Beacons to the Lost

Sam Suddarth

 

Call to Worship

Leader: We come to this holy place to worship you, O Lord.

People: Come into our presence.

Leader: We come to worship you, our God and Savior.

People: Come into our presence.

Leader: We come offering ourselves as your servants.

People: Come into our presence.

Leader: We come with the abilities you have given us to use in your service.

People: Come into our presence.

 Call to Confession

Isaiah 30:18 says “Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.”

We come to confess our shortcomings and ask the Lord to hear our prayers.

Prayer of Confession

Holy God, we come confessing that we often fail to yield to your calls to service.

Many times by omission we have not served others as you have called us.

It is too easy not to serve when we encounter barriers.

We often fail because we do not try.

We often fail because we are too busy with our own desires.

Forgive us Lord and remove all obstacles that hinder us. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

”He is merciful and tender toward those who don’t deserve it; he is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love.  He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever. He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins, for his mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west.”

—Psalm 103:8-12 (Living Bible)

Prayer for Illumination

Lord your light is hidden from us by the demands of family, work, friends, hobbies, and other things that take up time that we could spend in prayer and meditation. We ask that you allow the light of your word and your calling to shine in and through us in this dark world. We pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us to the light, fill us with your presence that we may be beacons to the lost. We know that your word is the lamp to guide our feet, and the light to lead us on the path you have laid before us. Help us not to stumble, not to leave the lighted path, so that our service will be a sweet fragrance before your throne today, tomorrow, and forever. Amen and Amen.

Prayers of the People

We come to thank you Lord for past, present, and future blessings. You have opened the windows of heaven and poured your anointing upon us, and we don’t have the words to say thanks. Let the Holy Spirit take our words as we pray and translate them into the heavenly language so that our praise and supplications may be heard before your throne.

• We pray for the people of our great country, for the country is the people. We pray for our leaders, may they humble themselves before you and govern according to your will.
• We pray for those in the militaries around the world, keep them safe and take them back to their own countries and loved ones.
• We pray for those who are suffering from illness and accidents; comfort, heal, and strengthen them.
• We pray for all those displaced by war, famine, and poverty; give them hope of better lives to come.
• We pray for those who have lost loved ones; may they be comforted and given strength to carry on. Lift them on your shoulders and carry them through the hurt.
• We pray blessings on all who give their lives to Christian service; locally, nationwide, and world missionaries. Give them great portions of your Holy Spirit so they can finish the path you have laid before them.
• Bless pastors, elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, youth workers, ushers, choir members and song leaders, and all others who strive to do your will.

We pray that you will lead, guide and direct us as we use the gifts you give us to further your kingdom. We pray in the holy name of Christ Amen.

Invitation to the Offering

We come to the time in worship when we give our tithes and offerings. God created all things, there is nothing in the world that God has not made. We are stewards of creation, therefore let us give as Holy God has given to us. Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!” (Living Bible)

 Prayer of Thanksgiving

Lord, this offering we lay on your altar. We know that little becomes much when we place it in your hands. So take it, multiply it, and use it according to your will and your purposes. Lord we also offer our lives, our talents and gifts to you, enhance them, grow them, use us in ways we don’t yet understand and those ways we already know. Lord, use us so that our lives and the lives of those we touch will be blessed. Amen.

Charge and Benediction

We leave this place and go out into the dark world.

What shall we do?

Shall we hide from the darkness or carry a light to show God’s way?

Shall we go boldly where God leads us?

Shall we serve ourselves or others?

Jesus said “go and I shall be with you always, even to the end of all things.”

Let us go then, and share and serve.

 

Isaiah said, “Woe is me for I am undone”, but he still answered “Here am I, send me.”

God says to us also: Will you go for me?

We are the hands and feet of God.

Let us go and serve. Amen.

^{Greyson Joralemon on Unsplash}