Worship Material for 10th January
- Hear the Voice of the Lord

Readings
Isaiah 42:1-9 Psalm 29 Acts 10:34-43 Matthew 3:13-17		God calls his servant The voice of the Lord is strength and peace Peter proclaims the good news The baptism of Jesus

Hymns		from Rejoice and Sing
38 84 131 134 180 187 206 311 329 587		Thou whose almighty word Forgive our sins as we forgive The voice of God goes out to all the world On Jordan's bank, the Baptist's cry Before the world began, one Word was there Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness With joy we meditate the grace The Spirit of the Lord revealed There's a Spirit in the air Behold the amazing gift of love

Call to worship Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord's glorious name! Listen to the voice of the Lord! The Lord gives us strength

(from Psalm 29) Praise his glory and power! We bow down and worship him. Glory to God! He blesses us with peace.

Prayers

Prayer of Praise   (inspired by Psalm 29) When we hear your voice              We cry glory to God! Your voice, O God is mighty, it booms through the thunder, it crackles through the lightning When we hear your voice              We cry glory to God! Your voice, O God is powerful, it roars through the ocean, it booms on the sea bed When we hear your voice              We cry glory to God! Your voice, O God is tender, it coos to the baby, it whispers in the night When we hear your voice              We cry glory to God! Your voice, O God is filled with laughter, it chuckles in the playground, it laughs in our joy When we hear your voice              We cry glory to God! Your voice, O God is tearful, it wavers with the mourning, it shakes with the sorrowful When we hear your voice              We cry glory to God! Your voice, O God is awesome, it creates with a word, it proclaims love abundantly When we hear your voice              We cry glory to God! We listen for your voice in our world, in our lives, in our hearts And when we hear your voice              We cry glory to God!

Prayer of confession    (based on Isaiah 42 :1-9) O Lord, you have called us to be your servants. But sometimes we act as if we were masters of the world, kings and queens of tyrrany and selfishness. Though you have chosen us, you cannot be pleased with us. For we have raised our voices in anger. We have vented our tiredness and frustrations out on others. We have put ourselves first and acted unjustly. We have lacked hope in your love and have not had the courage to live in your way. We are truly sorry and ask to be forgiven. Call us anew, breathe into us your Holy Spirit, that we may truly be your servants again. Hear now the voice of the Lord. The former things are passed away. Jesus says to all who turn to him 'Your sins are forgiven'. Come now and draw all people to God. From your darkness, be a light to the nations. Our God has spoken. Amen.

Prayer of Intercession O God hear the voices of your children, of a world crying out for love. And help us to hear and respond in love Hear the hungry cry 'Feed us' We pray for those who have little to eat. For those whose every day is a struggle for survival. For mothers who go hungry so that their children can eat. For people waiting patiently in food queues for a little something, trying to keep their dignity when the world has reduced them to handouts. We pray for agencies who try to work for change, and broadcast the cries of the hungry to the world, and to you. O God hear the voices of your children, of a world crying out for love. And help us to hear and respond in love Hear those in bondage cry 'release us' We pray for those who are chained up by debt. For countries which cannot grow and develop until they are freed from the increasing spiral of debt and dependence. For the people who then have to go with out proper education or medical care because there is no money left. And we pray for those who are prisoners of conscience. Imprisoned because they have spoken out against injustice tortured for what they beleive is right. O God hear the voices of your children, of a world crying out for love. And help us to hear and respond in love Hear those in pain cry 'heal us' We pray for those who are suffering. For people who suffer mental torment. For those who are in constant pain, for those who are seriously ill, for people waiting for a diagnosis, who fear the worst and cannot stop worrying, for those who have to watch a loved one dying for those who mourn. And we pray for those involved in the work of healing - for the Health Service currently in crisis for nurses and  doctors feeling overwhelmed and undervalued O God hear the voices of your children, of a world crying out for love. And help us to hear and respond in love Hear the church cry 'renew us' we pray for our church of ............. for Churches Together in ................................. May our voices be united in songs of praise and glory, in telling the good news to friend and stranger , in being voices for the voiceless. Inspire our words and our actions. O God hear the voices of your children, of a world crying out for love. And help us to hear and respond in love In Jesus name. Amen.

Blessing The Lord gives strength to his people and blesses us with peace. Let us go out, listening for his voice speaking to us of his love. And the blessing....