PRAYERS FOR SUNDAY OCTOBER 2ND

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Call to Worship

Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth
Sing glory to God's name, God's glorious name.
All the earth worships You;

they sing praises to Your name.

Open our ears to listen.                                                            Open our eyes to see Your face.
In this hour of worship take away the busyness of the week
as we give it to You, our Heavenly Father.

Prayers of Adoration, Thanksgiving and Confession

Loving Father God,
We come to You now,

with hearts full of love and thanksgiving.                                    You are the most caring, forgiving Father;

"Abba", as Your son Jesus called You.

How privileged are we,

that we can talk freely and personally to You –
the genius Creator of the whole world.                                        We can be selfish, lazy and foolish sometimes,
but when we ask for Your forgiveness,

You are quick to forgive us.                                            

You protect us, and guard us, and lovingly answer our prayers when we ask for guidance and protection.                                When we come to a crossroads,

or have important decisions to make,
You take time to listen to us,

and help us to choose the right path.                                      You listen to our voices when we pray for others,                        and Your healing powers are wonderful to behold.

You know us so well,

and You love to hear our voices                                                  as we open our hearts to You,

Father God.                                                                           

You have often come to our rescue                                            when we have strayed from Your perfect ways,
and we humbly and gratefully now

we give You thanks and adoration for Your goodness.

You have often given us strength when we were weak or weary
and we pray that we can be brave enough to share the truth of Your power,
and Your unfailing love with others.

With Your help we can live lives worthy of You,
we can say what You would say to help others,
or act generously and sincerely when we hear of people in need.

We are humbled, Lord God,
that You willingly take time to listen to us,                                  sinful and misguided as we sometimes are.

How gracious of You, Our Father and Creator,
to pay attention to us, to care what happens to us, to love us,      undeserving as we are.

We bless You for sending Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ,
to be such a perfect example for us to follow.                              You sent Him to live for us, to teach us,
and to show us a perfect example of how to live our lives.
Then, Father God,
You asked Him to give up His life for us                                      by dying a cruel and humiliating death on the Cross.                    Lord God, You raised Him on the third day –

our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ.
Your perfect plan was then to send us Your Holy Spirit,                to live in us, and through us.                                                    Thank You Father, for creating us,

redeeming us and sustaining us.
We love You, and trust You for every aspect of our lives.

Amen.

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

God loves, God listens, God answers . 

The answers may not be the ones we expect,

but no prayer for our sisters and brothers is ever wasted.

So let us pray.

Loving God, because the world’s problems and miseries are so vast and complex, and because we are neither wise enough, nor resourceful and strong enough to put things to right, we pray for your divine assistance in every sphere.

Be with those who are struggling for justice and peace                among nations and communities.

Be with those who through research or hands-on care                  are fighting disease and suffering.

Be with those who are trying to govern wisely,

and those who administer justice.

Be with those who care for the dignity of the unemployed,          handicapped and the homeless.

Be with those who provide education for our children                  and advanced skills for young adults.

Be with those who are pastors in churches, hospitals,                  industry and care homes.

Be with all those who in spite of the help that is offered              are still finding it hard to cope

and find themselves at their wits end.

Loving God, Friend of all who turn to you,                                and Friend also of those who in anger turn away from you,          in your love embrace this world with your almighty tenderness,    and lead us from all that is hurtful and destructive

to grace, mercy and peace.                                                            

In the name of Christ Jesus.

Amen

The Dismissal                                                                           

You, our God, walk with us, eat with us, sleep with us.
In every beat of our heart, you are there.
So as we leave where we sit and stand in this place,
we take You with us, in all we do.

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR SUNDAY OCTOBER 9TH

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Call to Worship

Here we have the opportune time to re-ground ourselves in God.

It is time for pausing and praising, for thinking and thanking,

for listening and learning, for confessing and forgiving.

This is time for allowing ourselves to be loved and cherished

by a Lover who will never leave us or forsake us.

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession

Holy Friend, words about you are no substitute for the real thing. We thank you for the special times of the spirit;

for those brief moments of Divine light,

when nothing separates us from you

and we can experience a fragment of pure wonder and love.     

We thank you for the simple triggers you choose for these moments of light:

A piece of music, a walk by the sea, a phrase in a prayer.

The song of a thrush, the eyes of a friend, a line in a hymn.

A ripple on still waters, a word of Scripture,

the soft cheek of a baby.

