A Prayer about the Joyful Clamor of Worship

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

Psalm 98:4

Lord God,

All over the cosmos this morning, 

not only people but your very creation 

will be making joyful noises, singing your praise:

According to Psalm 98, 

it might be appropriate to begin our worship services 

with a grand parade—

a loud marching band with trumpets and kazoos and clashing cymbals 

whipping up joyful noises before our King, the Lord (Psalm 98:6). 

The sea would chime in with its roaring; 

the rivers would clap their hands; 

the hills would sing for joy together, 

to celebrate the good news that you are the King of the cosmos, 

that you are judging the world with righteousness, 

and that you have made known your salvation (Psalm 98:7-9; Psalm 98:2).

Even people like me who can’t carry a tune in a bucket 

get to join in with our noisy joy! 

Thank you for this joyous worship, 

and that we get to be a part of it 

because of Christ our risen Lord!

Amen

Read Psalm 98.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:26

Gracious Father,

You know how deathly afraid we are of death. 

We ask for your grace and mercy 

to help us talk about death and dying, 

well before we have any inkling that we might die. 

We ask you to give us the words 

to talk about death and dying 

with friends and family members 

who are facing a terminal diagnosis. 

Help us to talk about things 

like advance directives, 

which help us to choose 

which aggressive medical measures 

we wish doctors to use 

when our bodies are shutting down 

and the hope for a cure is long past. 

Help us to educate ourselves 

on these medical measures like CPR 

which looks nothing in reality 

like it does on TV, 

or ventilators, 

which can prevent a dying person 

from uttering her last words to her loved ones. 

Help younger family members to not be frightened

when their parents want to discuss their wishes; 

help elder family members 

be willing to share their wishes 

with younger ones. 

Because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died 

and was raised from the dead 

that we might have forgiveness of sins 

and join him in eternal glory, 

give us the courage 

to prepare for glory 

by facing our mortality. 

In Jesus’ courageous name. Amen.

Read 1 Corinthians 15:26-28; Hebrews 2:8.

To have conversations about these topics, see The Conversation Project.

To listen to hospice worker and palliative care worker, Kelly Markham, LCSW, discuss these things, go here.