Third Sunday Before Advent - Year B

Third Sunday Before Advent Year B
The Act of Prayer
Praying through the lectionary
Ruth 3: 1-5
PSALM 127
HEBREWS 9: 24-28;
MARK 12:38–44

Opening prayer

As we gather for worship,
let us remember
we are not an isolated community
of believers in this place,
but the family of God
gathered together
from every corner of this world
in one great offering of praise.

Adoration

Heavenly Father,
we love you,
worship and adore you,
and in humble service
kneel before you now.

Precious Jesus,
we love you,
worship and adore you,
and in obedience
listen for your call.

Holy Spirit,
we love you,
worship and adore you,
and put our trust securely
in your strength alone.

Three in One,
we love you,
worship and adore you.
Unite us in your grace
and your loving care.

Confession

We build the life
that we inhabit
on shallow ground,
with little skill,
no solid plan,
using stones that lie around,
and wonder,
in the storm,
why our efforts are in vain.

But unless you build this house,
how can it stand?
Unless you watch over us,
how can we feel secure?

Forgive us, Lord,
those times when we forget
in whom we need
to put our trust—
the master builder—
and bring us back to you.

Thanksgiving

Leader: You call to us, Lord
All: And we shall follow.

Lord, we thank you
that from the stony paths
on which we walk,
and the bruises of our stumbling,
you call us on to solid ground
where we can build a faith
that stands against the storms of life
and offers us protection.

Leader: You call to us, Lord
All: And we shall follow.

Lord, we thank you
that we can set aside
all that holds us back
and start again by following
when you call,
knowing that we walk
where you have been before,
a path that leads through death to life
in glorious resurrection.

Leader: You call to us, Lord
All: And we shall follow.

Taken from The Act of Prayer by John Birch