Author: Bellshill Central

Call to worship

Turn towards the Father
who runs out to meet us
even if we feel far off.

Turn towards the Son
who reconciles us to God
making us all a new creation.

Turn towards the Spirit
who meets with us here
filling us with hope and peace.

Father, Son and Spirit,
we turn towards You
with expectant minds
and hopeful hearts.
Transform us anew.
Amen

Psalm 32

The Joy of Forgiveness

¹ Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
   whose sin is covered.
² Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
   and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³ While I kept silence, my body wasted away
   through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
   my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
          Selah

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
   and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’,
   and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
          Selah

⁶ Therefore let all who are faithful
   offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
   shall not reach them.
⁷ You are a hiding-place for me;
   you preserve me from trouble;
   you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
          Selah

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
   I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
⁹ Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
   whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
   else it will not stay near you.

¹⁰ Many are the torments of the wicked,
   but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
¹¹ Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
   and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Confession

Liberating God,
Thank You for the joy that comes with forgiveness,
for the freedom of being released from shame,
for rolling away the stone of guilt from our lives.

We come with confidence,
to confess our sins
in the hope of having a healthy
rather than a false humility.

We confess the things we have done,
and the things we have left undone,
that have hurt You, others and the planet.

[SILENT PRAYER]

Forgive the guilt of our sin,
be our hiding place and
preserve us from trouble.
Surround us with Your deliverance.

[SILENCE]

Lead into the Lord’s prayer.

Lament, confession and intercession

God of grace,
we see the damage inflicted on the world around us
and the resulting harm to our siblings
in climate-vulnerable places
and we mourn.

We lament the broken relationship
between humanity and the rest of creation.
Teach us the humility of the younger son,
so we can be honest with ourselves and one another
about our failure to care for the planet in the ways that we are called to.

In the silence now we call to mind those times
when we, not just as individuals but as a society,
have failed to tread lightly on Your earth,
and we ask for your forgiveness.

[SILENCE]

Lord, we thank You
that You are a God of forgiveness,
who, as the Father welcomed his lost son home
with open arms
wants to restore our relationship with one another
and with the earth.

Even as we acknowledge our role in the overuse of resources
and a failure to live sustainably,
may we not be burdened by guilt and shame,
instead, free to work for climate justice,
To hope for a better future.
Amen

Please join with us in praying…

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine.

Lord we ask for peace for those who need peace, reconciliation for those who need reconciliation and comfort for all who don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Lord may your Kingdom come, and Your will be done. 

Lord God, we ask for you to be with all – especially children who are suffering as the crisis in Ukraine deteriorates. Lord for those who are anxious and fearful. For those who are bereaved, injured or who have lost their lives. And for those who have lost loved ones. Lord hear our prayers. 

Lord, we ask that decisions makers hear Your voice. Parents protecting their families – deciding whether to stay or leave. Church leaders as they support and comfort people. And Lord we ask for wise actions from global leaders – who have the power not only to start wars, but to stop them too.  

And Father God we cry out for an end to this crisis. For mercy, peace, and truth – because You are light, hope, power, and love. Amen. 

Blessing

Wellspring of all grace,
give us strength to grow together onto the fullness of Jesus and
to be signs and carriers of grace to each other,
in the communion of the Spirit,
in the fellowship of Your beloved Son,
in w

As we join in our time together lets draw together with God in a short call to prayer

Call to prayer

Come to the Lord whose love is better than life,
to the One who satisfies, sustains and supports.

Come to worship, to think, to spend these moments when,
together, we honour God, who is over all.

Approach to God

Looking, only because of the promise of finding,
calling out, only because we are sure we are heard,
we meet in one another’s company in person and online
so that we may meet with You,
God of love which is richer than life.

We look only because we were first sought out,
we tell You we are here only because You first came to us.

Help us, by Your Spirit, to seek you more,
even as we have been fully found.

Adoration

Everlasting, ever-gracious, ever-seeking and ever-calling God,
Yours is the offer of life
because the gift of life itself is Yours.

You call the universe into being and, through myriad interactions
space and time come to be,
stars and galaxies form,
their dust gives potential for life –
and we find ourselves here, alive, praising You.
We are awe-struck not only at the grandeur of Creation
but the miracle of incarnation.

You choose, in Jesus the Christ

to be born as one of us,
living among us, showing Your grace and telling Your love,

to be excluded from us, shunned and hated,
dying among us, still showing grace and declaring love,

to meet us risen,
inviting us to listen that we may live.

God of endless goodness, we praise You.
Amen

Psalm 63

Comfort and Assurance in God’s Presence

A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.
O God, you are my God, I seek you,
   my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
   as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
   beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
   my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
   I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
   and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
   and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
   and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
   your right hand upholds me.

Intercession

In a world of uncertainty we pray for those who deal with risk –

those in the insurance industry,
protecting individual loss through grouping contributions from many.

Those concerned for issues of health and safety,
anticipating and addressing issues to protect from harm.

Those working in healthcare settings,
diagnosing and treating while the risk of infection remains.

Those directing national life,
balancing many factors, may they add integrity to insight and they instruct.

In a world largely unknown we pray for those who are discovering.

Explorers and botanists, uncovering and describing a still unexplored, wonderful world,
researchers in life sciences, addressing illness and responding to ever-varying viruses,
engineers and technologists, developing sustainable sources of energy for all,
astronomers and physicists, looking back to time’s beginnings.
Inspire discoveries of more of Your wonderful Creation, Lord God.

In a world of forced migration, persecution and distress we pray for those who suffer –
over forty million people who are in immediate danger of starvation,
through conflict, COVID-19 and climate change.
Lord Jesus, may the fruit of faith
lead to greater sharing of the harvest of the Earth.

Where more than six in ten of the total human population
has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine,
but only one in ten of those in poorest countries has had one jab,
where infection results in unemployment, missed schooling,
poverty, risk of abuse and untreatable illness –
Lord Jesus, may the fruit of faith
bring the benefit of scientific progress to all.

More than 22 million people in Afghanistan suffer starvation now
as a result of poverty, conflict, pandemic and drought,
and are unable to flee and find little support where they are.
Lord Jesus, may the fruit of faith
bring food, warmth, shelter and work.

For Your Church in Your world at this time we pray,
may Your people be enthused to proclaim the Good News of the kingdom,
may new believers be welcomed, taught, baptised and nurtured,
may loving service be our ready response to human need,
may Your people work to transform unjust structures of society,
to challenge violence of every kind, to pursue peace and reconciliation,
may we, as Your children, strive to safeguard the integrity of creation,
and sustain and renew the life of the earth which You have entrusted to us.

AMEN

Blessing

As we have met, so we part –
yet the glory of God which we gathered to praise
does not cease,

and the grace of Christ we recognise among us
remains always,

and the Spirit’s leading we discern in our fellowship
continues to guide us.

So [we] go to live as the people of God,
and the blessing of God the Source, the Son and the Spirit
be with each of you/us
this day,
this season,
and always. Amen