©B D Prewer
2006
These
prayers may be freely used without the express permission of the author
when they are––
either read aloud by a leader of
worship
or included in a once-off
printed ‘Order of Worship.’
They may not be printed, neither singly nor in bulk, in any other publication
without
permission.’
CONTENTS
EASTER:
MEET HIM IN YOUR GALILEE
WHEN I
START TO LACK DIRECTION
THE SURE
GROUND Romans 8:35-39
WHEN I
CONSIDER Matthew 6: 24-34
OUR
INHERITANCE 1 Peter 1: 3-5
ONE AND
THE MANY 1 Corinthians 12:3-7
TRUTH &
FREEDOM John 8:
31-32
If you live in my words, you are true
disciples. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
I believe in the Truth
that is larger than this life;
the Supra-Truth which over-guides all things seen
and unseen,
the Infra-Truth which undergirds our days with
holy compassion.
I believe in the Truth
unsearchable, yet which reveals itself to infants, fools and sinners;
which nudged the lives of Abraham and Sarah into a
magnificent destiny,
inserted bold, new values into the mind of Moses,
gave new hope to the outsiders Rahab
and Ruth,
and in Isaiah and his fellow prophets inspired
dreams of a brave new world
I believe in the
confounding Truth that visited and redeemed the people;
who grew in embryo and was delivered through a
mother’s travail,
became a refugee and then learned the way of a
carpenter.
I believe in this
living Truth, who was tempted in all points just as we are,
Yet who went about
doing good with a flair never seen before;
Whose words were
liberation, whose hands bestowed health,
and whose love was deeper than Sheol and higher
than the stars.
I believe in the
despised and the rejected Truth,
the betrayed, denied, rejected, sorely abused and
forsaken truth,
who on a black Friday bore the weight of the
world’s evil;
who was crucified dead and buried like a solitary
grain of wheat,
yet was raised up to offer the world a harvest of
light and love.
I believe in the
ongoing, relentless, untameable Spirit of Truth
who is among us with indefatigable optimism and
joy,
convicting and forgiving, rejuvenating and liberating,
and bestowing gifts so that we may serve the world
with love and holy delight.
I believe there are
many restrooms in the eternal House of Truth,
and that a place has been prepared for even me.
Amen!
Truly I believe in the
Truth which is larger than life,
and I long to trust this Loving Truth more and
more.
Amen.
GIVER OF
GRACE
I believe in the Giver
of grace:
in the clean
doubts that bless us,
in the questions
that unsettle us,
in the mysteries
which baffle us,
and in those wonder-moments
which leave us agape with awe.
I believe in the Giver
of grace:
in the ideals
that draw us,
in the hungers
that drive us,
in the dreams
that inspire us,
and in those wonder-moments
which leave us riven with awe.
I believe in the Giver
of grace:
in the truth that
arrests us,
in the light that
strip-searches us,
in the
self-awareness that humbles us,
and in those wonder-moments
which leave us aching with awe.
I believe in the Giver
of grace:
in the faith that
holds on to us,
in the hope that
uplifts us,
in the love that enthralls us,
and in those wonder-moments
which leave us praising with awe.
I believe in the Giver
of grace:
in the arms that
enfold us,
in the shoulders
that carry us,
in the voice that
laughs with us,
and in those wonder-moments
which leave us adoring with awe.
Ó B.D. Prewer 6.06.2006
ELUSIVE
FRIEND
Holy yet elusive
Friend, we believe in you
with all that is sacred in our mind and heart.
You are the awesome
Mystery
behind every move
we make or step we take.
You are the drive
which makes me desire to slake my curiosity
on something
greater than the sun by day or the stars by night
You are the security
which underwrites
the faith-risks
we take in the pursuit of social justice.
You are the peace
which abounds
whenever debts
are forgiven and reconciliation won.
You are the courage
which inspires us
to pursue our
purest dreams and hopes.
You are the joy
breaking out
on earth and in
heaven when a lost child returns home.
You are the smile we
see
on the face of
the Teacher Jesus
and the bloodied love we encounter
when we follow
him to the cross.
Holy yet elusive
Friend, we believe in you
with all that is most sacred in our mind and heart.
Amen!
EASTER: MEET
HIM IN YOUR GALILEE
Mark 16: 6-7
He is not entombed;
for he has risen, and you will meet him in
Galilee.
He is not entombed;
for he has risen, and we will meet
him in Galilee.
