At this time of the year for many people, emotions move to the fore, as we anticipate once again the coming of another Christmas. Our thoughts turn to days long ago, to family members now far away, to the underlying excitement which comes from hearing Christmas carols and old, familiar scripture passages. God injects Himself into the increased pace of our activities, as a baby is born in a land far removed in every way from our own. And so, with Christmas confidence, let us worship God.
Pastoral Prayer
We thank Thee, O Lord our God, for bringing us once again to this season of the year where we are reminded anew of Thy love for us in sending one to us who is like us in many respects, and very unlike us in other respects. We thank Thee for the courage and audacity of Jesus, for his insight and wisdom and inner maturity. We praise Thee for instilling in him a knowledge of Thee and Thy kingdom which none of us could ever attain, hard as we might try. Teach us in this Christmas season how better to understand Thee by better understanding him and his mission in the world.
We thank Thee for people of faith through the ages who have been our guides and mentors in our own faith. We remember many of Thy famous saints of yore who have been pioneers, leading millions into Thy kingdom, and we also recall those ordinary people in our own personal lives who have been instrumental in leading us toward more faithful living: parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors, those we long admired and attempted to emulate. May the community of Christmas spread its warmth and good cheer to those who feel lost or left out, especially those who are living in warzones or in places of deep political unrest.
We pray for those who face these holidays with new burdens: the unemployed, the under-employed, those who are newly and seriously ill, those whose futures have become very cloudy because of unanticipated obstacles, and those for whom pain has become the largest reality in their lives. As we pray for others who have great needs, we thank Thee for the relatively blissful existence which most of us have. Keep us from taking any of our blessings for granted, and enable us to see continually that all good comes from Thee. These things we pray in the name of Jesus, the Coming One, and the Messiah in whom we have come to know Thee the most clearly. Now we join together in prayer as he taught his original disciples, saying, Our Father….