PRAYERS FOR SUNDAY AUGUST 7TH

EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

DAY AFTER THE TRANSFIGURATION

Call to Worship

Today we are celebrating the holy light that illuminated Jesus.

We celebrate his transfiguration on the mountain.

Light of light: transfusing & transforming light.

Divine light flooding out the shadows.

Light of love, light of delight.

Light that turns doubters into followers.

It is the same God who at the beginning said:

“Let there be light,”

who has shone in our hearts with an understanding

of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The mightiest One of all, God the Eternal,

speaks and summons the whole earth

from the rising of the sun to its setting.

From God’s holy mountain, God’s light,

the perfection of beauty, shines out.

Come to the mountain!

Prayers of Approach and Confession

We worship you, O God, with songs of praise.

worship you with words of prayer

and with ears that listen for you to speak

your saving truth into our lives.

We worship you in the silent spaces

where we struggle for hope and for courage.

We long for a glimpse of your glory:                                      the glory that shines in the darkness

and the darkness cannot overcome it;

the glory that touches lives with a beauty so holy

that it heals the wounded soul;

the glory that gives strength to the weary.

We, who stumble and fall so often,

worship you,

longing for your light to shine upon us.

Dazzle us with your holy love,

draw us into your purifying presence,

speak to us your transforming truth.

Then, grant us grace

to live every moment

changed by such glory—

daring to live with hope and courage and love

reflecting the life of Jesus,

through whom your glory shines

in the most unexpected ways.

Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

Comforting God,

We come with your disciples here,

Like your disciples of old

Sometimes confused by life

And yet knowing

That you free us from fear

And call us to your service in prayer

Today we pray for a troubled and restless world

Where so many agendas vie for attention.

Humanity is confused about its purpose

And Leaders seem to care

Only for themselves and others

Who are in powerful places.

Send your Spirit of wisdom and peace

And help Leaders to understand the truth

Of your love for all.

Of your desire for a great sharing

Of what you offer

That justice and peace might be known

By even the least of your little ones.

Bring a world transfigured

By the true king.

Send your Spirit of comfort and peace

And help those who are in dark places;

Having lost someone.

Being short of money,

Suffering ill health,

To know the light that is there for them,

To discover the hope that can hold them.

Create life transfigured                                                      By the true king.

Send your Spirit of truth and grace

And help those

–even those who have found you

To be comfortable in the cloud of unknowing,

To be unafraid of the mystery,

To seek you in heart and mind and soul.

That we might breath easily and with love,

Encountering you in surprising places,

Even serving you in surprising ways

As you unfold your purpose in our lives.

Leading lives transfigured

By the true king,                                                                  namely Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

The Dismissal

Come down from the mountain with mountain-like faith.
Walk on God's paths as bright, shining lights.
Live in God's ways with faith, hope, and love.
Go into the world transformed and renewed!

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR SUNDAY AUGUST 14TH

NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Call to Worship

God of creation,                                                                  You brought life to all that we see.
You set the boundaries of the universe

and placed us within its care.

Creator God, breathe life into Your creation.

Jesus the Christ,                                                                  You came to teach and to lead. You showed us the cost of discipleship when You stood up against the powers of the world, and they tried to suppress Your truth by sentencing You to death. Your life was more powerful than death and Your truth lives on in us.

Jesus the Christ, help us reflect Your light of truth and peace

Holy Spirit,                                                                          You bind Your children together in community.
Your bonds transcend borders created by humankind.
You kindle the fire within us that stirs our passion for faith, justice, and reconciliation.
Spirit God, inspire us to reconcile.

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession

God of Peace,
Who created this world and saw that it was good,
We acknowledge before You now that we are part of a world
that has as much conflict and tension as it does peace.

We give You thanks that sense of Your peace,
which passes our understanding,
and lifts our eyes and hearts above competition to cooperation,
above petty disputes to compromise,
above tension to harmony.

We give you thanks for Your Holy Spirit,                                breath of all creatures,
purifier of all souls
healer of all wounds,
fire to our hearts,
light to our path                                                                  and friend for our journey                                                  as we seek to rebuild peace in Your world.

