2 Timothy

2 Timothy 1

Dear Father God,
we keep turning to you because of the promise of life that we have in Christ Jesus. We claim this promise for ourselves, and we pray that you will give us a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline as we proclaim the gospel.

This grace of the gospel in Christ Jesus You set apart before the ages began, and now you have revealed it to us in the appearing of the Savior Jesus Christ.

We believe that through the cross, Jesus abolished death and brought life and immortality to light for us all.

We thank you, Father in heaven, for teaching and persuading us that we may put our trust in you. You are able to guard until that great day what we have committed to him.

Until Jesus comes, help us hold to the standard of sound teaching,
and to guard the good treasure entrusted to us,
with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

Hear us, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

2 Timothy 2

Dear encouraging God,

you give ample reason for all your servant to persevere in their work of teaching  the gospel, the unchained good news, so that all your elect may obtain the salvation that comes from  Jesus Christ.

Father God, we trust that since we have died with Christ, we shall also live with him.

We trust that if we endure, we will also reign with him;

but we know that if we deny him, he will also deny us;

and wonder of wonders, even if we are unfaithful, you will remain faithful, because you cannot deny yourself.

May all of us, your servants, pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, together with all our brothers and sisters who call on the Lord Jesus with a pure heart.

We ask you to hear our prayer in the name of Jesus, the door to God’s heart.

2 Timothy 3

Father God, your servants often warn about distressing times ahead–
Jesus gave these warnings, and so does the writer of this letter.

We hear of an uncanny list of evil doers, uncanny because this list fits our age so well too. Sound the alarm in our hearts, too, and make us swift to avoid evil-doers.

God, it is unpleasant to hear it, but we are forewarned that persecution is a real possibility in our time for us, and now it actually takes place for many who are persecuted and killed, right now.

Prepare us, support and encourage persecuted brothers and sisters. May we be strong enough in faith to hold on to the sound teaching of your Spirit-given Word, for it instructs us for salvation through our faith in Christ Jesus.

In his name we pray.

2 Timothy 4

Dear Father God,
we recognize that in our times it is as urgently necessary to preach the gospel as it has ever been. Help us to do so in good times and difficult times, to convince, to encourage, to rebuke, whether people will listen or not.

So help us to endure until we finish our journey.

Make us courageous to fight the good fight, to finish the race, and keep the faith.

We will live with your promised future ever in mind: the crown of righteousness which you Lord, the righteous judge, will give us on that great day, the day we long for, the day of his appearing.

In the meanwhile, we trust that you will rescue us from every evil attack, and keep us safe for your heavenly kingdom.

To you, Lord, be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy

1 Timothy 1

Dear teacher God,
teach us your gospel, that our training may be in divine truth that is known by faith.
Make our aim to teach love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.

Motivate us to turn from all sinful behavior,
and to pay no attention to false teachers, for they would deceive us.

God, we trust the faithful saying,
the saying that is worthy of full acceptance,
that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners,
and to give eternal life to all who believe.

And God, because your love for the world is so great,
and salvation came at such a high cost,
we acknowledge you the King of the Ages,
immortal, invisible, the only God.
We ascribe to you honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 2

Dear Listening God,
you desire that we pray to you,
not just for ourselves and friends,
but for all people, especially for all in places of authority,
so we may all live peaceable lives in godliness and dignity.

Prayers such as these are right and acceptable to you
who desire everyone to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

For You, God, are the only true God.

You have given us Jesus,
the only mediator between God and us.
Jesus, himself human,
who gave himself a ransom for all.

1 Timothy 3

Dear Father of the new household you gather in the name of Jesus,
show us how to behave ourselves in a manner that fits Your new creation, your kingdom.

When we desire to serve you in the offices of your new community,
we desire a good thing, but to do so we need to give ourselves to newness of life, a manner of conduct clearly distinct from the behavior of so many in this world.

We need to take the beams from our own eyes
before we try to take the specks from the eyes of others.

You desire to have us well-thought of by outsiders,
but to our shame we have too often disgraced your name and brought shame on Your people.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

We thank you for the coming of Jesus, your Son.
He was revealed in flesh like ours,
vindicated in Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among Gentiles,
believed in throughout the world,
and taken up in glory.

Wonderful Savior, glorious Lord!

1 Timothy 5

Dear Father God, you desire that we treat one another with dignity, respect and wisdom,
so that all of us,
men and women alike,
may be assisted to live a godly life,
to live in purity of heart,
and have all our needs met.

Show each of us how to fulfill
our functions in the community.

May we deal wisely with sinners,
so that they may be restored to a good relationship with you.

Help us to observe that our deeds, sinful or good,
will not remain hidden,
but that you will deal with us
as is right and fitting.

You will be merciful and forgiving, we trust,
because of our Savior. Amen.

1 Timothy 6

Dear Father God,
we do not always know how commands given long ago apply in our time. Therefore we urgently pray for godly wisdom to live kingdom lives in our time in accordance with the words and teaching of scripture.

