Sunday 31st March 2019 – Lent 4C (2)

God of welcome,

You have thrown wide the doors

to show that all are to find their way in.

You watch with eager eyes

for those who are uncertain that they belong

and then You draw them in,

sometimes with a clasp of their hand

and a gentle pull 

into this graceful space:

at other times with a tender whisper,

conscious that too much bravado

might send the uncertain scurrying.

 

You have made a space

for those who do not always feel they belong,

and in story-telling and song

You demonstrate that there is a place

for everyone,

even if we think it cannot be us.

We may feel the weight of the world,

the sorrow we feel,

the hurt we have caused,

the prejudice that has passed our way;

and yet You hold the door wider,

and move along the seat,

so that there is a clear space 

in which our worship of You

may pour forth.

 

Graceful and compassionate God,

You are not blind to our faults

or the faults of the world.

We struggle to walk the path to You,

fearing rejection,

carrying failure,

and longing for forgiveness.

We have been wasteful with all You have offered us,

and blind to our arrogance and wealth.

 

Silence

 

Gracious parent,

who keeps searching until we return

and rediscover what it means to be loved and to love,

may the openness of Your heart

be the light that draws us 

towards living the kingdom in our time.

Amen

Sunday 31st March 2019 – Lent 4C (1)

We gather today to be blessed and renewed,

for God knows our hearts and holds nothing from us.

 

Through days and nights of fears and worries, we have waited God’s presence, 

and felt the gentle pressure of Divine love leading us to new energies and strength.

 

When the waters rise and the earth quakes, let us remember the assurance of God as a hiding place in times of trouble.

May our voices rise with songs that sing of our hope for we know God watches overs us.

(Based on Psalm 32)                     

Sunday 3rd March 2019 – Transfiguration

Back to being all by myself again this week, as the assistant has finished and headed off to new adventures.   Elbow still fractured and right arm still painful, so this is the offering.   The Call to Worship is adapted from something I found elsewhere.   Opening Prayer is my own work.   The rest of my liturgy includes a baptism, borrowed dedication and borrowed Prayers of the People so not fully functioning yet.   However I have also managed to write a sermon so the brain is still clicking.

 

Call to Worship

The drabness of our thoughts;

the mundane of every day living;

the meagreness of our gifts – 

are loved by the God of the ordinary,

and with grace and presence are made extraordinary.

Instead we are inspired 

with vivid imagination;

with holy, precious moments;

with an abundance of wonder.

Let our worship make use of the mountain peak

to give us fresh vision and renewed purpose

when the bleak forbidding world is overwhelming.

Let us worship God…

 

Opening Prayer

Like many a Sunday morning,

we have thrown back our bed covers,

washed away the warmth of sleep,

and made our way to worship.

We come 

sometimes out of habit,

sometimes full of hope,

to make a space within our lives

for You,

O God of every day 

and Sunday.

 

Not all our thoughts are high and lofty,

instead the simple task of being human

tumbles in our prayers and actions,

and at times we wonder if You are interested

in the how our time is spent.

You are not one to sweep away our worries,

instead in the voices and hands of others,

You are picking up the pieces

and helping us to see new possibilities

in amongst the hard conversations and difficult relationships.

Our presence in the midst of others

is not tired and weary habit,

but purposeful, reparation

that allows us to see ourselves and the world

in the hands of Your creative energies.

 

God of equity and justice,

weighed down by our failings

we come hoping to be loved.

We think of words we have spoken out of turn,

and the accidental hurts we have caused,

and look to You

to show us new ways to live.

You are the one who throws wide the door

and welcomes us in.

May our lives shine with Christ’s presence.

Amen.