Tag: Prayer

Prayer pointers for 8th September 2025

by Bellshill Central, posted in Prayer items

Call to worship

God, you search me and know me.
Before I sit, you know when I will rise.
God, you search me and know me.
Before I speak, you know what I will say.

God, you search me and know me,
in my joy and despair,
in my breathing in and breathing out.
God, you search me and know me.
Your knowledge is too deep to reach,
too vast to comprehend.

God, you search me and know me.
Search me, O God, and know my heart.

Prayer

(inspired by Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18)

Glorious God, you are utterly beyond us in every way, yet you involve your holy self with our very human existence and commitments, and we give thanks and praise to you for your unending love for each one of us. You have nurtured and blessed each of us as we grew in the womb of your love and compassion over many years; and we give thanks for the trust in you that has grown in us as we have developed and reached maturity.

We praise you for the way you have placed your hand on us in blessing, and that you have communicated to us in wordless ways, the depths of your love for us, so that we can understand and know that we are your beloved child.

We give thanks and praise to you that you trust us enough to share some of your thoughts with our limited minds and hearts; and that deep within us, there is that spark of your holy life to enrich and bless us; so that we always have an inner yearning to be near you and to be blessed by you.

Bearer of all creation, in your power, majesty and infinite love, you have ordained that your eternal presence is with each of us at all times, so that in the morning, you are there with us; and during the evening and night you are still with us. Trustworthy God, you honour us always with your presence. Amen.  

Psalm 139 celebrates God’s intimate and ongoing interest in the divine masterpiece that is Creation – including ourselves. We are made to be a blessing for life on Earth. To believe and trust in this God is to know both our human responsibility, human insignificance (outside of God’s care) and yet our very great value, when underwritten by God’s appreciative attentiveness.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
    O Lord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is so high that I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from your spirit?
    Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
    if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
    and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light around me become night’,
even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is as bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

For it was you who formed my inward parts;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
    Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
    My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
    all the days that were formed for me,
    when none of them as yet existed.
How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
    I come to the end—I am still with you.

O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
    and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—
those who speak of you maliciously,
    and lift themselves up against you for evil!
Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
    And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
    I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Prayers of the People

You, O God, love us from the moment of our conception,
You know us and you love us in the womb,
You love us and you call us from before the moment of our first breath,
and you love us when we first see the light of day.

As a mother/father loves her/his child before she/he ever sees it,
and then embraces it gently from the moment of its birth,
so you love us—and we thank you.
Help us dear God to love one another in this way….
Lord hear our prayer.

You love us, O God from the time of our naming
You love us in our growing and hold us as we take our first steps.
You love us and walk beside us
as we explore the world with eager hands and eyes
As a mother/father loves her/his child as she/he sees it grow and develop
so you love us—and we thank you.
Help us dear God to love one another in this way…. 
Lord hear our prayer…

You love us, O God, as we mature and seek our way,
You love as we become aware of the world around us,
You love us as we smile and play,
you even love us when we say no and when we begin to stray.
As a mother/father loves her/his child as she/he sees it become proud and tall,
so you love us even when we sin and fall..
Help us dear God to love one another in this way….  
Lord hear our prayer…

We thank you God for loving us when we are unloving
for caring for us when we are uncaring,
and for calling to us when we go far away….
Help us dear God to love one another in this way…
Lord hear our prayer…

Lord hear our prayers of love this day for those around us,
for those we have held before you in our time of sharing,
and for those we have thought of in our moments of caring:

(add your own prayers)

Lord hear our prayer….    

We ask all these things in the name of Christ Jesus,
who is our Lord and our brother.  Amen

Blessing

As we leave this space, we know
God will be with us wherever we go.
At work or play, at home or on vacation, we know
God will be with us wherever we go.
Whether we’re happy or sad,
on our own, or with our friends, we know
God will be with us wherever we go.
So let’s go with joy,
because God goes with us!
AMEN.

Livestream from Bellshill Central Parish Church Sunday 7th July 2024

by Bellshill Central, posted in Catch Up, Sunday Worship

Welcome to the recorded livestream of worship on Sunday, 7th July 2024, from Bellshill Central Parish Church of Scotland. This a joint service at Bellshill Central Parish Church with the congregations of Bellshill West and Bothwell Parish Churches.