Move us from envy and greed to become people who are content with godliness. We confess that we, too, can be seduced by the love of money to the point of falling away from faith.

Help us by your spirit to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Help us to fight the good fight of faith, to take hold of eternal life, to which were called and for which you created us.

Teach us to live before the face of the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality and who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.

To you be honor and eternal dominion!

Thank you for providing us with good things for our enjoyment, for doing good, to be rich in good works, generous and ready to share, thus storing up for ourselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, and to take hold of life that is life indeed.

2 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians 1

Dear Father God,
We may rest assured that your grace and peace are for each one of us.

We are so grateful that faith and love can grow even when your people endure persecution or affliction. Father, this shows us that you are continuing your just work in us.

You justly repay with affliction those who afflict your people. You give relief to the afflicted and to all of us, when Jesus is revealed as the conquering and triumphant King. He will work vengeance on those who do not know you, our God, and on those who do not obey the gospel.

We pray that you will make us worthy of your call, and fulfill by your power every good resolve and work of faith according to the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2

Dear Father, director of history, forgive us all the speculation we have done concerning times and seasons.
Our curiosity has sometimes gotten the better of us,
going far beyond what your word reveals.

Driven by our fears, we too easily pay attention to those who put their trust in people who play into the hands of evil power, so we listen to gods that are not gods.

Teach us to be content with the gospel of Your coming kingdom, and to trust Jesus, the victorious one who will expose the lawless one,
and destroy him and his works.

May we learn to be content with the assurance of sanctification we have from you, for we trust that we live under your protecting care.

Dear God, take away our fears and anxious curiosity through Jesus Christ who loves us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and hope.

Comfort and strengthen us in every good work and word.
Through Christ our Lord.

2 Thessalonians 3

Dear God,
out of love for this fallen world
you sent your Son, our Savior
to be crucified and raised for us.
Now you send us into the world.
May we be rescued from wicked and evil people.
Strengthen and keep safe
all who go out with the good news.

God, direct our hearts to your love
and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Help each of us to be industrious,
to do our assigned tasks,
to earn our own living,
and never become weary in doing what is just.

Oh God of peace,
give us your peace in all times and in all ways.

Lord God, be with us all.
The grace of our Lord be with all of us.

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 1

Self-communicating God,
as in the congregation of Thessalonica,
your Word still goes out and bears fruit
and the hearers receive it with great joy.

May all your people now be known for the work of faith,
and the labour of love and steadfastness
because of our hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We pray that your gospel may come to us, too,
not only in words,
but with power in the Holy Spirit,
and with full conviction
and Spirit-given joy.

As your chosen people
we turn to you, our God, from idols,
to you, the true and living God.

We wait for your Son to come from heaven,
for he, whom you raised from the dead
will surely come to rescue us
from the wrath that is coming.

1 Thessalonians 2

Merciful God and Father,
we repent because of the sins committed in your name,
especially we ask for forgiveness for the terrible things Christian have sometimes done to convert people to our religion.

Such violence we did not learn from you,
or your servant Paul,
who preached the gospel out of pure motives,
seeking the well-being of people who do not know the Saviour,
without ever resorting to compulsion or violence.

May we, like Paul, be able to testify
that we are gentle, and not motivated by the need for praise or by greed.

Give us the heart of a mother caring for her children,
giving even ourselves, that it may be well with the family.

Give us, we humbly pray, the joy, the crown,
of being a blessing to others.

We pray for the privilege of appearing in your presence on that great day, with a crowd of brothers and sisters,
a crowd too large to number.

1 Thessalonians 3

Shepherd of your people, we are shocked by the terrible persecutions that terrorize people in our time.
We fear that this is an unspeakable challenge to the faith of many,
and we pray that the persecuted may be strengthened and encouraged.
May terrorists and all persecutors stop their evil works.

Father, may we never be caught unprepared,
for your Word tells us that persecutions are bound to come.

Thank you for believers who remain firm in faith and love.

We pray that you will increase in us love for one another.

Our loving God,
strengthen our hearts in holiness so that we may be blameless before you, our God and Father, when Jesus comes with all his saints.

For people who are so tormented that their faith fails,
prepare a place for them, too, at your banquet table.
Hear our prayer through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

1 Thessalonians 4

Father God,
you have called us to the difficult and beautiful work of sanctification and holiness in our personal lives.
It will not do to approach you while continuing to sin.

You also call us to live in love with our brothers and sisters.
For this, help us to aspire to live quietly,
to mind our own affairs,
and to work with our hands.

May we live and behave properly towards outsiders.

Thank you for teaching us about the life that is coming, when all will be new.

Because of Christ’s work, we do not grieve as those who have no hope.
And while we do not have many answers to our questions about the future, we know that Jesus will give us eternal life.
All of us are alive in Christ, and will be with Jesus forever.

