Prayers for Others Christmas Day

6 people are standing at the front of the church. Person 1 faces the microphone. 5 people wearing party hats stand in a line with their backs to the congregation. Before each person speaks they turn, face the congregation and remove their hat.

Person 1

Well Jesus, Christmas morning is finally here.

Tinsel is flying, presents are being opened.

We are all here to sing and celebrate the way you came into our world.

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come,” we sing.

But maybe it’s not everyone that feels like celebrating today …

Person 2

Our family is such a mess. Lunch is at Mum’s, dinner’s at Dads and no one likes talking to each other much.

Person  1

Lord Jesus, we pray for broken relationships, broken families, broken hearts. Bring reconciliation and new beginnings. Bring paths through the wilderness. May peace, hope and joy be real for these people today and in the days to come.

Person 3

This is our first Christmas without grandma.

Person 1

Lord Jesus, we pray for anyone who is missing someone today. Bring comfort. May peace, joy and hope be real for these people today and in the days to come.

Person 4

I feel so sad all the time. I don’t remember the last time I felt happy.

Person 1

Lord Jesus, we pray for people who are living with depression and other mental health conditions for whom celebration seems a difficult or forgotten idea.  And we pray for people who struggle with their health in other ways. Bring your healing. May peace, hope and joy be real for these people today and in the days to come.

Person 5

Presents? I don’t even have enough to feed my family today.

Person 1

Lord Jesus, we pray for enough for all people. We pray for just trade, good leadership, good sharing, good seasons, generous giving. May peace, hope and joy be real for these people today and in the days to come.

Person 6

My country is in a state of war. I don’t know what tomorrow might bring.

Person 1

Lord Jesus, we pray for people in battle zones, for whom survival will be a higher priority than celebration today. May peace, hope and joy be real for these people today and in the days to come.

Lord Jesus, born at Christmas, Lord of our world, you came to live among us and be a light for us in all of our beauty and all of our pain. Help us, along with you, to be peacemakers, hope bringers and joy givers today and in the days to come.

Amen

Christmas prayer of praise and confession

Jesus,

We celebrate your coming today.

We celebrate the exciting news that once we were a people living in darkness

And now we are a people living in the light.

Once we could only imagine what God was like

But you came and dwelt among us

And now we can read and hear and experience ourselves

The way you lived and live and dwell among your people.

We celebrate the way you befriend us and heal us and make us whole

We celebrate the way you promise that you will never leave us alone

We celebrate the way that because you have been here with us

our sins have been separated from us as far as the East is separated from the West.

Forgive us if, long after Christmas day

We still see you as a gentle, pink baby lying in a manger.

Forgive us if we sing the songs and decorate our homes and give and receive presents

And don’t reflect the celebration of you coming in our relationships, in our work, in our lives.

Teach us to live our lives joyfully, because you have been here and you are here and you promise to stay with us as we live our lives.

We pray this in your precious name, Jesus.

Amen.

Prayer of praise and adoration – Christmas Eve

Lord, as we await Christmas morning we wonder,

Will our lives truly proclaim who you are tomorrow?

As we eat and drink and drink and eat and eat and drink

Remind us that yes, our God is a God of plenty, but you came to be on the side of the poor, the ones who have few possessions and less power.

As we enjoy the atmosphere of homes decorated with lights, Christmas greetings and colour,

Remind us that yes, our God is a God of colour and flamboyance, but you arrived in this world in a dusty cave with the smell of hay and dung and dust.

Tomorrow, as we think about the things that need to be done, the time the turkey needs to go on, who needs to be picked up when, whether people will be happy with their presents and whether there’ll be enough food,

Remind us that our God is a God of welcome and family, but you came to us to show us that you love it when we simply drop everything and sit with you and enjoy being in your presence.

Tomorrow, as we consider who will be with us, who might argue with who, who we’ll miss and how we wish things could be different

Remind us that our God is a God who listens to our pain, but you came to heal us and forgive us.

Tomorrow, as we drown our loungerooms in wrapping paper and lavish gifts on each other, remind us that, yes, our God is a generous God and a giver of gifts too numerous to mention, but there is one gift which surpasses them all, and that is the gift we celebrate tomorrow.

O Lord, let your presence fall.

Break in through the tinsel and the advertising and the chaos.

Break in through our shopping lists and our preparations and our family gatherings.

Come to us again and be our Christmas, Lord.

Amen.

Christmas prayer

Jesus,

Our friend and brother, teacher and Saviour

Because our world values strength and wealth and power

But you came to us as a vulnerable baby, holding nothing in your hands,

You continue to amaze us and we praise you.

Because the world is so troubled and we can feel frightened and angry

But your Spirit is a spirit of peace

You continue to amaze us and we give you thanks.

Because people around us let us down and we find ourselves alone

But you are always walking beside us

You continue to amaze us and we give you thanks.

Because we hurt other people and ourselves, and we bind ourselves up in our own mess

But you came and keep coming to forgive us and heal us and set us free

You continue to amaze us and we give you thanks.

Because we want the world and our families and our lives to be full of the joy and

Love and peace that we talk about as we prepare for Christmas

And you share this desire with us

And because you continue to challenge us and inspire us and encourage us

We praise you and thank you.

Amen.