03A*
A Call to Worship
Advent 3A 2010
Psalm 146

Today, we come in worship, God of hope and joy!
We come to offer our reverent praise to the Holy One:
Accept our thanks and praise as a sincere act of worship.

Today, we come in worship, God of love and compassion!
God holds all vulnerable people within God’s embrace and care:
We respond with joy and thankfulness to that loving care.

Today, we come in worship, King and Lord of all creation!
We join with all creation in songs of praise to our Maker!
Glory and honour belong to you, God Most High. Amen.


Prayers of Praise and Thankfulness
Advent 3A 2010
Psalm 146

Holy God, with joy and a deep sense of thankfulness we come
today to praise our God! Wherever we look, we are surrounded
by the evidence of God’s great creating and sustaining powers!
All creation celebrates with us the magnitude of God’s limitless
capacity to show us the wonder and beauty of God’s own Being—
as we experience it every day in nature, in life and in relationships.

Generous God, not only do you have a limitless capacity as Creator
and Sustainer, but you also are the Inexhaustible Healer of all
humanity’s individual and collective hurts, fears, and bewilderment.
We give thanks for the gentleness of God’s care; and for the way
God uses people as instruments of God’s own love and mercy.

Loving God, we praise you that we can come to you, confident that
you are the Source of all goodness, life and love. Compassionate
God, as we try to comprehend the depth of God’s love, we discover
that your love is beyond measuring in either its height, weight, depth
or width - it is beyond even our imagination! Holy God, we come to you,
asking that your love may be known and experienced by all people.

Just and Righteous God, we give thanks that from your Holy Word
we learn of your purposes of justice, honour and integrity; and that
we have also learned about these purposes from your faithful people,
who down through the centuries, have offered you their worship,
witness and service. May we each accept the challenge of being this
world’s contemporary advocates in the cause of justice for all people;
and of being part of God’s plan for healthy and wholesome relationships.

Eternal and Everloving God, we offer you our worship and praise,
and we honour your great and holy name. All praise and glory
belong to you, God Most Holy, the Lord and Creator of all things. Amen


A Personal Meditation
Advent 3A 2010
Psalm 146

Great and Glorious God, each morning I awake to the reality
of your glorious creation! I hear the sounds of life all around me;
the sounds of animals and birds joyfully greeting the rising sun;
the sounds of people – children at early morning play; people
going to work, people out walking or jogging; and people going
to early morning Mass, all celebrating the dawning of the new day!

Creative pause: Each morning is a new opportunity to praise God.


As the day goes by, the blessing of God’s presence continues
with me. As I read the daily newspapers, I am reminded of the
injustices of the world; the way the rich become richer and the
poor become more poor and disadvantaged. Yet the God of all
hope is also there for all who have eyes to see and ears to hear.
In spite of everything, the God of justice and peace continues to
reign, and God’s goodness has not lost its power to defeat evil.

Creative pause: The God of Hope is always active.


I am overwhelmed at times by the contrasts in life as I live it out
each day. So many wonderful acts of kindness and goodness
are quietly carried out each day without fuss. So much care is
offered to needy people without any ‘headlines’; so much prayer
is offered for people oppressed and imprisoned by life and for
people weighed down by life’s burdens; and so much friendship
offered to people who are blind to the loveliness of life, or who
are depressed by the pressures of their loneliness or guilty fears.

Creative pause: God’s goodness is demonstrated through people.


Blessed God, in the evening, the glory of the sunset reminds me
that you are the Eternal King of all things; that the world is held firmly
and lovingly in your hands. In your generosity to every generation
of faithful people, I go to my rest, aware of the abiding presence of my
God in the vulnerable hours of the night; and in the certainty that that
gives to me, I will rest peacefully in God’s care. Thanks be to my God.

Creative pause: All things are in God’s hands.



Acknowledgements:
Unless stated otherwise, all Bible readings and extracts used in these weekly Prayers and Meditations are from
‘The New Revised Standard Version’ Copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

*The additional weekly numbering is from the Revised COCU Indexing Scheme
COCU = ('Consultation on Church Union'); as it offers an easy sequential numbering
for the Revised Common Lectionary for the Church Calendar.

If any part of these Prayers and/or Meditations is used in shared worship, please provide
the following acknowledgement:
© 2010 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au

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