Thursday, September 22, 2005
Preparing to Pray 9/23/05
God be gracious to us and bless us
and make your face to shine upon us.
That your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God.
Let all the people praise you. Amen.
The worship service designed for Sept. 25 by CICW begins with the above opening prayer from Psalm 67.
News Articles for Prayer This Week
This week in worship, we remember:
- communities along the Texas Coast preparing for the landfall of Hurricane Rita
- worshiping communities along the Gulf Coast—such as Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church, Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral, and others in New Orleans—who remain displaced or disrupted by Hurricane Katrina
- Christians in Indonesia, where 35 house churches have been shut down and three Sunday School teachers have been unjustly imprisoned, according to an Indonesian contact writing to Calvin Theological Seminary, who pointed to this article on church closures and this article on the imprisoned Sunday School teachers.
- those affected by violence this week in Thailand, and those now threatened by further violence there
- Protestant and Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ in Northern Ireland, where religious riots erupted this week
- American Jewish and Christian leaders on a joint trip to the Middle East this week to improve interfaith relations.
Themes for Prayer and Worship This Week
- “Jesus Calls Us,” from CICW
- “Prayer for Those Who Proclaim,” from the Christian Reformed Church:
Therefore, praying for a clear proclamation of God’s Word means praying also for those who are preparing to stand in the pulpit or to preach on the mission field. We must pray not only for those already in the ministry but also for those who are in training for the ministry. And our specific petition before God, must be for a clear proclamation of the gospel, through all forms of preparation for the ministry.
- Paul’s First Missionary Journey: Acts 13 (Calvin College Healthy Habits: Apostle Paul Pedometer Challenge)
This prayer can accompany the devotional reading for Week 1(PDF) from the Healthy Habits site:
Lord, send us in your Spirit as you sent your apostles Paul and Barnabas, with the commandment: “I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles.”
As we worship this week, may we have what our reading calls “a more palpable sense of the true power of the Holy Spirit,” and with discerning eyes, see society as “fertile ground for the healing, reconciling power of the Holy Spirit.”
- Lectionary Gospel Text: Matthew 21:23-32, from the Center for Excellence in Preaching; Revised Common Lectionary resources from textweek.com
Pondering the Purpose of Worship
In addition to our prayers in preparation for worship, we ponder the purpose of worship. This week, we reflect on these words of wisdom about worship as we gather.
Because God, and therefore the worship of God, cannot be reduced to the rational, song has always been basic to the act of worship. Music is not added to the words to make them more pleasing; it is integral to the way the words are being used as openings to the transcendent, as windows to the mystery, as joining in the dance of the Trinity.
-Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places
Last week: Preparing to Pray 9/16/05
More Resources for Preparing to Pray
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