Helen Burnham welcomed us to worship on 14th January. We explored the many ways God calls us. In 1 Samuel we heard how God calls the boy Samuel, who knows nothing of God, calls him to the difficult life of a Prophet. And in the Gospel reading from John, we heard Jesus as he calls the Disciples to follow him. We wondered how we might hear or recognize when God is calling us?
- Watch the service again on Youtube
- Helen reminded us that there is no place to hide from God
- Watch Peter’s reflection
- Read the Order of Service
Prayers of Adoration & Confession
Watch or 8:40
You are the God of amazing red sunrises, crashing blue waves
and olive green and purple mountains, multi coloured birds and amazing animals,
all the miracles of your creation, and yet we try to put you into the “Sunday Box.”
Holy one, you are the Mother, Father, Jesus and Spirit,
who breaks the boundaries we try to set around you.
You are here in every moment of our past, present and future,
so we can’t hide, and through our fear, we can say, as Samuel said,
“Speak Lord for your servants are listening.”
Amen
Loving, listening God, we don’t know where to start when we ask for forgiveness.
Our world is overwhelmed by war, disasters, and global warming.
We feel helpless in the face of the horrors inflicted
by Governments on their neighbors and their own people.
We feel powerless looking at the destruction of our natural world, your creation.
We ask for forgiveness Lord when we try to run away,
when we close our ears, eyes and mouths,
when we should be shouting, and fighting,
to right the wrongs we witness even in our own country.
Forgive us for our weakness, our brokenness,
our indifference to the suffering around us,
and inspire us with the fire of your imagination,
to do what we can, small or large.
“Speak Lord, for your servants are listening.”
Amen
Word of Grace
“Speak Lord, for your servants are listening.”
We surrender our brokenness to you and open our hearts
to the miracle of your healing grace, in the knowledge that,
In Christ, through Christ, and because of Christ,
Our sin is forgiven,
Thanks be to God
Helen Burnham, offered for worship 14/01/2023, Epiphany 2B
Prayers of the people
Watch or 36:37
I’m Lyn and sharing the prayers of the people with you today. After the prayers I will take the Christ candle to the chapel space. You are invited to light a taper for your own prayer after the service.
Loving God we come to you this morning with hearts and minds open to your presence. It is hard to comprehend that you are with us all the time and know what we are thinking and what we are going to say. Lord this is a very scary thought particularly when we know we can be wrong and say, think and do things which are definitely not what you would expect from us. Please forgive us for our mistakes.
Lord the world is so troubled now with wars and conflicts raging and more countries, including Australia, becoming involved all the time. Innocent civilians are dying and being persecuted simply because of living where they do. Politicians and people in power are simply using these people to try and achieve their own goals. Dear God we ask that you make the aggressors aware of their inhumanity and stop. We pray to for all who are suffering hunger due to drought, wars and civil unrest. Show us how we may be able to help.
Dear Lord please help us to keep our eyes and ears open to your calling. It is easy to simply ignore others around us when we could be actually listening and understanding what they may need. Maybe it is a listening ear, a smile of encouragement or some other simple gesture that could make their lives much better.
As it is almost time for Olive Way start up again we ask you to guide all who work with the Olive Way, particularly Peter and Ruth as they coordinate the best way possible to help those in our community who come as our guests. Be with the volunteers who give of their time and talents to make this activity of your church so important.
We continue to pray for our Joint Nominating Committee as they continue to work with Presbytery to find a new minister. Be with us as we care for each other in this time of waiting. We know Lord that you holding us in your arms and caring for us.
We pray for the victims of violence in our communities and ask that you will guide those who support them to provide the best care possible. We also pray for the perpetrators that they may get the help they need to see the error of their actions and become better people.
We also pray for all emergency services first responders. Give them the strength they need to provide the support and help needed for victims of incidents they attend.
We pray too for all the families affected by the severe weather events of recent weeks. Give them hope the courage to do their best in very difficult circumstances.
We bring these prayers before you dear God and ask you togo with us and guide us in the week to come.
Amen
Lyn Anderson, offered for worship 14/01/2024, Epiphany 2B
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