Helen Burnham welcomed us to worship on 3rd March. The Gospel reading explored the difficult story of Jesus’ anger when God’s house is used as a marketplace. In the letter to the Corinthians Paul spoke of God’s foolishness being wiser than our wisdom. We wondered ‘what is our Wisdom and what is God’s foolishness?’
- Watch the service again on Youtube
- The Gospel reading was offered with some dramatic moments
- Cath offered a blessing for parents and young people
- Watch Cath’s reflection – God’s Wisdom and Anger
- We celebrated Holy Communion
- Read the Order of Service
Prayers of Adoration & Confession
Watch or 10:46
Now let’s remind ourselves who it is we worship as we join together in our prayers of Adoration and Confession. Let us pray
Father we adore you,
Lay our lives before you
How we love you.
Let us sing to the Father a new song,
for the world is full of the wonder and whimsy of God’s design.
For our God is doing marvelous things.
Mother we adore you,
Lay our lives before you.
How we love you.
Let us sing to our mother a new song,
for God offers peace and comfort,
and God’s mercy and faithfulness is everlasting.
Jesus we adore you,
Lay our lives before you.
How we love you.
Let us sing to Jesus a new song,
with thanks for the foolishness of God
in sending us Jesus to live and die, a life with us.
Spirit we adore you,
Lay our lives before you.
How we love you.
Let us sing a new song to the Spirit who walks with us.
Who leads us when we go astray, picks us up when we stumble,
and brings us back to God.
Father, Mother, Jesus Spirit,
We adore you.
Lay our lives before you.
How we love you.
Here we confess our wisdom, pride, and our vanity,
We can send people into space to live,
We can create artificial intelligence,
We can transplant human organs to save lives,
We use in vitro fertilization to create babies,
And we confess our arrogance, foolishness.
We invented the atomic bomb.
We wage war in aggression or retaliation,
We exploit and discriminate out of fear and greed
We continue to plunder the earth,
For our pride, our boastfulness and our inflated ego at our cleverness.
For our failure to see and feel you at work in the world.
For all these things both great and small, we cry
Forgive us, Mother, Father, Jesus, Spirit.
Amen
Word of Grace
So here is God’s foolishness, but it is far greater than our wisdom.
God sent us his only Son, Jesus, who weeps and laughs with us on life’s journey,
And through the Risen Christ, we are confident to say,
In Christ, through Christ, and because of Christ,
Our sin is forgiven.
Thanks be to God
Helen Burnham, offered for worship 03/03/2024, Lent 3B
Prayers of the people
Watch or 42:51
We offer our prayers for the world, the church and the community secure in the knowledge that God’s foolishness is greater than our wisdom. Let us pray
God our maker, we pray for the world, for your creation, for all living things.
Where violence and evil destroys the lives of innocent people
may your foolishness break through, setting people free.
Where rampant destruction seeks to overcome all that is good
may your foolishness prevail and love guide the actions of leaders.
We give thanks for the many who work for justice and peace.
Jesus, over-turner of tables, we pray for the church, your body in the world.
Where the needs of the vulnerable go unmet and their voices unheard
may your anger wake up the church and help us to see, listen and act.
Where the church becomes lost under the weight of uncertainty and despair
may your passion burn in our hearts and send us out to follow you into world.
We give thanks for church leaders speaking of your love in the market place.
Holy Spirit, in your life-sustaining breath, we pray for our community.
Where people are sad, lonely, hungry, unwell in body and soul
may we offer a place of welcome, where love and friendship can be found.
Where there is silence, fear, uncertainty and doubt
may we work with you to give birth again and again to love and joy.
We give thanks for the many communities in this place sharing the Good News.
Amen
Saide Cameron, offered for worship by Ray Cameron, 03/03/2024, Lent 3B
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