A tiny orchid, a loved one’s hug, a parable from Jesus.

The midnight stars, an awakened memory,

the sharing of bread and wine.

Recovering from an illness, a thought in a sermon,

the scent of a flower.

A child’s baptism, the striking of a clock,

the glimpse of a mountain peak.

We thank you that we cannot manufacture these times of awe; or predict them; that they are your serendipity gifts, free as grace, more precious than gold.

Help us to treasure them, to measure them by what Christ taught us, and to use them as inspiration for the common love and service of ordinary days.                

Release in us that spirit of joyful thanks which is too often cramped down by our work and worries or ignored by our trivial pleasures and entertainments.                   

Release the real joy of Christ in us,

that with adoring gratitude we may link our little spirits with your majestic Spirit and find that inflow of health which rejuvenates our whole being. 

Father, you are always ready to hear our confession.

When others expose our obvious faults and sins, when we ourselves get angry with our less obvious and secret sins, thank goodness, loving God,

for Christ Jesus our Redeemer!

Other people may project shame on us and shun us, 

we may find ourselves hard to live with,

but you come to us with a relentless grace

and therapeutic mercy that forgives and heals.

You are the light that exposes all shabbiness,

the physician who diagnoses with total accuracy,

the surgeon who cuts away disease and corruption,

the pharmacist who prescribes the right salve,

and the nurse who encourages our sore spirits back to health.

You, Jesus Christ, are our loving judge and our enduring Saviour.

Please deal with us not exactly as we ask,

and not as we deserve,

but with that wise compassion which knows what is best for us,

now and always.

Amen

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

Only those who truly believe in faith, hope and love, will keep on praying for a world that lurches from one crisis to another.

Let us pray.

God of hope, give us more of the Spirit of Jesus

and co-opt us into the ongoing work of your salvation. 

Let us by word, deed and prayer,

assist in some way, be it small or large,  

for the rescue and healing of your people on this planet.

Wherever there is spiritual confusion or despair;

may the salvation of  Christ come with its light and joy.

Wherever there is emotional sickness or mental disarray,

may the salvation of Jesus still exert its ancient power.

Wherever people suffer from accident or disease,

carry a handicap, or bear a tearing grief, 

may the salvation of Christ be intimately present.

Wherever there are injustices which crush body, mind and spirit, may the salvation of the Lord  bring liberty to victims, and  repentance to the oppressors.

Wherever there is bad blood between family members,

neighbours, or old friends,  

may the salvation of Jesus deliver us

and heal our sins and follies.

Wherever the church has failed to be a healing community,

may your saving hands draw us away from dis-ease and recall us to that wholesome loving that bears all things, hopes all things and endures all things.

Holy God, you are our light and salvation.                                  Hear our prayers,

toughen our faith, and widen our compassion.         

Through Christ Jesus our Saviour.

Amen

The Dismissal

As you go on your way,

may you have the wisdom and will to help others

and the humility to allow others to help you.

Take courage to forgive and be forgiven,

to heal and be healed, to serve and be served.

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR SUNDAY OCTOBER 16TH

Call to Worship

Friends, fellow travellers,
all who come here today, companions in worship,
Let this be the place and time for fellowship and conversation,
solitude and contemplation
praise and silence.                                                                   

Let this be a crossing place,
where paths human and divine, weave together
and just sometimes,
blessing comes to those who persevere.

"I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."

Prayers of Approach, Thanksgiving and Confession

God, Holy and Living:
Maker of heaven and earth,
Healer of creation,
Breath and fire of Life.

We pause now to worship You,
now as the seasons turn,
we still ourselves in reverence,
now as days turn short and nights grow long …

Pausing, still, we wait on You …
We, who need Your blessing upon our lives,
as night gives way to dawn.

"I waited, I waited on the Lord
He bent down low and remembered me
When he heard my prayer."

Loving God,
all our times are in Your hands.
We give thanks,
for the many who have made this journey before us
here, in and around this church,
this beloved place of worship and community life;
where friends, fellow-travellers and companions,
have found blessing in times of
trial and struggle,
celebration and festivity,
all through lives of patient faithfulness
and persistent prayer.

These people, we name quietly now,
in gratitude for all that they have given
and every way that they have been a blessing

Silence

Holy God,
We who have fallen short,
missed the mark,
lost our way in the shadows;
we need Your blessing,
Your good word upon us …
to reach the goal, make the mark, find our way home.