The service is led by Revd Margaret Rose, BD
The Readers are Helen Daly and Lynne Swan
Music is led by Alan Mathew (Organist) and the Choir

Download today’s pew sheet from https://bellshillcentral.church/downloads/  

If you need to speak with anyone at Bellshill Central, please email hello@bellshillcentral.church or call Mr Stanley Cook on 747144.
Our Locum Minister (Rev Margaret Rose) can be contacted at minister@bellshillcentral.church

Bellshill Central is your Town Centre Church with a warm and welcoming Church Family waiting to say hello. Our Sunday School meets during morning worship, so we look forward to welcoming families along to our time of worship

Bellshill Central Church of Scotland Registered Charity: SC012556

Please consider donating to Bellshill Central Parish Church via this link https://cos.churchofscotland.org.uk/donate/?cong=171073

______________________

All songs and hymns are published using our various CCLI licences, which are:
Church Copyright Licence 876673;
Music Reproduction Licence 876680
Church Video Licence 2258718;
PPL Church Licence 1593113
CLA Church Licence 1002856;
PRS for Music Church Licence 1448921
Streaming Licence 1638311

#bellshillchurch #bellshill #church #thisischurch #community #worship #sundayworship #sundaymorning #welcome

Today’s Lent Prayer

by Bellshill Central, posted in Lent 2024

“God, before I even took my first breath, You already knew me and loved me. Thank You for sending Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins. I cannot even imagine sacrificing one of my children so a criminal could go free, but that’s exactly what You did–for me! Thank You for the gift of eternal life You freely offer those who love You, and thank You for the precious gift of the Holy Spirit to lead me into Your presence until You call me home. You truly have given me so much, even when I was so far from You. Thank You!”

Sunday @7 – Call to prayer continues in response to the pandemic

by Bellshill Central, posted in Prayer items

This Sunday (24 October), Christians across the country – and further afield – will continue to join together in prayer and reflection at 7pm in response to the pandemic.

Cup of tea and a book on a tray sitting outside on the autumn leaves

As with previous weeks during lockdown, 15 Christian churches and organisations across the country, including the Church of Scotland, have co-signed the letter calling for prayer.

Scottish Christians have been continuing to answer the call to pray at the same time each week, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Lord Wallace, is taking part alongside them.

“We should always be mindful for the wisdom handed down to us from past generations; much of it learned the hard way, from mistakes made and consequences suffered,” Lord Wallace said.

“So, too, we are grateful for the richness that comes to us from living alongside people of other traditions. In our day and generation we must surely allow our minds and hearts to be open so that we can risk getting to know them and learning from them.

“In this pandemic, our responsibility is to come together and offer our prayers for all the many diverse expressions of our Christian faith that enrich life, as we have done for many months now.

“Let us not forget that behind each death there will be grieving family and friends; behind each hospitalisation there will be a suffering patient, an anxious family and a caring and skilled medical team.

“And behind each vaccination, let us recognise, with thanks, the skill of the scientists’ research and those who make distribution and vaccination possible. Let us remember, too, those in countries who still wait anxiously for vaccines to arrive. May our leaders respond imaginatively and generously to that challenge.

“A pattern has been set for us, lived out in Jesus Christ, made possible by the Spirit. May we follow in His way, and be guided by the one over-riding rule of love in all that we say and do.”

This week’s letter accompanying the prayer, which is also available in Gaelic (a copy of which will be available to read here soon), states:

“Today, there are many voices crying out to be heard. The voices are of those who suffer and who are broken, and of those who are isolated and alone. These voices are intermingled with many others that cry out, whether for good or ill, and seek to be heard. Truly, there are many voices crying out to be heard.

“The Gospel of Mark records an occasion when Jesus heard a particular voice crying out to be heard. The voice was that of Bartimaeus who was determined to be heard even in the face of the crowd.

“The voice of Bartimaeus was raised in spite of the rebuke of those who told him to be quiet. As he is told to be quiet, he shouts all the more: “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

“Jesus hears his voice and calls him into His presence: “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus hears his voice and responds to the depth of his need: “Go… your faith has healed you.” (Mark 10: 46-52)

“From the depths of the crowd, Jesus hears our cry and wills to answer and to bring healing.”

We pray:

Lord, hear us,
Graciously hear us,
As we turn to You and cry for mercy:
Hear our voice today,
Even from the depths of the crowd,
And answer our cry.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, hear us,
Graciously hear us,
As we turn to You and cry for mercy:
Hear the voice of those who suffer,
Even in their brokenness,
And answer their cry.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, hear us,
Graciously hear us,
As we turn to You and cry for mercy:
Hear the voice of the lonely,
Even from their place of isolation,
And draw them into the community of Your people.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, hear us,
Graciously hear us,
As we turn to You and cry for mercy:
Hear our voice today,
Even as You heard the cry of Bartimaeus,
And inspire in us faith and bring to us healing.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.