We pray that we may know how to encourage one another with the message of the gospel.

1 Thessalonians 5

Dear God of time and history,
we discover that it is futile to calculate when this age will end,
and when the new age will begin.
We will be likely be overtaken by surprise as by a thief in the night, when Jesus comes.

However, if we are watchful and alert,
we will not be overtaken by surprise, unprepared,
for we are children of light, not of darkness,
and we have been instructed concerning how to live as people prepared.

God, urge us to be sober,
to put on the breastplate of faith and love,
and for hope the helmet of salvation,
for you have destined us for salvation, not wrath.

Teach us to be a community of love,
of building each other up.
Instruct us to learn to live at peace with each other,
to admonish idlers,
to encourage the faint-hearted,
to help the weak, and be patient with them.

Show us how to be joyful and prayerful people.

May nothing we do quench the Holy Spirit.

We desire to honor the prophets, to hold fast what is good, and abstain from evil.

Faithful God, keep us faithful until Jesus comes. You can do that. Amen.

Colossians

Colossians 1

Dear father God,
By sending your Son into the world,
you brought wonderful news for everyone,
for the entire creation.

Even if in our place and time the gospel does not bring as much fruit as we would like, it has been growing and bearing good fruit in many places, and through all time.

We are joyful because the gospel brings transformation still, molding in us:
mutual love
energizing hope,
knowledge of God’s will in spiritual wisdom and understanding,
lives worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing to him,
bearing fruit.

May all your people, be made strong with all the strength that comes from your glorious power.

Help us to be patient to endure whatever pain we must bear, and joyful at the prospect of the inheritance that awaits us.

We pray in the name of the one in whom the universe hangs together, and who reconciles all things to himself through the blood of the cross.

Colossians 2

Father God,
from you all grace and peace come to us,
through Jesus Christ the Lord:
work within us continually have Christ in our hearts,
that we may be rooted and built in him,
established firmly in the faith,
and abounding in thanksgiving.

May we be completely focused on Christ’s gospel,
and never be deceived by the plausible arguments of deceivers,
by their philosophy and deceit,
by their human traditions,
nor by the elemental spirits of the universe.

You alone are the life-restoring God.
You made us alive in Christ Jesus,
forgiving our trespasses,
erasing our records that testified against us.

Thank you for the freedom we have in Christ Jesus!
We do not need to be in bondage to legalistic regulations that have no inherent value in checking our self-indulgence.

Lord, have mercy! Christ have mercy!

Colossians 3

God of our freedom,
we pray that our life-giving, resurrecting Savior will teach us how to live our new life, not by setting our minds on laws or human traditions,
but by setting our minds on the same Christ,  on things that are above.

Because of the new life we have in him,
teach and encourage us to set aside all that is earthly,
that belongs to our old self.

Thank you for a new self that is being renewed in knowledge
according to the image of the one who made us.

As your children, holy and loved, may we grow towards maturity:

may we learn to wear the clothing of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.

Prepare us to forgive quickly.

Above all, may we wear the clothing of love,

and have the peace of Christ rule in our hearts.

Teach us to use your gifts with thankful hearts.

May we live with one another, filled with the Word of Christ, teaching one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God.

May all my words and deeds be done in the name of Jesus!

Help us always to be thankful to you, our God and Father.

Colossians 4

Dear God, you will guide our pilgrimage through your servant Paul as he was reaching the end of his journey,
with gratitude we receive sensible instructions that will see us through also until our journey ends.

Encourage us to be devoted to thankful prayer.
Give us open doors for the mystery of the gospel.
Show us how to be wise to unbelievers.
May we be good stewards of our time.

Guard our tongues that our speech will always be gracious, salted, so we may know how to respond to everyone.

Gracious God, we recognize that these are sensible instructions.
There is nothing obscure about them.
However, we are slow to learn, and swift to forget, and therefore we need to be reminded frequently, daily.

We thank you for everyone who works for the coming kingdom of God.

Philippians

Philippians 1

Dear faithful God,
I pray that you will complete in me
the work you have started,
so that when Jesus returns,
I may rejoice in his appearing and presence.

While we have life,
help us to work in righteousness,
so that we may be blameless before you.

May our manner of life be worthy of the gospel,
so that our love in us may be evident to others who need to see.

Thank you for the gift of believing in Christ,
and though we do not seek to be persecuted,
or to be belittled for our faith,
help us to be prepared to suffer if need be,
for the sake of the gospel.

Through Jesus Christ,
the way, the truth and the life.

Philippians 2

Dear compassionate God,

whose son Jesus Christ did not count equality with God something to hang on to at all costs,

but emptied himself and became humble for our sake,

may we learn humility from him

so we, your children may have the same mind, the same love,

and be in full agreement and of one mind.

Work in us to will and to work for your good pleasure,

so we may be blameless and innocent,

to shine as lights in the world

and hold fast to the word of life.

Thus may we and all people live in peace,

and that we may do our daily tasks with joy.