We who have so much to celebrate and also to regret:
we need Your blessing,
Your good word within us
in our daily struggles;
the obstacles faced,
our burdens borne and challenges met,
apart and together.

Whisper Your blessing to us today,
The blessing of a new, grace-soaked story to live by,
in place of the tired old tales we repeat to ourselves.
The blessing of the precious name You call us by,
Your name for each of us, Your beloved in Christ.
The blessing of a new direction of travel,
the way that leads to life, the way of Christ.

We wait on You,
we who need Your blessing upon our lives,
as night gives way to dawn.

"I waited, I waited on the lord
He bent down low and remembered me
When he heard my prayer.

Assurance of Pardon

People of God
all you who watch and wait,
who persevere in prayer,
who seek the blessing of the God of Life:

"Your help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."
"The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time on and forevermore."                                          Amen

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

As Jacob wrestled for blessing
and as Jesus urges us to pray always and not to lose heart,
so in our turn we pray for these,
our concerns of the day, naming them now:

In a moment of silence we pray for our world and our nation -

silence

For our city and neighbourhood -

silence                                                                                                    

For our congregation –

silence                                                                                   

For our friends, our families and ourselves -

silence

God, Holy and Living:
Maker of heaven and earth,
Healer of creation,
Breath and fire of Life:

As Your world turns on its way
and all its people pass from night, into day
and back into night again,
may the prayer of Your people never cease
and Jacob's struggle for blessing
and the widow's demand for justice continue,
until every voice in heaven, on earth
and all of creation redeemed,
cries ‘Glory!'

Until that day,
we will join our voices to their persistent chorus
in name and in the spirit of Jesus,                                              Amen.

The Dismissal

Go now,
striving like Jacob for blessing,
persisting as the widow demanding justice.
Pray always and do not lose heart.

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR HARVEST THANKSGIVING SUNDAY

Scripture Sentences

The earth has yielded its harvest. May God, our God bless us.      Psalm 67:6

God cares for the earth and makes it fruitful. He crowns the year with good gifts.

Psalm 65:9,11

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession

As we celebrate our plenty and give thanks for our food,          Father, we praise you for all you have done

and for all you have given.                                             

For shelves that are laden and cupboards that are full.                For food available, varied, and affordable,

for taste and for flavour,                                                

for a healthy appetite and the means to satisfy it.                 

For all that is symbolised in this Harvest Service                  Creator and Sustainer of all, we thank and praise you.

For Provider and Producer,

God and farmer working together in harmony.                          For all in the food chain from field to factory,                              retailer to consumer, each one depending on the others.              Creator and Sustainer of all, we thank and praise you.

For our countryside; Fertile, diverse and beautiful,                      supplying so much of what we need;                                          Our food, our water, crops for industry, energy and medicine.    Source of our leisure, relaxation and renewal.                          Creator and Sustainer of all, we thank and praise you.

For the harvest of talents in this church;                                    for buildings well maintained,

for flower arrangements and music,       

for responsible stewardship, for charities supported.                  For the harvest of fellowship here,

for friends made and support given.                               

For people with whom to laugh and with whom to weep.

For commitment deepened; for discipleship taken up,                for the cross carried and the burdens borne.                              Creator and Sustainer of all, we thank and praise You. 

As we celebrate your goodness so we confront our own sin,          our greed and insensitivity,                                                        our failure to appreciate what we have

and the opportunities you have given,

our readiness to complain, our unwillingness to praise.                Father, forgive and renew us.

Food taken for granted,

work unappreciated and poorly rewarded;                                  Self-centred blindness to other’s needs.                                      Deliberate deafness to the cries of the hungry,                        Coldness of heart to those deprived of affection,                          Father, forgive and renew us.

A landscape threatened and an economy at risk;                        a countryside disheartened,

its communities uncertain and confused,                               

its isolation and exclusion ignored.                                            Father, forgive and renew us.

May our sins be forgiven,                                                        our blindness, deafness and coldness of heart be healed.          May your renewing spirit rest on us                                            and fill our nation with your love and hope.                                In Jesus’ name.                                                                        Amen

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

We pray for those whose lives are caught up with your creation,  and who work with you in tending and nurturing it;                      those afraid for their future, those struggling to survive;            all whose livelihood and existence is under threat.                    May they know your presence

and be conscious of the help that you bring.

