Holding Fast

Thanks to Deb for this mornings scripture reading.

Opening Prayer

Great and compassionate God,
we come before you in love and with humility.

We worship you

 

You are God the Creator.

You brought everything that we know,
everything that we see,
everything that we are
into being through your living word.

We worship you

 

You are the God who is the triune community of love

You are the God who loves us so much
that you sent your Son to release us from our bondage: to save us.

We worship you

 

You are the God who calls us to follow Christ and live as part of his Body the church.

In the name of Christ,
We worship you.

 

(People are invited to pause and consider the things they are thankful for and also consider what are the things weighing upon them at this time)

Prayer of confession

We come before you
aware that all of us fall short:
We all make mistakes.
We all struggle to love like Jesus.

To live life fully, you call us to love you, love neighbour and love ourselves.
Lord forgive us for the times when we neglect you.
Forgive us for the times when we put ourselves before your way and the good of others.
Forgive us for the times when we damage ourselves
through our thoughts and actions.

God of deep forgiveness hear our prayers,

In the name of Christ who have his life for us,

Amen.

Based on a prayer by Rev. Prof. John Swinton, 14 November, 25th Sunday After Pentecost | The Church of Scotland

Declaration of forgiveness

It is written (in Psalm 103):

‘As far as the east is from the west,

So far has God removed our sins from us.’

Jesus came preaching peace to those who are near, and peace to those who are far off.

My friends you are free:

to be forgiven people,

to serve as forgiven people,

to celebrate as forgiven people.

Thanks be to God.

 

Scripture reading:

Hebrews 10: 19-25

¹⁹ We have, then, my friends, complete freedom to go into the Most Holy Place by means of the death of Jesus. ²⁰ He opened for us a new way, a living way, through the curtain—that is, through his own body. ²¹ We have a great priest in charge of the house of God. ²² So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water. ²³ Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise. ²⁴ Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good. ²⁵ Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.

Good News Translation (GNT)

Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society

 

Remembering and prayers for intercession

Last Thursday was Remembrance Day and we pick this up now in our prayers for others.

Compassionate and ever-present God, we pray,

For all who have been caught up in and impacted by war …
For all whose bodies and spirits bear the marks of war…
For all who have lost loved ones due to war …
For all who continue to suffer due to war…
For all who minister to veterans, the families of veterans and survivors …

For all who live in despair …

For the peoples of our world that they may embrace your way of peace and reconciliation …

For all of us – called to be messengers of your hope, we pray…

For the Church that we may hold fast to the hope we find in the Gospel …

We also remember others whose needs weigh heavy on our hearts this day.

For them and for us, we pray…

In the name of Christ, Amen.

— adapted from a prayer Renfrew County Catholic District School Board website. http://rccdsb.edu.on.ca/religiouseducation/school-prayer-2/monthlyseasonal-prayer/

 

 

The Book of Ruth

Thanks to Sue, Claire and Jean for participating in this morning’s worship.

Psalm 146: 1-2, 7b-10 (NRSV)

​Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord!

Opening Prayer

Let us pray:

Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord, all you people

God our hope and life,

Triune community of perfect love,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

Praise be your name.

You were before all things,

You are the author of all things,
You brought life and light out of nothing,

Yet you are closer to us than we can imagine, and you always remain faithful to us all and all your creation:
Faithful in love.
Faithful to save.
Faithful to tend.
Faithful to share.

And so we worship You,
with all of our heart,
all of our mind
and all of our strength.

And we rejoice to know that when our hearts are misled,
Your heart is to forgive.
When our own thinking is confused
You show us that truth is found in the way of Jesus
When our strength fails,
You draw near and hold us close.

Hear us in the quiet as we confess to You
where we have turned away from You or others
and where we need Your healing and forgiveness.

We give You thanks, Oh God, that in you is life and forgiveness beyond measure,
You who upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
Who sets prisoners free,
and gives sight to the blind,
who lifts up those who are bowed down,
and loves the righteous.
You who watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
who frustrates the ways of the wicked.
You Lord God, reign forever,
for all generations.

In the name of Christ, Praise the Lord.
Amen.

Based on material from October 31st, 23rd Sunday After Pentecost | The  Church of Scotland

Prayers of intercession

Loving God,

You call us to walk in love as Christ walked in Love and bless us the Holy Spirit and gifts of ministry to enable us to live out this calling.

We are sent to care for those who,
like Naomi, Ruth and Orpah had no security.

And so we pray for those who have no food
because of a famine, or because of Covid …

We pray for those impacted by the damaging of our planet’s environment and pray for the enacting of global policies which enable good stewardship of your creation.

We remember those who are grieving the loss of a loved one … that when they feel alone that You would meet them in the compassion of others.

We think of those whose world has been turned inside out by the pandemic –
grant that they would know the support and care of others,
the help they need and the strength to carry on.

Lord Jesus, You suffer with us,
and through Your resurrection,
have taken our sufferings into the heart of God.

Help those who are alone and vulnerable
know that You have been there too,
that You are with them,
even as they struggle to find hope from any source.

And for us Lord,
help us be open and willing
to be part of the answer to these prayers.
To be Your hands to care,
Your ears to listen,
The body through which You might bring healing and life.

In the name of Christ, Amen.

Based on material from October 31st, 23rd Sunday After Pentecost | The Church of Scotland

 

Offering Prayer

Lord God,

you have given us more than we asked for

and more than we deserve.

May we show a like generosity

in all that we do for you and for our neighbours;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Unless otherwise stated prayers are either by the author or based on resources from Uniting in Worship 2 © Uniting Church Press, Sydney, 2005.  And images are from Wikimedia Commons and are in the public domain.