Author Archive: Craig

Prayer of the People, 27 October 2019

October 30, 2019 0 Comments

The Gates Are Open

Heavenly Father,

We rejoice in you and your tender mercy towards us. You have called us out from darkness into the joyful and vibrant glory of your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We lack any good reasons in ourselves to merit the grace we live in today. So our genuine response is to say Thank you. Thank you Jesus!

Thank you for inhabiting flesh in the womb of Mary.
Thank you for inhabiting flesh in the form of a servant.
Thank you for inhabiting flesh on the Cross and in the Tomb.
Thank you for inhabiting flesh on the Resurrection morning.
Thank you for ascending with flesh to the right hand of the Father to intercede for us!
Thank you! There is hope for us Lord! And it’s You!

Now we are inhabited by You! 
Now we inhabit your Kingdom!

You have called us to be with you even at the gates of Hell — they will not prevail against us. So we plead with you to do it again Lord. Draw out dear children for yourself from the darkness and bring them into the Kingdom of the Son you love.

May your Spirit fortify us with grace and truth.

May the wind of your Spirit blow through our lives so that you may be known. We thank you for our brothers and sisters gathering today across the world. Specifically we pray for the Point at SFU and for uVillage in Burquitlam. May their roots grow deep in you and their fellowship with each other be filled with sincere love.

We pray for our friends in Athens, Greece and ask you to protect them from the evil one. Grant the new believers more joy and more healing as they live into the affection you are showing them in Christ. Oh, Lord bring love and justice to the streets as they walk together there.

We seek your Kingdom with them, so we pray today as Jesus teaches us

(Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

Prayer

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Prayer of the People, 13 October 2019

October 15, 2019 0 Comments

Based on Psalm 100.

O Lord, We come today to make a joyful noise to you, to enjoy your presence with singing, thanksgiving, and praise. We celebrate the mighty works of your communion — the communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. By your grace we see Your creation, Your faithfulness, Your very present help in our lives, Your guidance, Your reign, Your approachability, Your comfort. Thank You!

This Thanksgiving weekend, we pause and consider all of the ways Your beauty, goodness, truth, and love are made real in our lives; considering all of the ways You provide and nurture us, thank you does not seem sufficient. May your Holy Spirit enlighten our minds and embolden us to sing your praises.

We also know the tension of being a people who live into the hope of Your kingdom come even while we see and experience pain, loneliness, disappointment, and fear.

Help us Lord. Injustice streams across our news feed rather than Your justice rolling down across the people like a mighty stream. We cry out for Your help for the Kurds, for refugees needing a place to live, for peace in the turmoil of Haiti. Please bring help to those impacted by the Japanese typhoon, fires in the Amazon, Ecuador’s unrest, Tunisian elections, Canadian elections, and the attack on a mosque in Burkina Faso.

Heavenly Father, we acknowledge our own anxious tension – in relationships, over our studies, our futures, our aspirations, our finances. We want to serve You with gladness, and we want many other things. Help us in our Thanksgiving to be renewed by seeking first Your kingdom because Your are good, Your loving devotion and faithfulness endures forever.   

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Please join me in the Lord’s prayer.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

Prepared by Ellen and Craig O’Brien.

Prayer

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Thanksgiving 2019

October 14, 2019 0 Comments

O God,

before I gave voice 

to my gratitude for you,

I sensed the joy 

of your friendship 

with us.


–Immanuel, God with us; Friend of sinners.

Prayer

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Prayer of the People, 6 October 2019

October 10, 2019 0 Comments

Informed by Ephesians 2:10 & Psalm 100.

Risen Lord Jesus, We come today seeking to know You and Your communion with Your Heavenly Father and with Your Spirit. You understand us better than we understand ourselves.  You walked among people and saw into our hearts and ways.  We want to walk with You through our lives, our decisions, our work.

Our spirits want to Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship You with gladness;
And come before you with joyful songs.
We Know that You are the Lord our God.
You made us, and we are Yours,
we are Your people, the sheep of Your pasture.|

We enter Your gates with thanksgiving
and Your courts with praise;
We give thanks to you and praise Your name.
For You are good and Your love endures forever;
Your  faithfulness continues through all generations.


We lift up to You the people of Kashmir and ask for Your protection and Your joy.  As Hong Kong protests have turned violent and the political tensions have come to UBC campus, we ask for wisdom, truth, and righteousness. We pray for the Canadian elections; may you open us up to discuss and search for policies that foster life and godliness; may we elect people who are pursuing justice.

Lord, make us a people who delight in Your creation and join You in the good works you’ve prepared in advance for us to do.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Please join me in praying the Lord’s prayer.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.


Prepared by Craig & Ellen O’Brien

Prayer

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Prayer of the People, 29 September 2019

October 1, 2019 0 Comments

Heavenly Father — Praises be yours! 

In your mercy and grace you have brought us into your communion— the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Your majesty is on display in Creation and your wisdom in your Church. Your faithfulness and love reaches even to the most frustrated corners of our globe.

A collective shout has come up from children giving voice to the groans of Creation. This world groans under the weight of failed stewardship. And we say with them, Come Lord Jesus!

You are bringing all things under the administration of Jesus Christ our Lord. Yet, we can hardly claim to walk in perfect union with Him. Help us Lord. Have mercy on us Lord. Forgive us for taking your name in vain. Under the banner of your name some have cloaked themselves in deceit and have ushered themselves and others into destruction. 

Grant us the humility and the prophetic unction required to join you in the healing of the nations. Grant us your healing too Oh Lord.

Heavenly Father, may your Spirit bring healing in downtown Vancouver. Bind up the wounds of trauma and release people from fear by establishing circles of friendship and healing through the presence of Jesus.

May your Spirit fortify your church in Iran with love and courage.
May you uphold your servants who have been imprisoned in China.
May you embolden your people to keep loving their neighbours in Indonesia.
May you sustain your labourers upholding the Living in the Bahamas.

Free us Oh Lord from our captivity to the urgent. It’s become so normal to us that we hardly hear your voice during the day and even the night. Call us into your communion even as we lay down our worries with you.

(Please join me in the Lord’s prayer)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

Creation, Prayer

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