Our Ministry, Worship: "Let Us Pray" - AFC 1997

Gathering at the River

Gen. 7:17­24, Ps 124; 1 Cor. 12: 12­13; Eph. 4:1­7

Our shared, corporate prayers express our shared relationship with God.

We gather, typically on Sunday morning, remembering that we share one baptism -- that we are commonly cleansed and our sins are separated from us. So, we share in our gratitude to God for this. This is the essence of our corporate worship.

What we believe forms how we pray, and what we pray forms how and what we believe. - Explore this.

Common prayer - - "prayer is always personal, but never private" Explore this statement.

We learn to pray by praying.

Prayers of thanksgiving usually tell a story. The water of baptism and our remembrance of it tells a story that we share in common.

Consider two prayers: the "Thanksgiving Over the Water" from the text and the "Fund-raising Prayer". Compare and contrast.

• What are your experiences and memories with prayer in corporate worship?
• What do you see in the flow of the structure of our order of worship?
• What is the difference between "saying prayers" and "praying"?
• Is there special or reserved language for prayer?

Remember your (common) baptism and be thankful (together).