Through both may they find hope for their future.                        Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer

We pray for the hungry and the homeless,

the broken and bereaved.                                                   

For all for whom this day brings sadness and little joy.                For the lonely and the helpless, for those whose hope has been shattered and their faith destroyed.                                          Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer                                                                                               For the struggling and the oppressed,                                        for those without power to negotiate or bargain;                        for all whose work goes unrewarded,

whose produce is undervalued.                                       

For all who feel unwanted,

believing their skills are no longer needed.                              Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer.

For all who struggle to change the system,

striving for justic,

trying to overcome political blindness and public insensitivity.      For all who influence our thinking, our buying and consuming;    for all who formulate policy and manage the market;                for fairness and compassion in all walks of life.                          Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer.

For responsible stewardship in our using of your world;              for sustainable consumption as well as production;                      for care for creation and compassion for each other.                  Lord may your Kingdom come,                                           

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.                              Amen

The Blessing

Bless to us, O God                                                                  The sun that shines above us                                                  The rain that falls upon us                                                        The earth that sustains us                                                        The air that surrounds us                                                          The love that binds us.                                                            May God who has made us, who loves us and who gives us life,    bless and keep us, now and always.                                            Amen

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR REFORMATION SUNDAY                                        OCTOBER 30TH

Call to Worship

Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
Let us also lay aside every weight,

and the sin that clings so closely
And let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
Looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

Amen

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession

Gather us together this Reformation Sunday, O God,

that we may celebrate the witness

of our forefathers and foremothers

and the courage that gave birth to the Reformation.

On this Reformation Sunday, we thank you for those people you have poured your Spirit into

who then set about reforming your church.                              We thank you that you are still at work in the life of the church    reforming us remaking us into your image.                               

Ever-calling God,                                                                 

We give thanks that you have gathered us into your church          and graced us with your faithful presence.                              We give thanks for our history, ancient and still developing,          and marvel at the many expressions of your church.                    Grant us the vision to be a part of a new reformation for the Church that will bring ever more joy and justice to the world.    Continue to gather us, in all our diversity                                    into Jesus’ vision and dream

that your faithful people may be one in you.  

Teach us how to honour the saints of God in ages past                as well as in our present days.                                                May the conviction of your grace written on their hearts            be one that forms our own faith.                                                Inspire us in the continuing reformation of the church                  and be present to us in Word and Sacrament.

O God of mercy,

we lament that even good actions of reform and renewal

had often unintended negative consequences.

We bring before you the burdens of the guilt of the past

when our forefathers did not follow your will

that all be one in the truth of the Gospel.

We confess our own ways of thinking and acting

that perpetuate the divisions of the past.

As communities and as individuals,

we build many walls around us:

mental, spiritual, physical, political walls

that result in discrimination and violence.

Forgive us, Lord.

Assurance of Pardon

Christ is the way, the truth and the life.

He is our peace,

who breaks down the walls that divide,

who gives us, through the Holy Spirit,

ever-new beginnings.

In Christ, we receive forgiveness and reconciliation

and we are strengthened

for a faithful and common witness in our time.                            Amen. 

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

We reflect your image, Lord,

in how we care for one another with love, care and prayer.

We pray for those in hospital today.

We pray for those at home with illnesses,

and recovering from treatment or surgery.

We pray for those in nursing homes

and those who are house bound.

We pray for their families during these times.

We pray for those who are facing death.

We pray for those who are grieving.

We pray for doctors, nurses,

health care workers and caregivers.

Lord, may we reflect your image in our love, care and prayer

that we put to action for these your children.

We reflect your image in how we love, care and pray for the world.

We pray for those around the world

who as Christians face imprisonment and martyrdom.

We pray for those who countries torn by civil war.

We pray for those living in poverty.

We pray for those who live in starvation.

We pray for those who are being used

in slave labour and child labour.

We pray for those who have been affected by disasters.

We pray for those in disaster areas who face outbreak of diseases.

Lord, may we put into action our love, care and prayers for the world.

Lord, we pray for your church

that we be a beacon of hope, grace, love and light in this world.

May our open doors reflect your open arms to all.

May our arms and hands reaching out to those in need 

reflect your love for all.

May our forgiveness of one another

reflect your forgiveness for all.
Amen.

Blessing

God will write a new covenant on our hearts
God will be our God and we will be God’s people
No longer shall we teach one another,

or say to each other, “Know the Lord.”
For we shall all know God.
In the name of God the Source of Life,

the Word of Truth, and the Spirit of Love.

The Grace

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