Thanksgiving for our Church
Let us thank
God whom we worship here in the beauty of holiness.
Eternal
God, the heaven of heavens cannot contain you, much less the walls of
temples made with hands. Graciously
receive our thanks for the place we worship you, and accept the work of
our hands, offered to your honor and glory.
We
thank you, Lord for the Church universal, of which our visible building is
the symbol.
We
thank you, Lord, for your presence whenever two or three have gathered
together in you Name.
We
thank you, Lord, for a place where we may be still and know that you are
God.
We
thank you, Lord, for making us your children by adoption and grace, and
refreshing us day by day with the bread of life.
We
thank you, Lord, for the knowledge of you will and the grace to perform
it.
We
thank you, Lord, for the fulfilling of our desires and petitions as you
see best for us.
We
thank you, Lord, for the pardon of our sins, which restores us to the
company of your faithful people.
We
thank you, Lord, for the blessing our vows and the crowning of our years
with your goodness.
We
thank you, Lord, for the faith of those who have gone before us and for
our encouragement by their perseverance.
We
thank you, Lord, for the fellowship of all your Saints.
Yours,
O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the
majesty; for everything in heaven and on earth is yours.
Yours,
O Lord, is the kingdom; and you are exalted as head over all.
Amen
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Prayer for the Church
Gracious
Father, we pray for your holy universal Church.
Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace.
Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it;
where in any thing it is amiss, reform it.
Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for
it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son
our Savior.
Almighty
and everlasting God, from whom comes every good and perfect gift:
Send down upon our Ministers, Elders and Deacons, and on all of
your faithful Servants the healthful Spirit of your grace; and, that they
may truly please you, pour upon them the continual dew of your blessing.
Grant this, O Lord, for the honor of our Advocate and Mediator,
Jesus Christ.
O
God, whom saints and angels delight to worship in heaven, be
ever present with your servants who seek through music to perfect the
praises offered by your people on earth; and grant to them even now
glimpses of your beauty, and make them worthy at length to behold it
unveiled for evermore; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Almighty
and ever living God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth,
hear our prayers for your local Church.
Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the
penitent. Grant us all things
necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and
mind within hour holy Church, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
O
God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of
Peace, give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great
dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and
prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord;
that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling,
one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may
be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and
peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify
you, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
(And
for those who will come into the Church)
O
God of all the nations of the earth, remember the multitudes
who have been created in your image but have not known the redeeming work
of our Savior Jesus Christ; and grant that by the prayers and labors of
your holy Church, they may be brought to know and worship you as you have
been revealed in your Son; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Ever
living God, whose will it is that all the elect should come to
you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire
our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the
hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and forever. AMEN!
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