We give You thanks for all who work for peace
and aspire in Your strength to add to their efforts,
In the name of Jesus, Prince of Peace.

Gracious God,
We know You to be generous and full of compassion
but in our anxiety we have stumbled and lost our way.
Called to be a voice for the voiceless we have been silent.
Challenged to fight for justice we have turned away.
Co-opted to the work of breaking down barriers
we have been quick to judge and slow to welcome.

Forgive all the moments when we have neglected
to seek out Your will and to follow it.

Silence

Grant us the courage to be Your faithful people
that Your compassion may flow through us to heal a broken world.

Assurance of Pardon

God would have us be honest in all things.
To cry out when we are in pain
to seek guidance when we are lost
and to trust in God's strength when we are afraid.

Give thanks that we are reconciled to God
and free to be the people that God would have us be.
Amen

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of intercession

God of the ages,
You have walked with Your people
from the moment that first we walked on the earth.
You heard our cry when we were oppressed,
gave us strength and courage

when doubt and despair threatened.

The earth has been divided and brought to destruction
by human fear, greed and the lust for power.
We, Your people, turn to You,
knowing that only in You can we flourish and grow.

Where division has given rise to distrust,
build bridges of understanding.

Where greed pollutes and threatens life,
open hearts to share and build in partnership.

God of the present moment,
Your love does not stop at borders.
Your grace is given freely to those who
are willing to hear and to trust.

The peoples of our world have lived too long
divided and fearful for the future.
Grant them the courage to believe
that their cry has been heard.

Where nuclear weapons have been used
to threaten and keep apart,
turn swords into ploughshares
that all may be fed and prosper.

God of all that is to be,
with people across the world
we pray for the end of war
and the dawn of a new age.

Let all that threatens the earth with destruction
be banished for ever.
Let the voice of those opposed to nuclear threat
grow in confidence and strength.

We will work together with partners across the world
until division is overcome and hostility ended.
We will walk together with You, our God,
into a future where the whole created order lives in harmony.

God of the ages,

God of the present,

God of all that is to be,
alone we may stumble

but together we pray - Your kingdom come.
Amen

Blessing

Lord God,
Fill our minds with Your wisdom
Fill our hearts with Your love
And guide our words and actions
that we might become the living presence of Your peace.
Bless our homeland
That we might witness

to Your transforming universal call to justice,
And inspire all that we do in and with Your whole human family to protect and nurture all of Your creation.

Place within us the mind of servants,
that we might build and nurture a world without violence
in the building of your kingdom of love, justice and peace.
Amen

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR SUNDAY AUGUST 21ST

TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession

We give you our thanks, O God,

with reverence and awe,

for before we were

formed in the womb, you knew us;

before we were born, you consecrated us.

You are our rock and haven, to whom we can always turn. 

In times past you appointed prophets

and put your words in their mouths,

appointing them over nations and kingdoms

to destroy wickedness and overthrow the ruthless,

and to build justice and plant righteousness.

But in these last days you have sent your son, Jesus Christ,

in whom every day is a sacred new day of freedom. 

You have appointed him as the mediator of a new covenant,

in which we are brought to the city of the living God

with the angels and saints and the faithful of every age

to rejoice together at the wonderful things you are doing. 

Through him, your living word, you reach out to us  unbidden,

and touch us and set us free.

We glorify your most holy name. 

While around us the song of fear

calls us to march to the tune of self-protection,

help us to dance to the rhythms of your life;

While around us the music of greed

entices us to join its frenzied drivenness,

help us to dance to the rhythms of your life;

While around us the drums of fashion                                  seek to beat us into conformity and desire,                        help us to dance to the rhythms of your life;

While around us and within us                                              there is the ever-present temptation to sin,                            help us to dance to the rhythms of a forgiven life.

While around us so many are crippled by a Sabbath-less existence,

are in bondage to the devils that drive our world,

we praise you, God, for your healing touch,

for Sabbath-rest and Sabbath-inspired work,

for daily manna and the freedom of sharing,

for joyful “enough-ness” and comfortable justice.