Hear us through your son whom your people love, and wish to follow.

Philippians 3

Dear Father God,
you made the creation wonderfully well,
and you made us after your image and likeness.

The earth and we your people were not meant for destruction, not for sickness, sin and shame.

You meant for our lives to be holy, good and peaceful.
You have sent healing and restoration
through your Son Jesus, the Christ.
Through Jesus, you establish the Kingdom of God.

Through Your servant Paul we are encouraged to rejoice in the Lord.

Help us to be alert so we will not be deceived by evil-minded people who teach contrary to the gospel, for then we will fail to see the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ, through whom we have a righteousness not by works of the law, but a righteousness that comes by faith in the crucified Christ.

May we strain to attain to what lies ahead and press on toward the prize of God’s heavenly call.

Remind us, dear God, that our citizenship is in heaven, from where we expect our Savior who will transform the bodies of our humiliation to become conformed to the body of his glory.

Philippians 4

O God our refuge and rock,

make us strong, that we may be steadfast in faith and in life,

a life of joy, a life of gentle strength, prayer and supplication.

May we your people focus our thoughts on
whatever is true,
whatever is honorable,
whatever is just,
whatever is pure,
whatever is pleasing,
whatever is commendable,
whatever is excellent,
whatever is worthy of praise.

May our words and service be a fragrant offering,

a sacrifice acceptable to you.

Father, we trust that you will satisfy our needs out of Christ’s grace.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with our spirit, until he calls us home.

Ephesians

Ephesians 1

Loving, serving God, may our hearts have eyes to see the treasures you have given us in Jesus:
we were chose in him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in love.
You adopted us as your children.

We have redemption through his blood,
and the forgiveness of our trespasses.

You have made known your plan to us:
when the time is right, you will gather all things together in Christ Jesus.

We rejoice in knowing that a great inheritance awaits us:
Since we know your plan, we have hope,
and desire to live to your glory.

Thank you for the great power made available to us
in the resurrection of your son, Jesus.

Because of his finished work,
our savior has an all-surpassing authority,
authority over all creatures and over all creation,
and he share this with us, his body.

Ephesians 2

Dear God of mercy,

you declare to us who we are by nature:
dead in trespasses and sins,
captive to evil power,
disobedient,
and children of wrath.

God, we recognize that these declarations are true for us.

By Your mercy, you declare a wondrous new reality:
you are rich in mercy,
you have a great love for us,
you save us by Your grace
and you have placed us with Christ in the heavenly places.

You have created us for good works:
a new humanity,
a kingdom of peace,
members of your household,
a structure on a solid foundation,
and a temple fit for a dwelling place for God.

Blessed be God, the father of Jesus Christ,
and our father through him.

Ephesians 3

Because we have access to you, father,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
we pray that we may be strengthened in our inner being with power through the Holy Spirit,
and that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith,
as we are being rooted and grounded in love.

May every believer have the power to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth, length, height, and depths,
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
so that we may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to you, Lord, you who have the power to accomplish far more than all we can think or imagine,
to be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus,
to all generations, forever and ever.

Amen.

Ephesians 4

Today we pray for help to lead a life worthy of our calling,

with gentleness and humility.

Helps us to bear with one another in love,
to be at one with each other,
for in Jesus Christ there is only the one body, the one hope to which we are called, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism.

Help us to develop the gifts we have received for the building up of the body, so we may all become mature with each part working properly.

Help us not to live as Gentiles do who live in the futility of their minds.
May we have the sensitivity to know and do your will and not to abandon ourselves to licentiousness, greed or impurity.

Father God, we are eager to have renewed mind and to be clothed with the new self, according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

May our words and deeds bring grace to all whom we meet today.

We pray for the strength it takes to be kind, tender-hearted and swift to forgive each other.

Ephesians 5

Dear father God,
we are your beloved children,
loved even when we are rebellious and disobedient,
often engaging in sometimes deeply sinful ways.

Our calling is very high:
to be imitators of you, creator, redeemer, covenant keeper.
You desire that we walk in love
the kind of love Christ showed on the cross.
We are called to be partners with you,
not evil-doers on whom comes judgment.

As your children, we are children of light,
so that we may walk in the safety and blessing of light.

Prod us to walk carefully, as wise people,
prudent in the use of the gift of time,
to live with discernment a life of praise to you,
loving and honoring especially our partners.

Hear and answer, merciful God, through Christ our Lord.

Ephesians 6

Dear God and Father,
we need your strength
and the armour you provide us
because we are involved in life and death warfare
against all manner of spiritual enemies.

We are weak, you are strong,
so make us alert and wise
to put on the whole armour of God,
the helmet of truth
the breastplate of righteousness,
as shoes for our feet, the gospel of peace.

Help us always to wear the shield of faith,
the helmet of salvation,
the sword of the Spirit which is your Word,
and steadfastness in prayer.

