Creator of Heaven and Earth,
How, indeed, great thou art! We come to praise and worship you together on this first Sunday of a New Year. We honour and exalt your Name on High, giving thanksgiving for your omnipresence in our lives and in this world.
We come before you, confessing our sins of doubt and disobedience. We go astray like lost sheep turning away from Your Spirit and truth but time and time again You are there, to welcome us back. With your faithfulness and protecting guidance during these past and current days, our weaknesses and frailties are made strong. This is the magnitude of your Grace; the gift of forgiveness and mercy for our transgressions.
We thank you for the people of this church: for their faithful hearts and being a constant source of support to one another. For those with hurts too deep for words, we ask for your intercessory comfort and lift them up for Your healing power.
We, also, thank you for our devoted pastoral staff whose loving care for this church has been a blessing. We pray for their physical and spiritual well-being, asking the Holy Spirit to provide rest when they are weary and strengthen them in leading this ministry.
Another year has passed, Lord, and it was a tough year full of unimaginable stresses. It took away norms of physical gatherings within families, friends and even the way we worship. But through it all, You kept us in your protection, providing what we needed. Although, our circumstances due to this ongoing pandemic has not changed, help us to remember the recent celebrated birth of your Son, Immanuel, “God with us”, in facing 2021 with renewed hope. Grant us the courage to embrace this new year, continuing to worship together even if it’s through technology, having fellowship in ways we never thought possible, and to turn our worries into prayer for brighter days to come.
And as we begin this year with a new theme of “Open Wide”: be with your faithful servant, Rev Kim as he delivers your words of encouragement and inspiration. Allow today’s and messages of this year open our minds that we may understand You better, open our eyes to see the good works of Your hands, open our ears to hear Your will, and open our hearts to serve You more. May we learn to wait on You, making space to be filled with your overflowing goodness, opening ourselves up to the possibilities You have planned for us in this new year.
We pray all these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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