God, we come to you this morning as your children, proclaiming you as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Apart from you there is no God. We acknowledge you as Creator of all, the heavens and the earth, and all creatures that inhabit this earth including all of us, your created humanity. We praise you God because you are our Rock, our refuge, and our strength; our God of comfort and of love. We celebrate your love for us, as we remember that you demonstrated your love for us by sending Jesus, your one and only Son, into this world and that through His death, we can experience forgiveness and new life. We give you praise with grateful hearts. Remind us daily of your admonition from 1 John 4: 11-12. “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” O God, may your love flow through each of us in holiness and completeness.
Holy God, in love we lift up prayer for our world, asking for a miracle of your peace in our world, in countries such as Haiti, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, Ukraine, Myanmar among others. We pray that you would transform hearts, birth humility in leaders, and grant holy wisdom. Where there is famine and hunger, bring relief through organizations such as MCC. May we also be generous and open to being your hands and feet, willing to share in the care of others. Open our eyes to see, recognizing needs around us and open our hearts to reach out in love.We also give you praise for answers to prayer in our lives as individuals and in the life of our community. Thank you Jesus for your presence, for your healing, your leading, and for your peace and comfort in our lives.