Prayer Service
Light and peace in Jesus Christ!
Thanks be to God!
“ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)
Alleluia!!
THANKSGIVING FOR LIGHT
Blessed are you, Holy God! When you said: “Let there be light” there was light and it was good. When your people fled from oppression, You led them with a pillar of fire. In Jesus Christ, your light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it. Blessed are you, God of light! Shine in our lives with the light of Christ that we might give you praise through him who lives and reigns with you and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.
Glory be. . .
Isaiah 43
But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine.
When you pass through the water, I will be with you; in the rivers you shall not drown. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned; the flames shall not consume you.
For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in return for you. Because you are precious in my eyes and glorious, and because I love you, . . .
You are my witnesses, says the LORD, my servants whom I have chosen
To know and believe in me and understand that it is I. Before me no god was formed, and after me there shall be none. It is I, I the LORD; there is no savior but me.
Yes, from eternity I am He; There is none who can deliver from my hand: who can countermand what I do?
Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
New Year Canticle:
In praying the Te Deum we join with the universal Church in thanking God for all the blessings of this past year 2012 and in dedicating to God all we are and all we do in 2013.
You are God (Te Deum laudamus)
You are God: we praise you; You are the Lord; we acclaim you; You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
"Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory."
The glorious company of apostles praise you. The noble fellowship of prophets praise you. The white-robed army of martyrs praise you. Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you; Father, of majesty unbounded, your true and only Son, worthy of all worship, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal Son of the Father. When you became man to set us free you did not shun the Virgin's womb. You overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. You are seated at God's right hand in glory. We believe that you will come and be our judge. Come then, Lord, and help your people, bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.
PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING AND INTERCESSIONS
Everlasting Lord, we are grateful and hushed by the mystery of existence as we stand on the threshold of a new year. We marvel in your love and gracious purpose woven into the fabric of our days.
With confidence born of your faithfulness we offer our hopes and prayers: for ourselves and all most dear to us . . . (pause)
for the world, its peoples and its leaders . . . (pause)
for the mission and faithfulness of the Church here and everywhere . . . (pause).
At this blessed time we also pray for. . .
Concluding Prayer:
Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings, with your most gracious favor, and further us with your continual help, that in all our works, begun, continued, and ended in you, we may glorify your holy name, and finally, by your mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray:
THE LORD’S PRAYER
FINAL PRAISE (Jude 24-25)
Now to the One who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forevermore.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God!
