Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of October 18, 2023
Rev. Rick Isbell
O good and gracious God in whom we move and have our being, we come before you this morning with great thanksgiving for all your blessings in our lives. We give thanks for the love of our family and friends. We give thanks for the wonder and beauty of your creation with its richness of colors in this fall season. We give thanks for the ministry and witness of this congregation within and beyond its walls to those who need to hear, feel and see the love God in their lives. Thank you God for the many ways you come to us in the busyness of our lives. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
But most of all we give thanks for the gift of your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ who came into the world to show us how to live, what’s most important, and how we should treat our neighbor. And he died on a cross to save all humanity from their sins. But he did not stay on the cross and he did not stay in the grave. For He rose to conquer sin, death and darkness forever. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
O, triune God, we humbly ask that your Holy Spirit stir our lives in a way that will enable us to share your love in new and creative ways. Tune our hearts that we might do your will even when it is difficult and inconvenient. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
O, God of all nations, this morning we see the horror and feel the pain of the Israeli and Palestinian people. In a time of war, we pray for families who have lost loved ones tragically. We see the mass destruction and loss of human lives and cannot imagine what persons are going through in the Middle East. As we sit in our pews we pray for justice, peace, healing, and reconciliation in a time of great unrest. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
As we pray for those at war, we also pray for our own nation and community. We pray for understanding, honesty, justice and love between those who differ with one another. Help us to be unselfish in our own desires in order to hear and understand the hearts of our sisters and brothers. We pray for those in our own congregation who are going through difficult times in their health, relationships or jobs.
We offer prayers for ….
- A father’s member who is in ICU far away from family and friends
- A member’s husband whose cancer has returned
- The innocent and frightened people in Gaza and all over the world who live with violence
- President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu; for safety of world leaders as they meet; for Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
- A young woman who has lost her job and is seeking employment
- Members who are undergoing tests and facing new regimens of medications
- A sister who is caregiver for her husband and who is also looking for a job
- Families who are attending funerals and graveside services this week.
- A woman who is feeling threatened at work
- A grandmother having knee replacement surgery
- Third graders who learned of a classmate’s death over fall break
- Older elementary students who are facing complex issues at school
- A college student who is struggling under a heavy load; financial concerns
- A grandchild who is with family out of the country and is ill.
- A friend waiting on test results
- A member adjusting to new home at an independent living facility
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for ….
- A church member who feels well enough travel after cancer treatments
- Friends who were traveling in Europe who have arrived home safely.
- The group from First Baptist Church (Knoxville) who has returned from trip to Holy Land
- God’s Holy Spirit and grace who relieves us from guilt
- Living near the Smoky Mountains and how beautiful they are! Thanks be to God!
- Congregational Care volunteers who visit in nursing homes
As One who knows our thoughts and desires before we speak them, we lift these our prayers and petitions in the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord who taught us to pray……
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
