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Sermon: Prayer: Unity In the Church
Sermon notes
A.C.T.S. In Praying
Adoration – Speaking the truth about who God is
Confession – Speaking the truth about who we are
Thanksgiving – Speaking the truth about what God has done
Supplication – Speaking the truth about the needs in our world
Application
In Acts 1:14, after Luke writes “[They] were all united in their devotion to prayer,” Luke immediately adds, “along with some women.”
Women were often excluded and marginalized in that culture. Scripture reminds us that God works to break down dividing walls that humans have erected.
Prayer gives us the opportunity to participate with God in the task of breaking down barriers of injustice, exclusion, and division.
The more people participate with the things God is doing in our world, the greater unity we see among people.
A Selection of Prayers from Today's Service
Prayers Calling Us to Worship
We give you hearty thanks for the rest of the past night and for the gift of a new day, with its opportunities of pleasing you. Grant that we may so pass its hours in the perfect freedom of your service, that at eventide we may again give thanks unto you. Amen. (United Methodist Hymnal, p. 676)
O lord, we come this morning knee-bowed and body-bent before thy throne of grace. O Lord – this morning – bow our hearts beneath our knees, and our knees in some lonesome valley. We come this morning like empty pitchers to a full fountain, with no merits of our own. O Lord, open a window of heaven, and lean out far over the battlements of glory and listen this morning. Amen (UMH p. 677)
Almighty and everlasting God, you have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us with your mighty power, and grant that this day we may fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, ordered by your governance, may be always righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (United Methodist Hymnal, p. 681)
Unison Prayer
You who are over us,
You who are one of us,
You who are also within us,
May all see you - in me also.
May I prepare the way for you
May I thank you for all
that shall fall to my lot.
May I also not forget the needs of others.
Give me a pure heart-that I may see you.
A humble heart-that I may hear you,
A heart of love-that I may serve you,
A heart of faith-that I may abide in you. Amen. (Dag Hammarskjøld)
Before Hymn
Glorious God, source of joy and righteousness, enable us as redeemed and forgiven children evermore to rejoice in singing your praises. Grant that what we sing with our lips we may believe in our hearts, and what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives; so that being doers of the word and not hearers only, we may receive everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Fred Gealy, United Methodist Hymnal, page 69)
Children’s Prayers
God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. By his hands we are fed. Give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen.
Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to take. If I should live for other days, I pray thee, Lord, to guide my ways. Amen.
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.
God in heaven hear my prayer,
keep me in thy loving care.
Be my guide in all I do,
Bless all those who love me too.
Amen.
Prayers of the People
Almighty God, you sent your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to suffer death on the cross. Grant that we may share in his obedience to your will and in the glorious victory of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen. (UMH, p. 281)
Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart. Here is the citadel of all my desiring, where my hopes are born and all the deep resolutions of my spirit take wings. In this center, my fears are nourished, and all my hates are nurtured. Here my loves are cherished, and all the deep hungers of my spirit are honored without quivering and without shock. In my heart, above all else, let love and integrity envelop me until my love is perfected and the last vestige of my desiring is no longer in conflict with thy Spirit. Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart. Amen. (Howard Thurman, UMH, p. 401)
O God, keep our country under your protection. Wipe out sin from this land; lift it up from the depth of sorrow, O Lord, our shining light. Save us from deep grief and misfortune, Lord of all nations. Bless us with your wisdom, so that the poor may not be oppressed and the rich may not be oppressors. Make this a nation having no ruler except God, a nation having no authority but that of Love. Amen
(Toyohiko Kagawa, Japan, UMH, p. 429)
Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee. (St. Augustine, UMH, p. 423)
O Lord, open my eyes that I may see the needs of others; open my ears that I may hear their cries; open my heart so that they need not be without succor; let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong, nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich. Show me where love and hope and faith are needed, and use me to bring them to those places. And so open my eyes and my ears that I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for thee. Amen. (Alan Paton, South Africa, UMH, p. 456)
Govern all by thy wisdom, O Lord, so that my soul may always be serving thee as thou doest will, and not as I may choose. Do not punish me, I beseech thee, by granting that which I wish or ask, if it offend thy love, which would always live in me. Let me die to myself, that I may serve thee; let me live to thee, who in thyself art the true life. Amen. (Teresa of Avila, UMH, p. 403)
God of compassion, source of life and health: strengthen and relieve your servants: [name the people on our prayer list] and give your power of healing to those who minister to their needs, that those for whom our prayers are offered may find help in weakness and have confidence in your loving care; through him who healed the sick and is the physician of our souls, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (UMH, p. 457)
Stewardship Prayers
Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous;
teach me to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to seek reward,
except that of knowing that I do your will. Amen. (St. Ignatius Loyola)
Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more. (St. Ignatius of Loyola)
Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve; to give and not count the cost; to fight and not heed the wounds; to toil and not seek for rest; to labor and not ask for reward, except that of knowing that we do your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Ignatius of Loyola, 16th century, UMH, p. 570)
Prayer of Dedication For Offering
Make us worthy, Lord, to serve those throughout the world who live and die in poverty or hunger. Give them, through our hands, this day their daily bread; and by our understanding love, give peace and joy. Amen.
