Prayers of dedication/offering prayers

Excellent collection of prayers here by Carol Penner.

OFFERING
Gracious and holy God,
accept what we offer today:
our cheques and cash, our faltering steps,
our brokenness, our leftovers,
our hope, our risking, our lives.
Bless and transform all that we offer
and all that we hold back,
that new life may be ours,
to celebrate and share in Jesus’ name. Amen
(Source: Jeff Shrowder 1999, The Billabong)

God of new life, out of the abundance of our lives
we offer these gifts to you.
Through your blessing and our willingness to share,
may these offerings become a source for hope and love
in this church family, and in the community beyond us,
in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
(St Martins Presbyterian Church, Christchurch)

God, it is our prayer that this money, symbol of all that we have received as a gift from you, will be used through our church community and beyond to further your never-ending project of renewal in our world. Amen.

Offering prayer
For the wondrous gift of life, we are thankful, O God. Your generous outpouring of grace reminds us of the fruitful life we are called to bear. May these gifts of time and labour, therefore, embody our desire to share and contribute to your coming reign among us. Amen.
(Source: Words4Worship)

As we offer our treasure and hearts to you, O God, may they be used to pass on the promise of hope, of peace, of life, of community to all in need of your gifts and presence in their lives. Amen.
(Source: Thom Shuman)

We long for the time
when the meek shall inherit the earth
and all who hunger and thirst after justice
shall be satisfied,
and we believe that, despite the persistence of evil,
now is always the time
when more good can be done
and we can make a difference.
May it be so, through the offering of these gifts
and the offering of our lives. Amen.
(Source: Prayer for Justice and Peace, Iona)

As we offer our gifts to you, Holy God, may we remember those who are forgotten by us too many times – the hungry, the lonely, the homeless, the vulnerable – yet are important citizens in your kingdom of grace, justice, and hope. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
(Source: Thom Shuman)

We give in grateful thanksgiving for all that God has given us.
In the upside down world of the gospel,
we measure our wealth not by what we have,
but what we can give away.
Let us give away generously, in this offering,
To bless your church, your people, your creation.
(Source: Quentin Chin,  United Church of Christ website)

Offering prayer
It is out of gratitude that we give these gifts of food and money. They come with the prayer that all may know abundance of goods and of peace in all places in our world. So may it be Amen.
We recognise and bless the gifts brought to the table, and those which wing their way electronically from our banks to the church’s account.
(Source: St Andrews, New Zealand)

We recognise that the greatest gift is the gift of love.
May our offerings distribute this love to the world:
the small world we inhabit with the suffering people we know;
the larger world where the power of love is sorely needed.
(Source: unknown)

We make our offerings, small and large,
with the hope and confidence
that all we do,
all we offer
all we say,
all we think,
and all we hope
will take root in this world
and be the source of new expressions
of God’s love,
of God’s justice,
of God’s character,
of God’s mission,
and of God’s reign.
May God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven
through us,
alongside us,
despite us,
and for us. Amen.
(adapted from a prayer on Mustard Seed)

God, you have given each of us gifts to use as members of the body of Christ. Here are our gifts – the work of our hands, our hearts, and our lives. We pray that they may help to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to our world, today and always, here and everywhere. Amen.
(Source:Daniel Hayward)

We give thanks for all we have received, O God: gifts of love and time, money and abilities. Into these bowls and into this place, we return a portion of these gifts. Bless those who receive them, just as we are blessed in the act of sharing them. Amen.

We give our offering hopefully,
hoping that you can use these gifts
hoping that these gifts can further your kingdom
hoping that your kingdom will come.
Your kingdom, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. Amen. Carol Penner

We have the means to give,
we have the reason to give,
and there are many waiting for us to give.
Yet often, our hands hold back,
and we hoard what we have for ourselves.
God of grace,
help us live and give in your kingdom of love,
where there are no enemies,
only brothers and sisters,
and kindness is the air we breathe.
In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen. Carol Penner

We offer our gifts to you, Lord,
with grateful, cheerful hearts.
Thank you that you meet our needs on the journey,
providing what we need when we need it.
Trusting you, we can share what we have with others,
and we do this joyfully, together, today,
in Jesus`  name, Amen. Carol Penner