May we learn to dance to your Sabbath-rhythms,

a little more each day,

and may our dancing bring healing and freedom,

to all those who receive our invitation

to join us in the rhythms of your life.

Amen.

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

Father and Mother of us all,

we pray for those who are part of our human family

and part of the community in which we live. 

We pray for the little ones,

for those who are seen as unimportant,

for those who are lost,

for those who grieve as ones with no hope,

for those who hunger for the Bread of Heaven 

and thirst for the Wine of Forgiveness. 

Grant, we pray,

that they may receive the vision that they need from your hands and the encouragement that they long for.

We pray, Father, for those who are afflicted in various ways,

Including those with covid, cancer, dementia,                        blood pressure, asthma, arthritis,

anxiety and depression , loneliness and isolation. 

and for all those whom we know who require healing,

be it physical, emotional, or spiritual.

We commend to you as well, O Lord,

those individuals and situations brought to our attention by the news and those who we know personally

and now rest now upon our hearts.

Touch, O God all those who are bent over and oppressed by crippling spirits and set free all those who are afflicted

by attitudes and opinions and viewpoints

that cause them and others to become bowed down

and to suffer needlessly. 

Create in them the joy that is meant to be part of the Sabbath day,

the day in which we have rest from our labours

and celebrate the wholeness that comes from you. 

Amen.

Dismissal

In the power of the Holy Spirit,

we now go forth into the world,

to fulfil our calling as the people of God,

the body of Christ.

Blessing

Go in peace,

care for one another in the name of Christ Jesus,  

and may the love of God surround you and protect,

the word of God dwell within you and guide you,

and the touch of God make you whole,

both now and forevermore.

Amen.

PRAYERS FOR SUNDAY AUGUST 28TH

ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Call to Worship                                                                   

Loved by God,
inspired by Jesus
and guided by the Holy Spirit,
let us gather
to worship
to pray
to listen
and to respond.                                                                  Come, let us worship God.

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession                               

A "sacrifice of praise" is the way:
praise that is pricey,
not easy words, ritually rhyming love to You,
but costly honouring of Your being
at the heart of our living;
no mere words on lips,
but convictions in our hearts
that without You we would not be.

And so, as if offering our hearts
on an altar of sacrifice,
the flame of fired-up faith
lifting the fragrance of our love for You to You,
we say from the deepest depths of our very being,
praise be to You.

Lord God,
You are a God of hospitality
who invites us all to a banquet
where the last may be first,
and where the humble and the powerful switch seats.

In gratitude,
may we share Your abundance without counting the cost.

In thankfulness,
may we host strangers as angels You have sent!

May Your spirit rest upon us
so that we may find a place at Your table
and welcome others with radical hospitality.

Forgive us for thinking of ourselves
far higher than we should!

Forgive us for thinking of ourselves
far lower than we ought!

Lord, forgive us both ways!

Save us from the sin of pride
and the offence of false modesty.
Save us from being
our own best defenders
and our own worst critics.

Let us be glad simply to be at the banquet:
gathered by You in grace,
ready to be put in our place,
not for our merit but despite our demerit,
not for our status but despite our sin.

Forgive us both ways!
Put us in our place!
Only then can we face
our worldly posture
with heavenly poise.
Amen

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of intercession                                                         

Loving God,
we pray for a world where too often the loudest people
presume to be heard:
where money and power turns up the volume,
and gentle wisdom is drowned out;
where greed is too often the creed,
and noise masks folly.

Loving God,
we pray for a world where small voices remain unheard:
where poverty and powerlessness mutes their sound,
and harsh folly prevails;
where need is a mantra-like refrain,
and compassion a compromised chorus.

Loving God,
bless them all:
the loud and the silent,
the powerful and the powerless,
but bless them differently!

Bless the loud and proud with humility;
bless the quiet and crushed with esteem;
bless the powerful with silence;
bless the powerless with sound.
Amen

The Dismissal

May we go from here
to be the hands, feet, heart and mouth of Christ.
May we offer our time and treasure to those who need it
without stopping to count the cost.
May we ceaselessly seek justice and pursue it.

The Grace

Minister ~ Rev Alan Kennedy 07733153203 01612703296 alanrk1690@gmail.com