Mark 6:14-29

Prayers of Adoration & Confession

Creator God, you give us life in all its fullness.
For crisp Winter mornings, and cool wind on our cheeks, we praise you.
For lush green grass and squelching mud, we thank you.
For hands that create, and minds that think, and voices that sing, we honour you.
Brother Christ, our companion and inspiration.
For friendships where joys are doubled and sorrows halved, we praise you.
For stories that continue to puzzle and delight us, we thank you.
For your gift of passionate life, and selfless death, we honour you.
Holy Spirit, the breath that fills us:
For healing of aching bodies, and torn relationships, we praise you.
For moments of calm and insight in the rush of daily life, we thank you.
For revealing God in our lives and the lives of those around us, we honour you.

God we confess that our world does not always honour you,
We turn our backs to those who suffer,
We are unaware of your presence,
We worry too much about the opinions of others
We become afraid
afraid to speak out against injustice
afraid to change our minds when we have been wrong
afraid to believe that we have the ability to bring about change
afraid to believe in a better future.
Forgive us, loving Creator.
Restore us. Give us hope.
Help us to believe in your vision for ourselves, for your church, and for your world.
Give us the confidence to follow where you lead.

Sisters and Brothers, through Christ we are God’s adopted children,
and God is our loving parent, both father and mother,
who continually forgives and sets us back on the right path.
Our sin is forgiven,
Thanks be to God. 

Natalie Sims, offered for worship, 15/7/18, Pentecost 8

Prayers of the People

God of the Cosmos infinite loving Mother and Father of us all, we come today with praise and thankfulness for all you have given us. We thank you that we come in safety to worship, and pray for everyone for whom worship is dangerous, whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist or Christian.

Here in a wonderful land of peace, we pray for a world where people struggle to survive. We give thanks for the survival of the boys in Thailand, and for the young Thai Sgt. who lost his life helping in the rescue. We pray for the health of the boys and their rescuers. And give thanks for the amazing things that can happen when we work together.

God of compassion, we pray for the people in Japan who have been inundated by floods and landslides. 8 million people are displaced and living in schools and public buildings.

We pray for  the elections being held in Western Pakistan, and those injured in the bombings which killed 125 people.

For times of great joy and times of agony pain and grief, God of compassion, give strength and hope that there will be a better day.

God of our differences. We give thanks and pray in this time of discussion in the Uniting Church that our leaders have  listened to your voice and each other,  as they have made decisions that affect us all. We pray that we all have the strength to follow where you lead.

We pray for our community here in Brunswick, for all who work and worship here, and for those who come to find you. May we be strong enough to reach out to those in need, and not just sit safe and comfortable in your house.

God of our past and future. We pray for our friends and families, for the communities we live in. Lord you gave us dominion over the land and animals in this world. We haven’t done a very good job and we pray that we will care more for the way we live and for the earth we will one day hand to our children.

We pray for people who seem to miss out in this land of plenty. For the unemployed, for those who are sick, angry, old, afraid, and for our First Peoples. We pray for Asylum  Seekers, Lord, in a land of refugees and immigrants our treatment of these people is shameful, and we pray politicians will stop thinking of how many votes being tough will get them.

God of the infinite, you  know each of us and all we hold in our hearts and minds. We pray that you will give us strength and conviction as we go out into a world that doesn’t know you. And bring us back together to gain love and comfort from each other and from you.

We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Knowing that you will hear us.
Amen

Helen Burnham, offered for worship, 15/7/18, Pentecost 8