Prayers etc for January 31 1999

What does the Lord require?

Readings
Micah 6:1-8 Psalm 15 1 Cor1:18-31 Matthew 5:1-12		The Lord's requirements A picture of a righteous person Boast only in the Lord Many blessings...

Hymns		from Rejoice and Sing unless stated
48 197 422 509 512 629 743		Praise and thanksgiving Jesus hands were kind hands Lift high the cross O Jesus I have promised Seek ye first the Kingdom of God Make me a channel of your peace Show us your ways O Lord

Call to worship

What shall we bring to the Lord of heaven when we come to worship him?
Calves to burn?    NO!
Thousands of sheep?   NO!
Streams of oil?   NO!
Our first born children?   NO!
THE LORD HAS TOLD US WHAT IS GOOD
What then? ACT JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY AND WALK HUMBLY WITH OUR GOD

Prayers

Prayer of praise - based on 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 O God you are foolish - and we praise you For the nonsense of the cross - we praise you For Christ the Holy Fool - we praise you For calling us, the weak and unimportant, to serve you - we praise you O God you are wise - and we praise you For the power of the cross - we praise you For Christ our Wisdom and Word - we praise you For giving us love that makes us strong and confident to serve you- we praise you For your foolishness is wiser than human wisdom And your weakness is stronger than human strength And in Jesus we become your people and are set free So, we your people boast of the love you have given us - and we praise you. Amen.

Prayer of confession - based on Psalm 15 A list of the requirements of a good Christian will always find us lacking. For we do not obey you in everything. We do not always do what is right Our words are definitely not always true and sincere. We are sometimes guilty of slandering others or spreading rumours about our neighbours We have occasionally let our friends down And have been known to look down on other Christians, dishonouring Your name as well as theirs. We do not always keep our promises and balk at the cost of living Your way And ultimately, we have our price. Merciful, loving Father we are truly sorry and ask to be forgiven. Our God makes no lists, he keeps no record of wrongs. When we come to him hanging our heads in sorrow over our shortcomings, he keeps his promise. Jesus says to us 'Your sins are forgiven' He gives us the chance to make a fresh start, saying 'come, follow me' We can rest secure in his saving, forgiving love. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Offertory prayer O God of heaven, We worship you and bring our gifts - not of sacrifice, but for blessing in love. The gift of money, to be used for the work of our church The gift of ourselves, may we give of ourselves sacrificially and act justly, walk humbly and show constant love in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Prayer of intercession - based on Matthew 5:1-12 Shower them with your blessings O LORD, WE PRAY We pray for those who are poor... Those who are poor in spirit who feel laid low by the stresses and strains of life who see no light at the end of the tunnel Those who are poor in material things who struggle through each day who wonder where the next meal is coming from who don't know where they will sleep tonight Shower them with your blessings O LORD, WE PRAY We pray for those who mourn For those whose whole bodies ache with loss they can only talk about with tears. For those for whom grief is a well travelled path And we pray for those who try and offer comfort. For friends who worry over what to say For grief counsellors and groups like CRUSE Shower them with your blessings O LORD, WE PRAY We pray for those who are in positions of power for Tony Blair and those who govern our country, for our Queen, for the United Nations, struggling to find an effective way to harmony in a diverse world, for our local council, trying to regenerate Hartlepool, for decision makers everywhere may they know the true humility of service and put the needs of others before themselves. Shower them with your blessings O LORD, WE PRAY We pray for those who work for justice and peace. For those who stand up for the voiceless, who denounce cruelty and injustice we pray for groups like Amnesty International, for those who care for the victims of torture, for those who support refugees and we pray for the tragically large numbers of people who have suffered at the hands of oppressors across the world Shower them with your blessings O LORD, WE PRAY We pray for those who have suffered much and cannot forgive for those tortured by the past and unable to look to the future, we pray that your Spirit may flow through them showing your way of forgiveness and peace. And we pray for all those who have done wrong for those who refuse to show remorse that they may confront what they have done for those who beg for forgiveness that through this they may change their lives Help everyone to confront the things they have done wrong through life To seek forgiveness and be forgiving Shower them with your blessings O LORD, WE PRAY We pray for those who are pure in heart, we give thanks for those whose lives radiate your goodness, witnessing to your love. And we pray for the children of the world, some for whom life is a big adventure others for whom it is a nightmare, whose eyes have seen terrible things We pray for those with learning difficulties who live child-like lives, for all they have to share with us. And we pray for those that care for them - particularly when the going is hard. Shower them with your blessings O LORD, WE PRAY We pray for those who work for peace for agents of reconciliation all over the world we pray for the talks going on in Northern Ireland - the long slow peace process there. We pray for marriage guidance groups like Relate - trying to bring peace from marital conflict Shower them with your blessings O LORD, WE PRAY We pray for those who are persecuted for their beliefs. We pray for the Christians whose lives are threatened in India and in other parts of the world for those who face ridicule because they go to church Shower them with your blessings O LORD, WE PRAY We pray for those people and places which are on our minds at the moment... Shower them with your blessings O LORD, WE PRAY In the name of Jesus, our teacher and our saviour we pray. Amen.

Blessing

Let us boast of God's love!
THROUGH  JESUS WE ARE PUT RIGHT WITH GOD
Through Jesus we become God's holy people
THROUGH JESUS WE ARE SET FREE
So let us go out boasting of all that God has done
THANK YOU JESUS! HELP US SPIRIT! PRAISE YOU FATHER! AMEN.