Keep us alert always,
praying for all your saints,
and assist us to boldly proclaim
the mystery of the gospel.

And father God, we claim the grace promised to all who love Jesus with an incorruptible love.

Galatians

Galatians 1

Glorious, life-giving God,
Father of the risen Christ:

in Christ you have given us treasures of grace and peace.

You have set us free from this present evil age.
Saviour, this is what God willed for you to do.
To God’s glory and our eternal well-being,
you did what God sent You to do.

We recognize and confess that we have at times
turned to another Gospel that is no gospel.

We are easily fooled by charlatans, and blinded by charmers.

When we stray from your revealed truth,
turn us back, restore us by you Holy Spirit.

Galatians 2

Precious, liberating God,
we believe that the only true freedom we have
comes to us from the cross.

Forgive us when we do not trust
the freedom we have in Jesus,
for so we give room to false prophets and hypocrites.

We pray to live in you, our God,
and for Jesus to live in us.

We testify that our present life
we live by faith in Your Son
who loves us and gave himself for us.

Let nothing we say, think or believe
make the gospel null and void
so that we may live in Christ’s gift of freedom.

Thanks be to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Galatians 3

Faithful, reliable God,
in our walk through life
we act as if we know best to save ourselves,
we think we can work our way into your good grace.
However, your Word teaches clearly that you count us righteous through faith, not works of the law, as it was with Abraham whose faith was counted as righteousness, and so he was blessed.

Only those who have faith are redeemed from the curse of the law.

All who believe are in Christ Jesus, and so children of God through faith.

There is no pot of soup so precious as to make us wish to trade it
for all we have in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 4

Dear Father God,
just as we human parents embrace our children
even before they know we are there for them and love them,
so you embrace us and send your Spirit into our hearts,
so that we may be identified as your sons and daughters.

Your wondrous gift to us is this:
in the right time you sent your Son to us
born of a woman born under the law
to redeem us who were under the law,
and so we receive adoption as children.

Therefore we now have the unspeakable privilege
of calling you:  “Abba, Father.”
Now we know who you are, and who we are:
we are yours, you are ours
we are your heirs, heirs of the kingdom!

Glory to you, Triune God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5

Father of the redeemed and free,
we pray to be on guard against
any seduction that will leads us
again into a yoke of slavery.

Thanks be to you, Lord Jesus Christ,
whose Spirit helps us to eagerly await
the hope of righteousness
which motivates us to become
one another’s loving servants.

We pray that we may be like fruitful trees,
bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit:
love, joy, peace patience, kindness, generosity and self-control.

Every step of the way, guide us Holy Spirit,
into a life of humble service,
setting aside conceit, competition and envy,
for your people’s blessing,
and your glory.

Galatians 6

Dear self-giving, self-effacing God,
your work of creation and redemption
is for the good of all the people of the world:
may this be an encouragement for us
to bear one another’s burden,
to work for the good of all,
especially for those who are of the household of faith.

Remind us to sow to the Holy Spirit,
and may the day come when we see the blessing of eternal life
in the Holy Spirit.

Give us the gift of self-effacing service,
and boast of the cross of Christ, for the one thing that matters:
a New Creation!

May peace, mercy and grace be on all our brothers and sisters.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 1

Blessings, honour and praise to you,
the one true God,
the Father of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and our Father through the Christ!

You are the ever-flowing source of mercy
and you are the God of all consolation.

You have comforted us when we were afflicted,
and because we experienced this comfort,
we are able to comfort all who are in any affliction
with the consolation we received when you comforted us.

Thank you, our Father God for the sufferings of the Christ are abundant, enough for us, and our consolation is also abundant through Christ.

2  Corinthians 2

Wise and wisdom-giving God,
encourage us to obey you eagerly,
and to forgive generously
for we live in the presence of the Messiah.

Help us to see this clearly,
so that we may not be out-smarted
by the clever wiles of Satan,
who, though defeated
continues to harass  us.
He tries to fool us into following him to eternal death.

It is our joy to belong to the living,
life-giving Savior,
in whose name we pray. Amen

 

2 Corinthians 3

Dear Father God, praise to you for the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus!

Through Jesus,  have made your people competent to be ministers of a new covenant, the covenant of the Spirit that makes life to abound,
who gives us the ministry of justification that abounds in glory,
and that transforms us from one degree of glory to another.

Thanks be to you for bringing the Holy Spirit,
for where your Holy Spirit is, there alone is freedom.

Receive the prayers we offer through your Son, the Messiah.

Amen.

2 Corinthians 4

Dear redeemer God and our heavenly Father,
we confess that we also are often unbelievers,
our minds are blind, and we do not notice that
the gospel shows us the glory of Christ in the image of God.

We pray:

shine into the darkness of our hearts
give us the light that comes
from beholding the glory of God
in the face of Christ Jesus.

