope and the Kingdom will yet prevail over despair and oppression.
We pray in the name of the baby who birth we await,
Jesus of Nazareth, the promised Saviour,
who taught his friends to pray saying...
LORD'S PRAYER

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God, we live in a world with many voices telling us how to live.
And if we are honest, sometimes following a different path is hard.
God who calls us to follow the Way of love and life,
we know that sometimes we take the path of “go along” because it is easier.
God who calls us to be bold, to see visions, to proclaim your word of hope,
give us the grace and courage we need.
God of grace, pour your grace upon us.
On our fear and on our courage, on our hope and on our despair.
...time of silence...
Lions come in many shapes and sizes, and live in many types of dens. God may lead us into the valley of fear. But God is there with us, ready to lead us from fear to courage, from hope to despair. Through God’s grace:
We are not alone! Thanks be to God! Amen.

COMMISSIONING:
People of Hope! Go into the world!
We go to share God’s vision of Hope and promise with the world
People of Hope! Go into the world!
We go remembering that God is with us, that we are not alone.
People of Hope! Go into the world!
We go knowing that the Hope of the World will soon be born
We go to prepare for His birth.
Jesus, the one who saves.
And as we wait,
we WILL have hope.

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