Psalm 51:10-14, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, John 7:24

October 24, 2021
Narrative Lectionary, Year 4, Week 7
Psalm 51:10-14, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, John 7:24

Opening Prayer
Lord who spoke through the prophets:
  we come peaceably
  we come to sacrifice
  we come seeking the Lord’s anointed
  we come wanting to see as you see
May the Spirit of the Living God be present among us as we worship, in peace and see the love of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.
Amen

Prayer of Preparation
God of our salvation,
  cleanse our hearts
  renew our spirits
  let us be joyful
as my tongue sings aloud of your righteousness.
Amen

Offering Prayer
Lord God:
David knew rightly that no sacrifice would cleanse him of his sins.  Only a repentant heart would restore his soul in your eyes.  You could see that his heart was in the right place after his repentance, just as it was when you first called him.  May our gifts be given with the right attitude of our hearts.  The attitude that is not doing this to make us right in your eyes, but the attitude that we are already right in your eyes and this is a response.
Amen.

Intercessory Prayer
Lord who sees our inner self:
Because you can see into the hearts of men, you know that we are full of pain and suffering.  Allow each of us gathered here to see as you see.  Let us see this pain so that we can have empathy and begin to know how to respond.  We lift up before you now, in the silence of our hearts, the pains that we have each carried in with us…  But we also lift up to you the pain that we know others are dealing with as they suffer through death and grief, illness and injury, depression and anxiety, persecution and discrimination, abuse and addiction, joblessness and homelessness, adultery and divorce, and so many more.  We lift up before you now, in the silence of our hearts, the pains of others that we are aware of…  we pray to you in the name of Jesus Christ who knew pain on our behalf as we pray his prayer.
Our Father… Amen.

Benediction
May your spirit be renewed this week
May your joy be restored this week
May your tongue sing of God’s righteousness this week
In Father, Son, and Spirit, may it be so
AMEN