We trust:
through the gift of the gospel
we will be able to overcome the adversities of life,
we will not be crushed by enemies.
We have many questions, but they will not drive us to despair
and we are confident that you will not abandon us.
You will keep us safe, and allow no one to destroy us.

May the life of Jesus be visible in us.
May your grace be visible to multitudes through the transparency of your people.

Bring us at last safely into your presence,
as you prepare us for an eternal weight of glory that awaits us.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

2 Corinthians 5.

Almighty Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer of all of life:

by our sin we forfeit life,
we show how little we value it,
what poor use we make of it.

Now, through the gift of faith, we see
that undeserved gift we have in Christ:
a new creation!

The old has passed away!
The new has come!

In Christ we have been reconciled to God.
We do not fear condemnation or death.
We rejoice because you no longer count our trespasses against us.

You announce good news for all people, and to the whole world:
God, you are reconciling the world to yourself!

Thank You Jesus, for in the cross you took our sin on yourself,
So in You, Jesus, we have become the righteousness of God.

Thanksgiving, praise and glory to you!

Amen.

2 Corinthians 6

Dear Almighty God,
you insist on being our Father,
you liberate us from the evil one.
The choice is completely yours to have us
as your sons and daughters.

Thank you, for now is the acceptable time:
it is not too late to turn to you.

Now is the day of salvation,
it is not a day to be destroyed
or to be cast out of Your presence.

May nothing be found in us to obstruct anyone’s way to you
on that day.

We honour and give thanks for all servants who endure suffering, hardship and mistreatment for the sake of the gospel.

Praise to you for allowing us to be the temple that is your dwelling place.

2 Corinthians 7

Most merciful, most holy one,
because of the rich promises you gave us,
we have ample motivation to cleanse ourselves
from every defilement of body and spirit
and so making holiness perfect
in the fear of you, our God.

We acknowledge and confess
that often we yield to the sinful self
to do what that old self pleases.

When we stray
work in us such godly grief
as leads to repentance and salvation,
and never brings regret.

Thus we find comfort
in the forgive of sins
and the new life in Christ Jesus,
in whose name we pray.

2 Corinthians 8

Father God,
your generosity knows no limit,
your grace is sufficient for all:
you teach and motivate us
to learn generosity towards others.

We see the generous acts of our Lord Jesus:
he was rich beyond the wealth of any human.

He saw the need of all people
and for us he became poor,
poor to the point of suffering,
poor to the point of death on the cross.
And it took nothing less that this
to deliver us from sin, bondage and death.

By the poverty of our saviour
we became rich beyond counting.

Through Jesus Christ,
our gifts, great and small
are acceptable to you.
You are able to make good use of them.

Thanks be to you, Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

2 Corinthians 9.

Gift-giving God,
we cannot describe your gift to us;
it is too large to grasp
too complex to name
too far beyond what we can imagine.

As we meditate on your generous giving,
we are transformed from being selfish
to putting you at our centre
from self, to community,
from greed to generosity.

May we never give out of compulsion or duty,
but out of the generosity you love
and that enriches others,
through gifts of money,
through deeds of kindness
through words fitly spoken.

Encourage us to trust that your faithfulness and generosity will be enough for us.

We thank you for your unsurpassed gift.

2 Corinthians 10

Mighty, victorious God,
in Jesus the Christ
you won a victory greater than any army,
the victory of the cross,
the victory of grace,
the victory over all evil powers.
For this we heartily thank you.

By your grace
may we learn to handle spiritual weapons,
the weapons of the Word,
clearing the way for the knowledge of God.

May we learn to take all our thoughts
captive to obey Christ.

We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

2 Corinthians 11

Dear covenant-keeping God,
you are the head of the household, your church.
We acknowledge that the behaviour of your children must be perplexing to you a good deal of the time.

We your children
often fight and quarrel,
we brag and boast.
We don’t serve and protect one another.

We criticize one another over petty things,
and so become deaf to what really matters.

We allow the inadequacies of the messenger
to make us harden our hearts to the message of your grace.

We forget the accomplishments  of the ones we criticize.

Lord, have mercy, Lord, bend our hearts to be merciful one to another.

2 Corinthians 12

God of peace,
we often create unrest and war
even in the kingdom of peace.

We quarrel to score points,
we boast to show ourselves to be better than others,
and we make ourselves out to be better than we are.
We prefer to take the best seats in the house
rather than to serve others.

Our pride gets in the way of humility
and pride gets in the way of us being who we are.

If you gave your servant Paul a thorn in the flesh to keep him modest,
why not us, too?

Teach us to see the miracle that your grace is enough,
and that your strength is made perfect in weakness.

God of peace, comfort us with your truth,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

2 Corinthians 13

Holy God,
mighty, merciful, majestic:
you made the world and pronounced it good,
you desire your world to be new, perfect,  good once again,
and so you gave us the Christ,
crucified in weakness,
living by the power of God.

You desire us to be perfect,
therefore teach us to examine ourselves,
whether we live by faith.

