Call to worship

Loved by God,
inspired by Jesus
and guided by the Holy Spirit,
let us gather
to worship
to pray
to listen
and to respond.

Come, let us worship God.

Prayer of adoration and confession (from Spill the Beans Issue 9)

A “sacrifice of praise” is the way:
praise that is pricey,
not easy words
ritually rhyming love to You,
but costly honouring
of Your being
at the heart of our living;
no mere words on lips,
but convictions in our hearts
that without You we would not be.

And so, as if offering our hearts
on an altar of sacrifice,
the flame of fired-up faith
lifting the fragrance
of our love for You to You,
we say from the deepest depths
of our very being,
praise be to You.

Forgive us for thinking of ourselves
far higher than we should!
Forgive us for thinking of ourselves
far lower than we ought!
Lord, forgive us both ways!

Save us from the sin of pride
and the offence of false modesty.
Save us from being
our own best defenders
and our own worst critics.

Let us be glad simply to be at the banquet:
gathered by You in grace,
ready to be put in our place,
not for our merit but despite our demerit,
not for our status but despite our sin.

Forgive us both ways!
Put us in our place!
Only then can we face
our worldly posture
with heavenly poise.
Amen

Psalm 112 New International Version

Psalm 112^[a]

¹ Praise the Lord.^[b]

Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
    who find great delight in his commands.

² Their children will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.
³ Wealth and riches are in their houses,
    and their righteousness endures forever.
⁴ Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
    for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
⁵ Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
    who conduct their affairs with justice.

⁶ Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
    they will be remembered forever.
⁷ They will have no fear of bad news;
    their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
⁸ Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
    in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
⁹ They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,
    their righteousness endures forever;
    their horn^[c] will be lifted high in honor.

¹⁰ The wicked will see and be vexed,
    they will gnash their teeth and waste away;
    the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Lord God,
You are a God of hospitality
who invites us all to a banquet
where the last may be first,
and where the humble and the powerful switch seats.

In gratitude,
may we share Your abundance without counting the cost.
In thankfulness,
may we host strangers as angels You have sent!

May Your spirit rest upon us
so that we may find a place at Your table
and welcome others with radical hospitality.

In the name of Jesus,
a guest at all our tables, we pray.
Amen

Prayer of intercession (from Spill the Beans issue 9)

Loving God,
we pray for a world
where too often the loudest people
presume to be heard:
where money and power
turns up the volume,
and gentle wisdom is drowned out;
where greed is too often the creed,
and noise masks folly.

Loving God,
we pray for a world
where small voices remain unheard:
where poverty and powerlessness
mutes their sound,
and harsh folly prevails;
where need is a mantra-like refrain,
and compassion a compromised chorus.

Loving God,
bless them all:
the loud and the silent,
the powerful and the powerless,
but bless them differently!

Bless the loud and proud with humility;
bless the quiet and crushed with esteem;
bless the powerful with silence;
bless the powerless with sound.
Amen

Blessing

May we go
to be the hands, feet, heart and mouth of Christ.
May we offer our time and treasure to those who need it
without stopping to count the cost.
May we ceaselessly seek justice and pursue it.
And may the blessing of God Almighty,
Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer
be with us all,
this day and always.
Amen