Cath James welcomed us to worship on 30th July. Our service, being the fifth Sunday of the month was a reflective service, offering an opportunity to ask ourselves some questions and touch into what is resonating for us. To do this we explored four images: a mustard seed, yeast, hidden treasure and a precious pearl and asking what the kingdom of heaven is like?
- Watch the service again on Youtube
- Watch Cath’s introduction to the Parables
- We participated in a Congregational activity
- Read the Order of Service
Opening prayer
Watch or 6:26
Eternal God, we come before you
Yearning to feel your presence
We come in need of healing
In need of forgiveness
And in need of your peace.
Loving God, you know our innermost thoughts
And our deepest longings
We come as we are,
And some of us are tired in spirit.
We come with hopes, dreams and faith
And we come with fears, anger, sorrow and doubts
We come with hard hearts that need softening,
And with broken confidence that needs mending
We come with deep hurts that need healing,
And we come celebrating joys and new hope
Loving God, search our hearts, and may we know
that nothing will be able to separate us from you
May our ears be opened to hear your voice
And our eyes see your world
extravagantly created and loved.
In the name of Christ, Amen.
Prayer of Adoration
Watch or 10:22
“If the soul could have known God without the world, God never would have created the world” Meister Eckhart
SONG: Canticle of Daniel (NCYC99)
1. And you sun and moon and stars – Oh bless the Lord
And all you showers of rain – Oh bless the Lord
And all you breezes and winds – Oh bless the Lord
And you fire and rain – Oh bless the Lord
Refrain: To God be highest glory and praise forever more
2. And you dew and frosts and snow – Oh bless the Lord
And you night time and day – Oh bless the Lord
And you darkness and light – Oh bless the Lord
And you lightning and clouds – Oh bless the Lord Refrain
3. And you mountains and hills – Oh bless the Lord
And you all plants of the earth – Oh bless the Lord
And you fountains and springs – Oh bless the Lord
And you rivers and seas – Oh bless the Lord Refrain
4. Let all the earth bless the Lord (repeat to fade)
SONG: Canticle of Daniel, Words and Music: Don Stewart © 1980, from It all depends, NCYC ‘99 Songbook, Uniting Church in Australia; Reproduced with permission under ONE LICENCE # 604502
Cath James, offered for worship 30/07/2023, Pentecost 9A, Reflective service
Prayers of the people
Watch or 41:50
Including sung response: O Lord hear my prayer TIS741
As we enter now into prayer for the world, let us open our hearts to the Living Spirit who helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. (Romans 8:26-27)
Hear our prayer, O God.
O Lord, hear my prayer,
O Lord, hear my prayer:
When I call, answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer,
O Lord, hear my prayer,
Come and listen to me.
Compassionate Lover of the World,
if you are for us, who is against us?
You who did not withhold your own Child
but gave him up for all of us.
We pray, with him, plant within us today
a tiny seed of promise to grow into a huge tree of hope:
growing to provide food for all who are famished,
shelter for all who are homeless,
belonging for all who are marginalised,
care for all who are struggling,
comfort for all who grieve.
Hear our prayer, O God.
O Lord, hear my prayer…
Humble Healer of Brokenness,
who will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine
or nakedness or peril or sword?
No, in all these things we are more than victorious
through him who loved us.
We pray leaven us like flour to rise into
a nourishing loaf of love for a hungry world.
Leaven your church with peace and with justice,
rising through war and oppression
in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, Ethiopia,
Sudan, Myanmar, Afghanistan,
and every place your children are violently divided.
Hear our prayer, O God.
O Lord, hear my prayer…
Gracious Renewer of Heaven and Earth,
we know nothing in all creation
will be able to separate us from your love
for us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We pray uncover in us the treasure of your presence
that calls for everything we have, even our very lives.
Reveal to us the pearl of faith, the jewel of hope,
the precious lustre of love.
Help us carry this priceless inheritance
through the uncertainty and confusion of this historical moment,
through the burning heat and drenching floods of climate change,
through the heartrending inequality among our neighbours,
until your Commonwealth of Love is complete.
Hear our prayer, O God.
O Lord, hear my prayer…
Let us pray together the prayer of God’s reign on earth:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
Ian Ferguson, offered for worship 30/07/2023, Pentecost 9A, Reflective service
SONG: O Lord, hear my prayer, by Jacques Berthier, from Together in Song, Harper Collins Religious, WORD OF LIFE
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