Call to Worship
Come, you who hunger to taste the bread of life!
Source: Spill The Beans Issue 20
Come, you who thirst for living water!
Come, you who hunger for justice and peace,
and you who thirst for God’s kin-dom
to drop like rain upon the world:
come, let us journey together as a community of faith,
come, let us worship God.
God, teach me lessons for living
Message Translation
so I can stay the course.
Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—
my whole life one long, obedient response.
Guide me down the road of your commandments;
I love traveling this freeway!
Give me a bent for your words of wisdom,
and not for piling up loot.
Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets,
invigorate me on the pilgrim way.
Affirm your promises to me—
promises made to all who fear you.
Deflect the harsh words of my critics—
but what you say is always so good.
See how hungry I am for your counsel;
preserve my life through your righteous ways!
Song:
Readings:
Song: When I Needed A Neighbour
Reflection
Prayers of Adoration and Confession
God of all creation,
God of the universe,
of the stars in the sky,
of the grains of sand on the beach,we marvel at the wonder of all you have created and we marvel at our place in all of that.You, Lord of all, care for us.
Lord, we confess that too often
we do not pause to realise your majesty.
We move through life with a sense of entitlement yet we are nothing without you.
you created all
and gift your creation to our safe keeping.Forgive us, Lord,
when we so readily squander your gifts, when we mess up what you made perfect, when we despise what you call good.Forgive us and call us back,
time and again, to gratitude and praise
for all that you are and all you created us to be and, as we recognise how blessed we are,
may we share that blessing with others
in honour of you, Lord of all.Amen.
Source: Spill The Beans Issue 20
Song:
Prayer for Others
Our loving God
So much of our concerns these days surround the Coronavirus. It seems to pervade our lives and rightly so as these generations have never experienced this before. And so we continue in prayer as we have all year to ask that you walk with us and may we know that you are here by our side.
You have never promised us lives without trial and we ask today that we are aware and thankful that we know you as a God of the hard times, the God of the journey to a better place.
Of course our prayers are with those who suffer from this virus and all those both directly and indirectly who help us through this vale of tears.
Be with those who make vital decisions about our wellbeing. Be with them in the dark sleepless nights, in times of public scrutiny and times where we look to them for guidance and condolence.
As this virus dominates our thoughts let us not forget that life goes on. Some are hungry, some are homeless, some are victims of violence, others have health issues other than the coronavirus.
It has been and will continue to be a year of trial but as you have so often promised you will be there with us. May we nurture the faith that affirms that.
Amen.
Chris Dodd
Sending:
May your week be one of blessing,
when your hearts are full,
your mind at rest,
your soul stirred to action.May you find God the Father guiding you,
Source: Spill The Beans Issue 20
Jesus the Son walking with you,
and the Holy Spirit inspiring your days.