41C*
A Call to Worship
After Pentecost 2C [Ordinary 9C] or [Proper 4C] 2016
Psalm 96

We come to offer to the Lord our God the gifts of our praises and prayers.
“God we praise you, God we bless you… we name you sovereign Lord..!”¹

We come to offer to the Lord our God the gift of our commitment to worship.
“...all creation shows your glory,…singing, ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord… God alone!’¹

We come to offer to the Lord our God the gifts of our worship, witness and
service to you as our Liberator; and to our neighbourhood and communities.
We come together to share in the worship, prayers and praises of our God—
as we share the good news that God’s glorious deeds are never, ever finished. Amen.

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Psalm 96

1 Sing a new song to the Lord!
Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
2 Sing to the Lord; praise his name.
Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
3 Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.

4 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 The gods of other nations are mere idols,
but the Lord made the heavens!
6 Honor and majesty surround him;
strength and beauty fill his sanctuary.

7 O nations of the world, recognize the Lord;
recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
8 Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!
Bring your offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in all his holy splendour.
Let all the earth tremble before him.
10 Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.
He will judge all peoples fairly.

11 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
12 Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
Let the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he is coming!
He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
and the nations with his truth.

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Prayers of Praise
After Pentecost 2C [Ordinary 9C] or [Proper 4C] 2016
Psalm 96

The Lord our God is great, and is always most worthy of our praise and prayers,
and so we come as individuals and as a community of faith to worship the Lord
in the holy majesty of God’s own presence - singing, praying, sharing and living
out our blest experiences. We come, in response to God’s generosity as together
we worship: “God we praise you, God we bless you… we name you sovereign Lord..!”¹
We come too, to make the offering of our own personal commitment to the worship
of our God, and also through our shared praises and prayers; and to give thanks for
the many gifts and graces that God showers upon us; and which if we are willing—
to share them with others to help enrich other people’s lives and spiritual wholeness.

“...Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise...!” Great and Glorious God, we
have come today to offer to the Lord our God, the gifts of our worship, witness and
service to you as our Generous Liberator; and to also offer them to our neighbours
and communities. We come together too, to build each other up in faith as we share
in the worship of our God; as we share the “good news” that God’s glorious deeds are
never finished. We acknowledge that long before we existed, our forebears faithfully
worshipped God; and so we offer our praises to God for inspiring such faithfulness in
them as they shared their faith so that the “good news” of God could be passed on
through the next generations. Now this is our challenge to faithfulness in sharing our
faith with others, and trusting that God will bless our offerings of witness and sharing.

“...Mighty King whom angels worship, all creation shows your glory, heaven and earth
draw near…singing, ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts, and God alone!’” Today, we come
to make our offerings of praise and, thankfulness to God, and to share in the worship,
prayers and praises of our God in whose holy presence we become one in our worship.
Unite us in the bonds of prayer and praise, in the fellowship of mutual care, and in the
challenges of outreach, so that God’s Holy Name is honoured, and God’s will is done. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
After Pentecost 2C [Ordinary 9C] or [Proper 4C] 2016
Psalm 96

The psalmist instructs us to: “...Bring your offering and come into his courts. Worship
the Lord in all his holy splendour...” In the past, monitory offerings have been an issue
for me, as I usually only placed an offering in the collection bowl every month; and when
the prayers blessed the offering, I often felt “left out” as I had not physically given my
gift that week. Then I switched to direct debit giving, but that presented other challenges
as I never actually placed anything in the offering bowl! This dilemma was solved for me
by my Church having cards printed which included a suitable prayer, that could be placed
in the bowl each week. Yet how many people do not “bring their offering” each week—
because these non-givers often are non-wage earning students. This concerns me as
another generation is developing that are not being ‘educated’ about bringing their
“offering to the Lord”. But do our thanksgiving gifts to God always have to be monitory?



During Holy Week last year, our congregation celebrated a Seder (Passover) meal where
the symbolic foods that form the Passover meal were explained and prayed over prior
to our eating them; because the traditional food of the Passover meal symbolised the
experiences of the people of Israel in their long life of slavery in Egypt. The lamb bone
represented the sacrificial Passover lamb; the eggs symbolised their desire for freedom
to which hard labour gave birth; parsley dipped in salt water represented the hope of
springtime, with the salt water a symbol of the many tears that were shed; the mixed fruit
of apple and nuts reminded them of their endless production of mortar for brick building;
the bitter herbs represented the bitterness of their situation; the unleavened bread was
the “bread of haste” in preparation for God’s deliverance; and the grape juice honoured
God’s many blessings and benefits. This year at another Holy Week special meal, we
used the same food but prepared it in different ways and included Holy Communion. For
example, lamb bone soup; quiche with parsley, apple and nut cake; and the bread and
wine of the Last Supper. We prayerfully honoured the tradition of the Passover meal and
Jesus’ Last Supper, but gave it a new twist, gifted through the varied skills of our members.



People make their offerings to the worship of God in many ways, using their many skills
and life experiences to enrich the life of their congregation and community – bringing
honour to God through the symbolism associated with their varying gifts. Thus, we join
with all creation to “....Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and
everything in it shout his praise! Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the
trees of the forest sing for joy...” In addition, we offer a new song of praise to our God:
“God we praise you, God we bless you, God, we name you sovereign Lord! Mighty King
whom angels worship, Father, by your church adored: all creation shows your glory, heaven
and earth draw near your throne, singing, ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts, and God alone!’”¹



1 From “Together in Song” #99
“God we praise you, God we bless you”
Words © Christopher Martin Idle 1938-
Used with permission
LicenSing Licence #604543

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Acknowledgements:
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

*Revised Indexing Scheme from 'Consultation on Church Union' (COCU).

I acknowledge and give heartfelt thanks for the theological inspiration available from the scholarship and writings of
Professor Walter Brueggemann; and through the resources from the internet and “The Text this Week” (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditations are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2016 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year C. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au
www.thetimelesspsalms.net

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