Grace Upon Grace
Service Prayers for the Second Sunday after Christmas
January 2, 2022

Sirach 24:1-12 • Psalm 147:12-20 • Ephesians 1:3-14 • John 1:1-18

Call to Worship (based on Ephesians 1:3-14)
God's goodness is built into the foundation of Creation!
God chose us in Christ from the beginning.
God calls us blameless, holy, and loved.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all!

God has made an eternal promise to gather all things.
God will reconcile all things on earth and heaven in the fullness of time.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all!

In Jesus Christ we have heard the word of Truth.
In the Holy Spirit breathed on us and diverse peoples throughout the world, 
God's promise has been sealed. 
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all!

Prayer of Confession  
Let us pray:
God’s Word came to God’s own people, and the people did not accept the Word.
We do not accept you, our Sovereign Christ. 
We cannot abide by your commandments.
We do not know how to love you, our neighbors, or ourselves.

God’s Word came to God’s own people, and the people did not accept the Word.
We do not accept you, Ruler of Peace.
We wage war on the most vulnerable.
In ourselves we wage war on vulnerability itself. 

God’s Word came to God’s own people, and the people did not accept the Word.
We do not accept you, Light of the World.
We block your light shining in us, putting barriers between us: 
- racism, sexism, heterosexism, cissexism, ableism, ageism.
We are caught in systems beyond our control

Holy Word of God, call us to yourself once again.

Assurance of Pardon
Hear these words of the Gospel according to John (1:14, 16)
"And the Word became flesh and lived among us, 
and we have seen the Word’s glory, 
the glory as of a parent’s only child, full of grace and truth.
From this fullness we have all received, grace upon grace."
Our forgiveness is as assured as God's mercies, which abound endlessly. Amen.

Call to Offering (based on Sirach 24:1-12)
Wisdom has been our companion and God's gift to us since time immemorial.
What righteous path is she leading you toward this Christmas season?
What does she beckon you to offer?
Where does she want you and God's church to go?

Prayer of Dedication
Most wise and wondrous God, we pray that soon and very soon
your blessings will cover the face of the earth like a mist,
that divine offerings and the offerings of human hands
mingle imperceptibly as every need is satisfied.

Benediction
Go forth and share grace upon grace upon grace 
in likeness of our Sovereign, Jesus the Christ. 
Share grace over waves of the sea, over all the earth, 
and over every person you encounter. 
Be as Christ. Amen.

Grace Upon Grace: Prayers for the Second Sunday after Christmas was written by Stephanie Dorsey, chaplain resident at York Hospital in York, PA

Copyright 2022 Faith INFO Team, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH  44115-1100.  Permission granted to reproduce or adapt this material for use in services of worship or church education.  All publishing rights reserved.