Andrew De Gelder

This prayer originally appeared in the worship service "Good News!—Easter Sunday: He is Risen!"Congregational PrayerAwesome God, on this Easter morning we are amazed again at the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We give you thanks that all these years later the tomb is still empty and lives are still being changed because of the good news of the gospel. I pray, Father, that by your Holy Spirit you would move those today who are listening to this message and need to make a decision for you. Give them courage and grace to do so, and begin to do your transforming work in their lives. And for those of us who do believe already and who are following you, we pray that you will lead us into opportunities to reach out with good news to the people whom you have put in our paths. All these things we pray in the name of the risen Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This prayer originally appeared in the worship service "Good News!—Good Friday."Congregational PrayerHoly God and heavenly Father, we are so grateful for the good news that Jesus Christ completed his work on the cross on our behalf and that through his extreme suffering we can find salvation. Help us to be reminded of this as we go through our present difficulties and look forward to the glorious day of Christ’s return, when all things will be made new! Give us strength and courage to persevere in our faith, to reach out to you when we are troubled, and to hold onto your gospel promises. All these things we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This prayer originally appeared in the worship service "Good News!—Palm Sunday: Even Better Than Expected."Congregational PrayerHoly God, we give you thanks for the awesome picture of the kingship of Christ that we see in Mark 11. We thank you that he is who he said he is. He is who the Scriptures foretold and the one that the crowds were right about even though they didn’t fully understand how. We thank you that we can cry out to you to save us—and that you can save us and will save us because of the king that Jesus is. We pray that we would be moved to repent of our sin and to believe and to follow the Lord Jesus into a life of service for the sake of his kingdom and his glory. God, speed the day when King Jesus will return and make all things new. We pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.Revised Common LectionaryYear B: Lent—Liturgy of the Palms

This assurance of pardon originally appeared in the worship service "Good News!—Lent 5: For All."Assurance of PardonPeople of God, hear these words of assurance from Ephesians 2:8: “For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” The salvation that we have from the Lord is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. God just gave it to us by God’s grace. So now we become motivated to live for Christ. Even though we don’t do it perfectly, we still aspire to live for him because he gave up his life for us.Revised Common LectionaryYear B: Lent—Fourth Sunday in Lent

This call to confession originally appeared in the worship service "Good News!—Lent 5: For All."Call to ConfessionToday is the [insert week] Sunday in the season of Lent, a time when Christians have traditionally reflected upon the cross of Christ. They’ve also reflected upon their own lives and repented of their sin. The whole idea of repentance presupposes that we realize we’ve done something wrong. This is something that we are often reluctant to do, especially in our current culture. We live in a time of changing values, a time in which morality is often seen as something subjective. But when we really understand that there is a moral standard to which all human beings are accountable, and that this standard has been given to us by the God who created the whole universe and made us in God’s image, and that this God is completely holy and righteous and perfect and cannot be in relationship with us when we are guilty of violating the standard to which we will be held accountable, it puts the importance of repentance into perspective.To use myself as an example, I know that I don’t live up even to the standards I have for myself, let alone the standards God has for me! I know that I haven’t always loved the Lord my God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. And I certainly haven’t always loved my neighbor as myself. If I were to get a letter grade for my performance even on just those two things Jesus used to sum up God’s law, it would be an F. Fail. That’s why Romans 5:8 is so encouraging for me: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”God didn’t wait for me to clean up my act before he stepped in to do something about my sin problem. In fact, even before I was born or took my first breath or committed my first act of rebellion against God, he sent Jesus into the world to live the perfect life that I never could have lived and to die a sacrificial death in my place and yours. I invite you now to turn with me to God in a time of silent prayer. Let’s confess our sins to the Lord, after which we will hear some words of grace.Silent Prayer of ConfessionRevised Common LectionaryYear A: Lent—Third Sunday in Lent

