CALL TO WORSHIP
Psalm 23

MUSIC
Curated by Kevin Borst
The Passion by Hillsong
Ancient Gates by Brooke Ligertwood
Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin
A Thousand Hallelujahs by Brooke Ligertwood

FATHER’S DAY PRAYER
By Jeremy Duncan, adapted from a prayer by Scott Wall

God and Creator,
Father from all eternity,
Our lives proceed from you and we confess that we are your children first before we have done anything.

And so for fathers everywhere, who have given us their time and affection,
For those who balance their work and relationships,
Their personal weakness with integrity in an attempt to model divine love,
We give you thanks.

For fathers who have adopted children,
For those that have shaped lives without claim of family or kinship,
For those who have taught us, guided us, molded us,
We give you thanks.

For new fathers, full of hope,
For long-time fathers, full of wisdom,
For the fathers yet to be, and fathers soon to become,
God, we give you thanks.

Now with grateful hearts we pray for fathers who parent alone,
God grant them strength and wisdom.
For fathers who struggle with temptation, darkness, or addiction,
We ask, gracious God, be near.
For fathers who grieve their absent children, those who have lost a child, or those who long for a child,
Gracious God, be their comfort.

And also for those who grieve the loss of a father,
Or who care for an ailing parent,
For those who long for reconciliation or restoration or transformation of their father,
God, bring them your lasting peace,
And in that strengthen our resolve for healthy boundaries where needed.

And finally, God, today we are reminded of fathers who helplessly watch their children suffer and die because of famine, drought, disaster and war.
Oh great God, let your kingdom come, and may your mercy be great on us.
May the gift of our fathers motivate us to care for those in need.

All these things we pray in the name of Christ, Son of God, who reflects your goodness and teaches us to trust your fathering heart.

Amen.