You desire us to have Jesus living in us,
so we may live by his truth.

You desire that we have our lives in order,
that we agree with one another,
to live in peace.

So in prayer we claim the promise

that the God of love and peace
will be with us, now and always.

We offer our prayers in the precious name of Jesus, the Mediator.
Amen.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1

God, you want the gospel to be brought everywhere
so that all will be made holy in Christ Jesus.

From Jesus our Lord and you, our Father,
we receive the gift of grace and peace.
Through these blessings we have been enriched and strengthened.
Through Christ we will continue as believers until our last day,
and so we will be blameless at the end.

We pray that there may be no divisions in your body,
but that we may be in agreement with each other
and united in mind and purpose.
May we do nothing that empties the cross of its power,
for you decided that there is salvation only in the power of the cross of Jesus.
God, we believe that the cross of Jesus is the only saving wisdom.
Though the cross may seem foolishness to many,
yet we cannot be saved apart from it.
Christ Jesus, you are the power and wisdom of God!

We confess that you chose the weak, people who are not wise, not noble.
We have nothing of which to boast.
Christ, you are the source of our life.
You became for us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

Praise be to you for these precious gifts.

1 Corinthians 2

God of power and wisdom, no form of human teaching, philosophy or wisdom is effective for salvation.
We thank you, for by the death of Jesus Christ there is salvation for all believers.

May all our preaching and teaching
be with demonstration of the Spirit of power.

We praise you for making the deep mysteries of the gospel and of God
known to use when your Spirit blesses the preaching concerning Jesus Christ.

We pray for the gift of your Holy Spirit to help us understand the gifts you have given us. We pray for the mind of Christ to shape our thoughts, words and deeds.

1 Corinthians 3

God, by your goodness you stoop to make your people the temple where you live. However, we can be slow to understand what you are doing with us. We need baby lessons and language to learn what we should have learned long ago. We should be ready for solid food, but we are ready only for milk.

We are often divided into arguing groups. We have our favorite teachers, one preferring this one, another someone else. Show us again that our real teacher is Jesus the Messiah, and our identity is in him.
While one person sows, another plants, and still another waters, the increase comes from you.

God, we promise to stop boasting about human leaders, for they are only servants. We belong to you, in life and death, now and in the future, and you belong to God.

We thank you, for nothing is more certain and nothing secures us better than belonging to you. This is the sure message your word brings.

1 Corinthians 4

God, your servants are often severely tested,

sometimes by persecution,

sometimes by the criticism of others,

sometimes by poverty and hardship.

But we remember that we are servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

We pray that you will find that we are trustworthy.

Keep us from being intimated by critics.

We are encouraged by the knowledge that we need to be concerned only about your judgment, so we can be kind to ourselves.

God, it is a blessing to know that you use the gospel, so the church can endure and grow.

You show us and help us to see that the Kingdom is not simply a matter of words, but of power.

1 Corinthians 5

God, our savior and judge, we mourn because sin remains a powerful reality, not just for immoral people and unbelievers, but for us Christians, too.

There is often terrible sexual behavior in our midst, too, behavior so bad that the community needs to pronounce its judgment, behavior so bad that the sinner’s flesh needs to be handed over to Satan so that their spirit may still be saved.

Help us clean out the old, sinful desires of our hearts to make room for the new, because Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed for us. Now we can celebrate the feast of the Kingdom in sincerity and truth.

God, we your people may not associate with sinful, unrepentant brothers and sisters. Forgive us when we become too tolerant and lax towards sin in our community and in our own hearts.

Show us, God when we urgently need to repent.

Lord, have mercy.

1 Corinthians 6

Dear God, we who call ourselves Christians live in a manner that is often disappointing both to others and to ourselves.

We who are going to judge the angels and the world are ourselves under judgment. We act like wrongdoers who cannot inherit the Kingdom.

And yet we give thanks because we were washed, we were cleansed, we were made holy and we were justified in the name of Jesus and in your Spirit, our God.

May our actions befit those whom you have blessed, and as people who have been raised by your power. God, may we always remember that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We are not our own! We were bought with the price of Christ’s death on the cross.

God, help us to glorify you in our bodies!

1 Corinthians 7

God, your servants are at times asked questions that require wisdom and discernment, for not every situation we encountered is covered by your word or commandments.

So we ask wisdom to know how spouses should relate to each other in marriage, and when a marriage ends.

We pray for wisdom to know how best to live the life assigned to us, the life to which you call us.

How can we be at peace and free from anxiety in a world that is passing away?

Prepare our hearts and minds to help each other with wisdom and humility in a world in crisis, so we will be prepared for the return of King Jesus.

1 Corinthians 8

Father God, we your children are not always agreed on what is permitted to do, or not. If we do things that are a problem or a stumbling block to weak or new Christians, may we have the wisdom and compassion to restrain our own freedom for their sake.

May all we do bring us and all your people closer to you.

You are the only God.

From you all things come into being.