(Mother Teresa, UMH, p. 446)
Prepare to Hear God’s Word
O Lord Jesus Christ, open the eyes of my heart that I may hear your Word, and understand and do your will, for I am a sojourner upon the Earth.
Hide not your commandments from me, but open my eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of your Law. Speak unto me the hidden and secret things of your wisdom. On you do I set my hope, O my God, that you shall enlighten my mind and understanding with the light of your knowledge; not only to cherish those things which are written, but to do them; For you are the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness, and from you comes every good deed and every gift. Amen. (John Chrysostom)
Come, my Light, and illumine my darkness. Come, my Life, and revive me from death. Come, my Physician, and heal my wounds. Come, Flame of divine Love, and burn up the thorns of my sins, kindling my heart with the flame of thy love. Come, my King, sit upon the throne of my heart and reign there. For thou alone art my King and Lord. Amen. (Dimitri, Russia, 17th century, UMH, p. 466)
Open wide the windows of our spirits, O Lord, and fill us full of light; open wide the door of our hearts, that we may receive and entertain thee with all our powers and love. Amen. (Christina G. Rossetti, UMH, p. 477)
From the cowardice that dares not face the truth, from the laziness that is contented with half-truth, from the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth, Good Lord, deliver us. Amen. (Prayer from Kenya, UMH, p. 597)
Benediction
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy
O Divine Master, grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled as to console
To be understood, as to understand
To be loved, as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
And it's in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it's in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen. (St. Francis of Assisi, UMH, p. 481)
Sermon notes
A.C.T.S. In Praying
Adoration – Speaking the truth about who God is
Confession – Speaking the truth about who we are
Thanksgiving – Speaking the truth about what God has done
Supplication – Speaking the truth about the needs in our world
Application
In Acts 1:14, after Luke writes “[They] were all united in their devotion to prayer,” Luke immediately adds, “along with some women.”
Women were often excluded and marginalized in that culture. Scripture reminds us that God works to break down dividing walls that humans have erected.
Prayer gives us the opportunity to participate with God in the task of breaking down barriers of injustice, exclusion, and division.
The more people participate with the things God is doing in our world, the greater unity we see among people.
A Selection of Prayers from Today's Service
Prayers Calling Us to Worship
We give you hearty thanks for the rest of the past night and for the gift of a new day, with its opportunities of pleasing you. Grant that we may so pass its hours in the perfect freedom of your service, that at eventide we may again give thanks unto you. Amen. (United Methodist Hymnal, p. 676)
O lord, we come this morning knee-bowed and body-bent before thy throne of grace. O Lord – this morning – bow our hearts beneath our knees, and our knees in some lonesome valley. We come this morning like empty pitchers to a full fountain, with no merits of our own. O Lord, open a window of heaven, and lean out far over the battlements of glory and listen this morning. Amen (UMH p. 677)
Almighty and everlasting God, you have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us with your mighty power, and grant that this day we may fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, ordered by your governance, may be always righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (United Methodist Hymnal, p. 681)
Unison Prayer
You who are over us,
You who are one of us,
You who are also within us,
May all see you - in me also.
May I prepare the way for you
May I thank you for all
that shall fall to my lot.
May I also not forget the needs of others.
Give me a pure heart-that I may see you.
A humble heart-that I may hear you,
A heart of love-that I may serve you,
A heart of faith-that I may abide in you. Amen. (Dag Hammarskjøld)
Before Hymn
Glorious God, source of joy and righteousness, enable us as redeemed and forgiven children evermore to rejoice in singing your praises. Grant that what we sing with our lips we may believe in our hearts, and what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives; so that being doers of the word and not hearers only, we may receive everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Fred Gealy, United Methodist Hymnal, page 69)
Children’s Prayers
God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. By his hands we are fed. Give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen.
Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to take. If I should live for other days, I pray thee, Lord, to guide my ways. Amen.
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.
God in heaven hear my prayer,
keep me in thy loving care.
Be my guide in all I do,
Bless all those who love me too.
Amen.
Prayers of the People
Almighty God, you sent your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to suffer death on the cross. Grant that we may share in his obedience to your will and in the glorious victory of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen. (UMH, p. 281)
Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart. Here is the citadel of all my desiring, where my hopes are born and all the deep resolutions of my spirit take wings. In this center, my fears are nourished, and all my hates are nurtured. Here my loves are cherished, and all the deep hungers of my spirit are honored without quivering and without shock. In my heart, above all else, let love and integrity envelop me until my love is perfected and the last vestige of my desiring is no longer in conflict with thy Spirit. Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart. Amen. (Howard Thurman, UMH, p. 401)
O God, keep our country under your protection. Wipe out sin from this land; lift it up from the depth of sorrow, O Lord, our shining light. Save us from deep grief and misfortune, Lord of all nations. Bless us with your wisdom, so that the poor may not be oppressed and the rich may not be oppressors. Make this a nation having no ruler except God, a nation having no authority but that of Love. Amen
(Toyohiko Kagawa, Japan, UMH, p. 429)
Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee. (St. Augustine, UMH, p. 423)
O Lord, open my eyes that I may see the needs of others; open my ears that I may hear their cries; open my heart so that they need not be without succor; let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong, nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich. Show me where love and hope and faith are needed, and use me to bring them to those places. And so open my eyes and my ears that I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for thee. Amen. (Alan Paton, South Africa, UMH, p. 456)
Govern all by thy wisdom, O Lord, so that my soul may always be serving thee as thou doest will, and not as I may choose. Do not punish me, I beseech thee, by granting that which I wish or ask, if it offend thy love, which would always live in me. Let me die to myself, that I may serve thee; let me live to thee, who in thyself art the true life. Amen. (Teresa of Avila, UMH, p. 403)
God of compassion, source of life and health: strengthen and relieve your servants: [name the people on our prayer list] and give your power of healing to those who minister to their needs, that those for whom our prayers are offered may find help in weakness and have confidence in your loving care; through him who healed the sick and is the physician of our souls, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (UMH, p. 457)
Stewardship Prayers
Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous;
teach me to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to seek reward,
except that of knowing that I do your will. Amen. (St. Ignatius Loyola)
Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more. (St. Ignatius of Loyola)
Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve; to give and not count the cost; to fight and not heed the wounds; to toil and not seek for rest; to labor and not ask for reward, except that of knowing that we do your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Ignatius of Loyola, 16th century, UMH, p. 570)
Prayer of Dedication For Offering
Make us worthy, Lord, to serve those throughout the world who live and die in poverty or hunger. Give them, through our hands, this day their daily bread; and by our understanding love, give peace and joy. Amen.
(Mother Teresa, UMH, p. 446)
Prepare to Hear God’s Word
O Lord Jesus Christ, open the eyes of my heart that I may hear your Word, and understand and do your will, for I am a sojourner upon the Earth.
Hide not your commandments from me, but open my eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of your Law. Speak unto me the hidden and secret things of your wisdom. On you do I set my hope, O my God, that you shall enlighten my mind and understanding with the light of your knowledge; not only to cherish those things which are written, but to do them; For you are the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness, and from you comes every good deed and every gift. Amen. (John Chrysostom)
Come, my Light, and illumine my darkness. Come, my Life, and revive me from death. Come, my Physician, and heal my wounds. Come, Flame of divine Love, and burn up the thorns of my sins, kindling my heart with the flame of thy love. Come, my King, sit upon the throne of my heart and reign there. For thou alone art my King and Lord. Amen. (Dimitri, Russia, 17th century, UMH, p. 466)
Open wide the windows of our spirits, O Lord, and fill us full of light; open wide the door of our hearts, that we may receive and entertain thee with all our powers and love. Amen. (Christina G. Rossetti, UMH, p. 477)
From the cowardice that dares not face the truth, from the laziness that is contented with half-truth, from the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth, Good Lord, deliver us. Amen. (Prayer from Kenya, UMH, p. 597)
Benediction
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy
O Divine Master, grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled as to console
To be understood, as to understand
To be loved, as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
And it's in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it's in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen. (St. Francis of Assisi, UMH, p. 481)