We work for you, God, in whatever we do.
Paid labour, volunteer work, our home life–
all our time we spend for you.
Thank you for jobs which provide us with an income;
we share the fruit of our labour with you,
knowing that you are the Great Provider.
Use these offerings in your kingdom work,
as your provide good news, healing and hope to all people.  Amen.
Carol Penner

“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8:32
Lord of heaven and earth,
we long to be truly free.
In this hour of worship,
help us to grasp the freedom that comes
from seeing you more clearly
loving you more dearly
and following you more nearly.
Day by day, give us strength and courage
to be your people in this time, in this place.  Amen.
Carol Penner

Ever-faithful God,
we long to be faithful givers,
modelling ourselves on you
who have given everything to us.
May your Spirit of abundance,
which gives more than we ask or imagine,
grace these gifts for your kingdom
in Jesus’ name, Amen. Carol Penner

Like the disciples at Emmaus,
we offer what we have.
They offered their company,
their table, their bread.
We invite you to be with us
as we offer you our love,
our devotion, these gifts.
May our eyes be opened
to your holy presence, now and always. Amen.
Carol Penner

Lord we give you today what is already yours.
You provide so much for us,
blessings pressed down,
shaken together,
running over.
Thank you for giving us the ability to give,
and cheerful hearts to do it. Amen.
Carol Penner

Lord, the action of this offering
is a public sign of our allegiance to you:
we proclaim you Lord over our lives,
Lord over our families,
Lord over our finances.
Lord over our future.
We give you thanks for all you have given us,
and all we have the privilege to give.
Use these gifts for the work of your church, we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Carol Penner

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to give,
which we do with joyful, grateful hearts.
We look at the needs of the world,
and our offerings are small.
May they be like yeast,
gifts that grow in your kingdom,
bringing a rich harvest of righteousness.
We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Carol Penner

In this world:  kingdom living.
In our mouths:  kingdom praises.
In our hearts:  kingdom goals.
In our hands: kingdom gifts.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!  Amen.
Carol Penner

Before the offering:
We worship a generous God
whose son Jesus was both a gift and great giver.
As followers of Jesus
we find our deepest joy in giving,
and that’s why we give this offering cheerfully!
After the offering:
May the words of our mouths
and the meditations of our hearts
and the giving of this offering
all show our thankfulness to you,
O God our Rock and our Redeemer.
Carol Penner

Giver of all good things,
let your grace flow through us;
a generous stream,
unstoppable, refreshing, abundant.
We release these gifts into your river of love,
flowing out to all the world. Amen.
Carol Penner

Before the offering: 
This is the time where we make our love visible
through the giving of our tithes and offerings.
Let’s give with cheerful hearts
After the offering:
Generous God;
Over and over your grace sustains us,
over and over your love provides for us,
over and over your arm steadies us.
We give you these gifts,
with gratitude and joy,
thankful that you are God over all. Amen.
Carol Penner

The crowds offered you their coats to walk on,
they waved palm branches, honouring your presence.
Today we honour you, Lord,
with our faithful tithes and offerings.
We lay these gifts before you,
humble tokens of our love,
a public display of affection for our King of kings. Amen.
Carol Penner

Before the offering:
We don’t always know how much money we have,
or how much we will need;
in precarious economic times we are tempted
to hoard our money for ourselves.
In this offering we have the opportunity to show our faith,
that our God will supply all our needs.
After the offering:
We walk by faith,
we live by faith,
we give by faith.
God of great gifts,
you have given us so much,
accept these gifts from our hands,
our faithful response to your abundant grace.  Amen.
Carol Penner

Lord, it’s a small gesture;
pulling coins or bills out of our pockets, writing a cheque.
It almost makes no sound as it drops into the offering plate.
But it is the sound of our hearts opening,
giving you the fruit of our labour.
It is our collective offering of love,
a weekly deposit in the account of your faithfulness.
We do this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Carol Penner

You are the God of full pockets
and the God of pockets zipped shut;
the God of empty pockets and pockets with holes,
the God of inside-out pockets,
and pockets stuffed with treasures.
You are the God of our pockets.
You came to show us that life is not to be pocketed
but to be given freely, joyfully, sacrificially.