On the weekend of a national holiday, we like to believe that God has a special place in His heart for our nation and its history. Whether or not that is true, it is certainly true that God loves the American people, as He loves all the peoples of all the nations of the world. In grateful response to Him for his blessings to our country through the decades and centuries, we gather in praise and awe of the one who creates and sustains us. Therefore let us, with Independence Day confidence, worship God.
Pastoral Prayer
Blessed be Thou, O Lord our God, creator of the universe. By Thy patient kindness, worlds have come into being, peoples and animals and plants have populated those worlds, and the universe illustrates an intricate plan which only Thou couldst ever have set into motion. Thanks be to Thee for Thy creative goodness, and for Thy provisions for all beings everywhere.
We especially thank Thee on this day for Thy goodness toward the American people, past and present. Out of all the land on all the continents of the world, ours is a very productive and prosperous land, surely much more so than we deserve. People have come here to live from all parts of the globe, and we have a beautifully varied culture because of all the cultures represented by our native-born and foreign-born citizens. Help us to be the best nation we can be, rather than merely the strongest. Enable us to use our resources for all peoples, and not just for the American people. Make us good stewards of what we have, and better stewards of what we can yet produce on behalf of others.
We pray for our national leaders, and especially for our President, in the multitude of challenges which confront them. Give them wisdom, equanimity of heart and spirit, diligence, and courage as they tackle issues and problems which seem to have insurmountable obstacles. Lord God, bless America, and make us a blessing rather than en enemy to everyone else in the world.
We pray also for those who are fighting illness or grief or sorrow or pain, and for those who feel assaulted by anxiety. Give hope to the dispirited, courage to the fearful, and optimism to the dejected. These things we ask in Thy name and for Thy sake. Now we pray together the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, saying, Our Father….