For you we exist.

We confess one Lord, Jesus Christ.

Through him you created all things.

Through him we live.

God, help us shape our persons and behavior in the light of our confession. Our identity is in you alone.

1 Corinthians 9

Dear God, sometimes your servants have to deal with a great deal of criticism, even from within the community of believers. God, it can be a challenge to deal with that without becoming unnecessarily defensive. Give us the wisdom to know when to respond, or when to ignore it.

Your servants have the right to earn a living from the preaching of the good news of Jesus. We pray that there may be nothing to get in the way of the preaching and hearing of the word, so that whatever we do, it may be motivated by our desire for the salvation of the hearers.

As athletes discipline themselves to win a race, may we also be self-disciplined to win the race to be blessing, and so share also in the blessing of the gospel.

1 Corinthians 10

God, we who are in you do not always please you, just as people of old did not always please you either, and received severe punishment.

For our own well-being, we must not put Christ to the test by sinful behaviour or complaining. Teach us humility that we may always be alert, lest we fall.

Faithful God, with any temptation to sin, give us strength to endure.

Especially at the table of our Lord, guard us from idolatrous behavior, and casting down demons, help us to keep Christ central, Christ alone.

When we eat or drink, help us to strike a good balance between our freedom and the consciences of others so that all we do may glorify God and offend no one. We seek the well-being of many so they may be saved.

1 Corinthians 11

You, God who made us male and female in your image, help us to understand what that means, because in our time many are very confused about this matter. Show us how to implement biblical principles for the relationships between men and women. We need your help with all our conversations and differing views our sexual identity.

We ask, too, that our celebrations of the supper of our Lord may be truly edifying for everyone and exclude no one. When we get together to eat and drink, may we truly celebrate. Lord, the bread and wine also point us to the future you are preparing for us, for we take part in this feast until Jesus comes again.

We take to heart the warning that eating and drinking in an unworthy manner means that we will have to give an account to you, our God. So we commit ourselves to a thorough self-examination, and then we will celebrate the feast.

1 Corinthians 12

Father God, thank you for your Holy Spirit, for it is through your Spirit that we have come to know Jesus Christ as savior and lord.

Thank you for the continuing work of your Spirit, for the Spirit alone can give us the life of your grace and kingdom.

Thank you, because your Spirit continues to be active and activating in your body, giving us a great variety of gifts to serve your people. Life becomes meaningful for each of us has something to contribute to the common good.

Because we are one body, we share our mutual burdens, and we rejoice together over the blessings we have received.

We thank you that we are not alone in this world, but we live our lives in a community of believers and we are on the pilgrimage together to the home you are preparing for us.

1 Corinthians 13

Head of the church, we pray that you will give us the spiritual gift of being gracious truth-tellers. Truth-telling can be a difficult gift to accept, and yet you desire to use it to build your church.

Teach us how to use this gift to encourage and comfort your people, and to move us from sin to repentance, from disobedience to obedience, from unbelief to faith.

God, since you are the God of peace, show us how to live an orderly and decent life as the one body of Christ.

God of peace, thank you for your continued work in shaping our lives, for when you work, you shape a new community in our chaotic world.

I Corinthians 14

Head of the church, we pray that you will bless us with the spiritual gifts of prophecy, the difficult but necessary gift of telling the truth.

Help us to use the truth we receive from you to encourage, admonish and comfort .

God, since you are the God of peace, show us how to live an orderly and decent life as the body of our savior Jesus Christ.

God, we thank you for your gracious work, because you form a peaceful and just community in a chaotic, warn-torn world.

1 Corinthians 15

Dear father God,

Praise be to your name for the greatest of your work, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Thank you for the clear description of what this victory means for us.

We praise you because we are raised with Jesus to the newness of a resurrected life.

God, your son Jesus lives!

He was seen by many witnesses.

His resurrection is a tree that bears endless quantities of fruit.

Because he lives, we have eternal life.

Every ruler, every authority, every power that opposes him will be destroyed, even that most fearsome enemy, is destroyed.

So we celebrate the great mystery:

we will receive a new spiritual, glorious, immortal body.

We will bear the image of Christ.

We will be raised immortal,

Thank you, God, for allowing us to participate in the victory in Christ.

We pray that you will prod and encourage us to be steadfast in our Christian life without wavering.

Enable us to excel in our work in the Lord, because in you our labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 16.

God, our God, we can care for each other in so many ways. We can support one another, brothers and sisters nearby and far away with gifts of hospitality as well as with money. So give us generous hearts to set aside for the needy in our weekly collections.

We pray that you will help us to keep alert, to stand strong in the faith, to be courageous and steadfast.

We pray for you to give us the gift of doing all we do, in love.

Give all your people the gift of warm love for you.

Lord Jesus Christ, we wait with eager expectation for your return.

We pray that our time of waiting may be time of expectation, trusting that you will fill us with the grace of our Lord and Savior.

Amen.