Paper Service

CALL TO WORSHIP

How delightful and right to praise the Lord, to sing his praise,
for he is great and his power and wisdom has no bounds.  
Based on Psalm 147

HYMN  No 49   O Praise ye the Lord

Let us pray 

Most merciful Father,  
 we give you humble and hearty thanks,
 for all your goodness and loving kindness to us;
For the blessings of this life
and for the promise of everlasting happiness. 

And as we are bound, 
 we specially thank you, for the gifts which we have received; 
 for health and strength, 
 for outward prosperity and well being,
 for the manifest enjoyments of our daily life,  
 and hope of the future; 

We thank you Lord,
 for the knowledge of your will, 
 for the means of serving in your church, 
 for the love that you have revealed to us through your Son, our Saviour ;

For every blessing of soul and body, we thank you Father.
 We also ask for the strength to continue to serve you
and praise you, 
always looking to you as the author and giver of all things. 

Although we confess to you of our sins and wrong doings,
of the things we have left undone,
and the hurt we may have caused to others.
We ask you Father to forgive our sins.
Help us to see and feel our share in the guilt of the World, 
and grant us your grace to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance;hrough your Son,
Jesus Christ our Saviour. 

Now the prayer that Jesus taught:- 

                       The Lord's Prayer 

                   Our Father who art in Heaven…..

READING Mark 1:v29-39                           

Reflection

 In the reading from Mark, we hear how Jesus had been healing lots of people at the house of Peter and Andrew where he was staying.
It started with Peter’s Mother in Law, who was very ill suffering from a bad fever, and Jesus made her better. After she’d made them all supper she was full of new energy. No doubt crowds of visitors came, all wanting Jesus to heal them as well, so he did.
Through Jesus God was working right there among those people’s lives, and making them feel more free and happier than they had ever done before. It must have been so exciting to see, and we can imagine how happy it must have  made Jesus, to see these people suddenly realising at last how wonderful God was. It was a moment when a light suddenly shone in the darkness. He couldn’t wait for every one else to see and find out as well.

Today people are still finding out that our God can still set us free, to stand up for what is right and true. God’s light is still shines. It will show up to us nastiness and sin as well as loveliness and goodness, both in the World and in our own lives. It is a way of helping goodness and honesty in both ourselves and in the World.
The story of Jesus’ healing spread around the neighbourhood of Peter and Andrew at the time,  we must also let the good news spread around our neighbourhoods during this dark pandemic time.

  Prayers of Intersession

 Living and holy God,
we come before you now with our petitions
for the World, community and ourselves.
for when ever the sparkle of our vision has dulled
you set us glowing again
at the very thought of you,
you restore our longing to draw closer to you
until our lives reflect your shining. 

For you are the king of glory
and our Lord and our God.
and out of your power and glory
you sent your Son into our afflicted world
to proclaim the day of salvation.
To heal the broken hearted, and bind up wounds.

We pray Father that wherever important and far-reaching decisions
need to be made,
wherever wrongs need righting
and justice needs to be restored,
we think especially today, of our partner in Commitment for Life, Zimbabwe.
That you  breathe your wisdom and integrity
and let your kingdom come. 

Where ever ongoing family conflicts need resolving
where ever communication has broken down,
and we think of  the ongoing conflicts within our world.
develop our capacity for unconditional loving,
and  appreciation of ‘other’
as another child of your creating. 

For you  are the King of glory  and the Lord our God
Wherever there is pain or suffering,
whether  physical, emotional, mental or spiritual,
we pray for fulsome healing,
and commit ourselves to be available
and ready to help.

As we recall all those who have recently died,
or who are near to death, that in their dying
they may find the greatest healing of them all,
as they come into your presence for ever. 

In the silence of our hearts,
We bring before you the Lord our God,
those concerns  known only to our selves
and those concerns mentioned in our weekly prayer list.
Lord give them comfort, hope or healing depending on their needs 

Lord, you are the King of glory and our God
as we marvel afresh today
at your majesty and humility,
we thank you for the privilege of knowing you. 

Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your son,
our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
AMEN

 HYMN No 521 Forth in thy name O Lord we go   

Let us go out into the World in peace.
Be brave:
Keep hold of what is good;
never pay back wrong for wrong;
encourage the faint hearted;
support the weak and distressed;
give due honour to every one.
Be always joyful;
pray continually;
give thanks, what ever happens
for this is what God in Christ wills for us 

.                                                                             AMEN

 

 

                  

The Hymn numbers refer to Rejoice and Sing, you may like to open them at the appropriate place

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