Author: Bellshill Central

Relationship with God now, and in whatever lies ahead – death included – is the overriding
theme of these prayers and reading. Each, in its own way, is a reminder that ours is not a God
enshrined solely in Scripture or to be found inside the walls of an institution, but a living,
moving, acting, listening, responding partner in our faith journey.

Call to Worship

Come, let’s praise God together!
For God is great, and worthy of our praise!
Let’s tell stories of God’s power and majesty,
God’s mighty acts throughout history:
for God is great, and worthy of our praise!
Let’s remember the compassion God has shown toward us;
God’s mercy and unfailing love, generation after generation:
for God is great, and worthy of our praise!
Let’s pass these stories to our children and grandchildren,
so that they, too, may come to know and love our God.
For God is great, and worthy of our praise!

Prayers

For ever and ever, Lord God.
That is Your promise to us.
A promise made before time began.
A promise kept until beyond eternity.
A promise that brings us here today.
Because forever starts today, God.
It rose with the first glimpse of dawn.
It breathed in the stirring of the morning air.
It sang in the waking chorus of creation.
And it lives in all of us
because You, in Your goodness,
have made it so.
This moment in time, God,
is nothing in the grand scale
of Your awesome plan.
But it is our opportunity
to recognise that every second,
of every minute of every hour,
of every day is everything,
because of Your limitless love.
We praise all that You are, Creator God.
We stand amazed at all that You give
and we celebrate Your faithfulness
to us in our failure to appreciate
the price of Your promises
and the cost of Your creativity.
When You created the world, Lord,
You presented it to us as perfect.
A place of growth and fruitfulness.
but we misused it and left it broken and disjointed.
When You breathed life into humanity
You chose and cherished us.
But we broke away from Your gentle arms
and dismissed Your love.
When You came to us,
You wept with us, You suffered for us
and You gave up Your all for us.
But we forgot the vastness of Your sacrifice
and took it for granted.
We cannot fathom the scale and the nature
Of Your forgiveness
Yet still we seek it and need it.
And still You offer it.
For ever and ever, God.
That is Your promise
as proclaimed in Your Son, Jesus Christ.
So here today, we proclaim ourselves
a forgiven people,
refreshed by Your grace
and ready to serve You.
We proclaim ourselves forever people.
Committed to sharing in Your work.
We proclaim ourselves Your people,
now and always. Amen

Psalm 17

A Prayer of David.
¹ Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry;
   give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.
² From you let my vindication come;
   let your eyes see the right.

³ If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,
   if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me;
   my mouth does not transgress.
⁴ As for what others do, by the word of your lips
   I have avoided the ways of the violent.
⁵ My steps have held fast to your paths;
   my feet have not slipped.

⁶ I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
   incline your ear to me, hear my words.
⁷ Wondrously show your steadfast love,
   O saviour of those who seek refuge
   from their adversaries at your right hand.

⁸ Guard me as the apple of the eye;
   hide me in the shadow of your wings,
⁹ from the wicked who despoil me,
   my deadly enemies who surround me.

Prayers for others

Thank You, Lord God,
for promises made and kept
even when we have failed to keep
our side of the bargain.
Even when it feels the world teeters
on the brink of disaster
we know that You will never
abandon Your people
for You have shown us again and again
that You are a faithful God.
Hanging in there
can be tough, though.
We often feel like giving up.
at those times when life
seems too hard or too painful;
when those around us suffer.
Remind us of the words of prophets
that have sustained Your people
throughout generations
and have come true again and again
in Christ Jesus.
Today, loving God,
we pray for all those who are troubled
in body, mind and spirit.
May they know Your presence,
and be reassured by Your words.
We pray for our world,
its leaders, its policy makers
and its protectors.
Help them to make wise decisions
based on justice and tolerance.
We pray for ourselves
that we might see light
in dark and difficult places
and that we might be the light
when others grope for meaning.
And we pray for one another here, Lord.
Those beside, behind and before us,
that we might wait in trust and love together
and that we might go from here
to share Your promises
with all we meet.
In Jesus’ name. Amen

Closing Prayer

Go to celebrate the God
who is our home forever.
Go to follow Christ’s example
in loving God, self, and neighbour.
Go with the Holy Spirit
to change the world with love.
Go to seek God’s kingdom
in all you say and do.
AMEN

Gathering

God
Creator, Word, and Spirit,
You call us together in our inadequate diversity
to reflect Your perfect community in our world.
Be among us today that we may express
the Most Sacred
in our ordinariness

Confession

Almighty God,
our hearts are open to You,
our desires known to You,
and therein lurk the divisions and hostilities
that scar our world,
leaving millions of Your children
wounded, grieving, hungry.
Thank You that these are the very walls
Christ came to break down.
Thank You that You have already forgiven
and made possible a new community in Your Spirit.
Turn our thoughts from our own safety and security
to the glory of Your name
that it may be expressed in our living for the wholeness of society,
beginning here in this church.
Amen

Psalm 119:137-144

¹³⁷ You are righteous, O Lord,
   and your judgements are right.
¹³⁸ You have appointed your decrees in righteousness
   and in all faithfulness.
¹³⁹ My zeal consumes me
   because my foes forget your words.
¹⁴⁰ Your promise is well tried,
   and your servant loves it.
¹⁴¹ I am small and despised,
   yet I do not forget your precepts.
¹⁴² Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
   and your law is the truth.
¹⁴³ Trouble and anguish have come upon me,
   but your commandments are my delight.
¹⁴⁴ Your decrees are righteous for ever;
   give me understanding that I may live.

Thanksgiving

Creator God,
Thank You that you made space for us –
for all created things –
within the Divine Communion.
Thank You for Your abundant generosity
as we name our blessings …
All things come from You,
and of Your own we give You, as we commit again
to live as channels of Your peace
in a world marked by conflict.
Amen

Prayer for others

Healing God,
We pray for Your groaning world
and strain to hear Your groaning with us:
with those living with
poverty
war
oppression
sexual and gender-based violence
hunger
and the daily denial of their dignity as Your children.
Tune our hearts to Your pain
that we may recognise You even in the midst of great evil.
We pray for those with power and influence:

[you may wish to list some names here]

We pray for those seeking to serve those at the margins
and in the most dangerous places
such as World Vision, and other organisations.
We pray for those closer at hand suffering
from sickness
bereavement
loneliness
that they would know You close at hand,
and for those fearing the near end of life,
that You would grant them a perfect end

From the Book of Common Prayer:

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son:
Look with compassion on the whole human family;
take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts;
break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love;
and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth;
that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony
around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen