Which commandment is the first of all?

Prayers of Adoration & Confession

O Holy One we come to you
with hearts full of love and praise.
When the sun rises in a clear sky
colouring the world with beauty
we see your glory and delight in your gifts.
When the wind blows
and the clouds race across the skies
we see your power and delight in your gifts.
When the sun sets and the skies darken
we seek out the far away stars and
we see your joy and delight in your gifts.

O Living One we come to you
with hearts burdened by grief and despair.
When we see people locked away and suffering
we are shamed and we come to you
to work with you for justice for all.
When we hear the powerful shouting loudly
we feel despair and we come to you
to work with you to resist evil.
When we feel the groaning of creation
we feel anger and we come to you
to work with you for healing for all.

Holy One, Living One, You are our God.
We are your people.  Forgive us.  Amen

Responding to the question ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’
Jesus says ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
Even before we begin to love God in response to this commandment
God loves us first.  God loves us, heals us and sets us free.
Through the mystery of grace, a gift like no other,
we can be confident then that in Jesus’ name, our sins are forgiven.
Thanks be to God.  Amen

Saide Cameron, offered for worship 4/11/18, Pentecost 24B

Prayers of the people

Holy One, Our God,
We pray for a world
Where some people enjoy power, and use it to oppress others,
Where some people wish to create a sense of fear to better control and manipulate people
Where some people take what they can, without thinking of the impact on others
Where we as humans take from the planet, without recognising the cost.

You call us to love.

Holy One, Christ our Lord,
We pray for the church.
A church which is struggling to respond to the way it has betrayed people’s trust,
A church which has not always sided with the people who are poor and vulnerable,
A church which can sometimes focus on itself, rather than on you.

You call us to love.

Holy One, Living Spirit,
We pray for our community.
A community which lives in spirit with those who have gone before us,
A community where people are grieving, are hurting, are feeling lonely, are feeling excluded.

You call us to love.

Holy One, Lord and Living Spirit,
We offer these prayers with those of our hearts.
May we live out your commandment to us
And love with our whole being.
Amen.

Kirsty Bennett, offered for worship 4/11/18, Pentecost 24B