Author: Bellshill Central

Approach to God

Gather us into Your presence, God of peace.
We trust that Your vision for the world –
the great creation of Your imagination,
entrusted to us as a place for our flourishing –
is still there behind all the challenges of our lives.
We come today remembering that even in the darkest of days,
Your flame of hope and new life flickers
drawing us on to find the good
and to illuminate the world with Your Gospel of love.

Help us to find You in the smallest of things
and the most ordinary of our experiences.
For You are the great source of our being
and the power that sustains us through Your Holy Spirit.
When we search hard for You,
we may miss Your presence in the everyday –
so, help us to look out for You –
in the face of friend and stranger,
in the wonder and beauty of our world,
in the complexity of design
in the creativity of artist and scientist.

Collect

Lord of the ages,
our hope in times of trouble,
and our consolation in grief;
bring us a spirit of renewal,
so that Your people may honour those who have given their lives
in service to their country in conflict.
May their service kindle in us the desire for peace and unity,
which is Your hope for all people.
This we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen

Remembrance Day Prayer

Eternal God
You forget nothing.
All the days and events which have been lived
were done so under Your ever-loving and all-seeing eye.

You have journeyed with us and with our forebears,
and so while we must take the time to consciously remember,
You do so without forgetting a moment that has been.
We give thanks this day for Your faithfulness to Your people in every land and age,
for Your presence with them in the dark days that they have faced,
and we come to praise You that no matter what challenge lies before us,
You have promised to be with us.

We acknowledge now that we have not walked the paths that lead to peace.
We have hated our neighbours;
we have kept hold of the prejudices and assumptions
that belittle others and foment division.

In our thoughts, words and actions,
we have been selfish and unfeeling to the needs of others.
When we have seen injustice in action, we have been silent.
Rather than being peacemakers, we have erred against one another
and against You.

Help us O Lord, to be the people You have called us to be.
Forgive us for our sin which we confess before You,
trusting in Your mercy and compassion.

Eternal God
Your mercy renews and refreshes us.
We give You thanks and praise that we are a new people, entrusted to bring Your peace
– a peace that passes all understanding – to those we encounter.

Bless us as we carry out this holy purpose and task.
Send Your Holy Spirit to be upon us,
as together we pray the prayer Jesus taught us,
saying: Our Father…

Prayers for others

God of peace
We come this day in solemn remembrance and prayerful witness
to the courage, self-sacrifice and devotion to duty of those who have given of themselves in service to others.

We remember those who lost their lives and the grieving families and friends they left behind.

We remember also those who came home but who lost something of themselves on fields of battle.
Those who lost limb, or reason, or sense of self.

We pray that Your comfort will be known by all who have seen the realities and dangers of war.

Ease the pain of those who grieve,
being renewal to those whose health in body or mind has been diminished.

We seek Your blessing upon members of our Armed Forces and upon their families.
Grant to them safety in the fulfilment of their duties,
defend them as they face dangers of many kinds,
and grant to them wisdom and courage as they work for peace and justice in our lifetimes.

We remember those who faced and continue to face significant challenge at home.
For families torn apart by war,
for those forced to leave the familiar and seek safety and refuge elsewhere.
For those whose homes have been destroyed,
or who cannot return due to dangers caused by conflict.

We pray for lands where neighbours have become enemies,
where brothers have picked up weapons against one another
and we seek Your reconciliation and peace.
We give thanks for the times and places where we can see seeds of peace growing.

We pray for those who have never known war,
and we plead that this will long continue.
Grant a love of peace to our Young people,
that they will make choices that lead to harmony.

We pray for our King, Charles,
and for all of his ministers in Westminster and Holyrood.
Grant to them wisdom in the fulfilment of their duties,
that they will seek to make our world a place of safety and of prosperity for all.
We pray particularly for our Member of Parliament,
and for our Member of the Scottish Parliament.

Grant that Your Church will speak out with passion for the sake of those who are voiceless. Save us from silence or complacency
and inspire us by Your Holy Spirit to prepare the way of the Lord today,
and always.

In this time of silence,
we bring to You those things that weigh heavily upon our hearts,
trusting in the mercy and intercession of Your Holy Spirit.

Silence

We pray these things in the name of Christ, Amen

May the God of love fill your heart with peace
and send you into the world to live it.
And the blessing of God Almighty,
our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer,
be with you and those you love,
this day and always.
Amen

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