This prayer originally appeared in the worship service "Good News!—Lent 4: A Fresh Start."Congregational PrayerGracious God, we give you thanks for the good news that there is new life available for those who believe in your Son, Jesus Christ. We know in our hearts that what Jesus said about people choosing darkness rather than light is true. It’s our default position. And it’s wrong. Not only is it wrong, but it hurts us. It’s toxic. And it leads to death. God, we pray that you would use the words of Scripture to bring new birth into the lives of those today who need to experience it. These things we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This confession and assurance originally appeared in the worship service "Good News!—Lent 4: A Fresh Start."Call to ConfessionThis is the [insert week] Sunday in Lent, a time Christians historically have reflected upon their lives, identified sin, and repented of it. Of course these are things we should always be doing! But there’s something about the weeks leading up to Good Friday and Easter that makes one consider the cross and the price that was paid for our sin. Hear these words from 1 John 1:8–9: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Let us pray.Prayer of ConfessionHoly God,as we worship you this daywe do not want to be people who deceive ourselves.Instead we want to clearly see who you areand clearly see who we are.We cannot claim to be without sin.So we confess our sin before you,trusting that you are indeed faithful and justand that you will forgive us our sinsand purify us from all unrighteousness.Hear our prayer,for we pray these things in Jesus’ name.Amen.Assurance of PardonHear these words of assurance from Scripture: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. —2 Corinthians 5:17–18 NIV As the church today, we share the good news about new life in Christ, about sins forgiven and the restoration of our relationship with the God who made us, who created us in God’s image, and who loves us more than we can even imagine.Revised Common LectionaryYear C: Lent—Fourth Sunday in Lent

This prayer originally appeared in the worship service "Good News!—Lent 3: The Temple is Rebuilt!"Prayer of Thanksgiving for the Work of ChristHoly God and heavenly Father, we give you thanks that you sent Jesus into the world to be the gate that links heaven and earth. We thank you that, through the temple of his body that was broken and the blood that was poured out for many, he reconciled us to you. We thank you that we don’t have to go to a particular place or building to have our sins forgiven, but that we have the opportunity as Christians to gather and together be the body of Christ in this world. We pray that you will fill our hearts with gratitude for all that is ours in Christ Jesus and that we would bear fruit by your Holy Spirit. Give us courage and opportunities to share with excitement the good news of the gospel to those who need to hear it so they would experience with us the joy of salvation. We pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This call to confession and assurance of pardon originally appeared in the worship service "Good News!—Lent 3: The Temple is Rebuilt!"Call to ConfessionThis is the [insert week] Sunday in Lent, the season leading up to Good Friday and Easter. It’s a time when Christians have traditionally reflected upon the cross and the price that Jesus paid for our sin. It’s also a time of repentance and renewal, a time of turning away from sin and toward Jesus Christ. In a moment I’m going to invite you to join me in a time of silent prayer in which we’ll confess our sins before God. Before that, though, hear these words from Hebrews 4:16: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”Silent Prayer of ConfessionAssurance of PardonJesus said: “I am the light of the world.Whoever follows me will never walk in darknessbut will have the light of life.”—John 8:12 NIVRevised Common LectionaryYears A, B, C: Holy Week—Good Friday

This prayer originally appeared in the worship service "Good News!—Lent 2: Worth Dying For."Prayer of the PeopleLoving God, as strange as it may sound, we are grateful this Lenten season that Jesus, the Christ, our Messiah, walked the path of suffering, death, and sacrifice. We are grateful because it was through this that our souls—in fact our very lives—were saved! We pray that by your Spirit you will help us to gratefully put Christ and not ourselves at the center of our lives so that as we follow Christ’s lead, as we experience suffering and rejection and make sacrifices in this life, those around us would see in us people who have been shaped by the gospel. We pray that our Christian witness, as individuals and collectively as a church, would be so compelling that people would be prompted to ask us how we can continue to worship you no matter the circumstances. We pray that we would have openings to tell good news to those around us. All this we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.