On sunny mornings,
when the days are full of promise
and difficult things no longer seem impossible,
he will meet you to help turn hopes into loving
deeds.
He is not entombed;
for he has risen, and we will meet
him in Galilee.
On wintry evenings
when, chilled and weary you return home,
wondering whether your efforts have been worth the
sparse outcomes,
he will be waiting for you, ready to listen to
your fears.
He is not entombed;
for he has risen, and we will meet
him in Galilee.
In times of loss: loss
of work, purpose, friends;
or when malicious tongues have robbed you of your
good name
he will be with you with open arms and uplifting
word.
In times of success,
when you feel affirmed by those around you,
and even some old critics give you an a slight nod
of approval,
he will meet you with a grin of shared pleasure.
He is not entombed;
for he has risen, and we will meet
him in Galilee.
Should you get
over-confident and careless, losing you way,
so that you must repent and retrace your steps,
he will be lovingly waiting for you at the point
where you lost it.
Should you, through no
fault of your own,
find yourself in darkest night without a guiding
star
he will be at your side, arm-in-arm testing the
next step, one at a time.
He is not entombed;
for he has risen, and we will meet
him in Galilee.
If you achieve more
than you expected from you small array of gifts,
and your cup seems full and overflowing,
he will be there to drink with you from its
abundance.
If you are called upon
to suffer physical or emotional pain,
until you fear you are at the threshold of the
unbearable,
he will come to hold you with outreached,
bleeding hands.
He is not entombed;
for he has risen, and we will meet
him in Galilee.
In seasons of rebirth,
restoration and new vision,
when you feel so blessed that you ache with
gratitude,
he will be present to lead you in new songs of
praise.
In the season of
enfeeblement and decay,
and in the hour when the final shadows lengthen,
he will be waiting to induct you into the mystery
eternal life.
He is not entombed;
for he has risen, and we will meet
him in Galilee.
Blessed be the Lord
and God of the New Israel,
who has visited and redeemed his people!
Hallelujah! He has risen
and we will meet him in Galilee.
DEPTHS THAT ARE UNFATHOMABLE
I believe in You, God,
in mysteries that are inaccessible
in depths that are unfathomable, and in grace
that is available.
I believe: the beauty
of red outback ranges, daisy-carpeted inland plains, or the orchids of coastal
rainforest, are but a reflection of the God whose providence engenders every
flower petal and each speck of earth’s dust.
I believe: the stars
of the Southern Cross, the enormous splendour of the Milky Way, and galaxies
beyond galaxies, are infinitely more diminutive than the Word which constitutes
and empowers them.
I believe: the ethical
insights of that person Moses, the Hebrew prophets’ passion for social justice
and their visions of a new world that can yet come, are but intimations of the
loving righteousness of the God who inspires them.
I believe: the powers
within an atom, the elusive behavior of electrons,
the wonders of the human genetic code, the diversity of life on planet earth,
are nothing near as complex as the God who framed them.
I believe: the amazing
circuitry of the brain, the unique qualities of each woman, man and child, and
yet the subtle infrastructure than makes us all one, are small offshoots of the
God whose love is all in all.
I believe: the
commitment and sufferings of the social reformer, the blood of the martyrs, and
the prayers of the saints and little children, are valid yet distorted icons of
the God who redeems them all.
I believe: the free
spirit of Mary’s Child, Jesus, his teaching and his healing, his purity of
heart and humility of spirit, his faithfulness even unto the cross, and his
transcending of the grave, are the sharpest insight we will ever have into the
God who filled our Christ’s humanity to overflowing.
I believe: all that is
seen or unseen, discovered or as yet uncovered, all that is present or is yet
to come, are the works of a Creator and Redeemer whose mercies are over all we
have, are or ever will become.
I believe in You, God,
in mysteries that are inaccessible and in depths that are unfathomable, and in
a healing love that is amongst us, full of grace and truth.
Amen!
INGRAINED
PURPOSE
I believe in a Supreme
Holiness at work, for all things, through all things, and above all things.
I believe in an
awesome Purpose ingrained in our lives, no matter how far we wander or how
deeply we offend.
I believe in an
enabling Providence which offers sufficient for the need, but not the greed, of
all creatures great and small.
I believe in an
enduring Love which suffers with us in pain and disease, and which shares the
grief of all our self inflicted injuries.
I believe in an
unlimited Grace, which precedes and supersedes all our foolish and evil ways
and redeems our lives from destruction.
I believe in Jesus of
Nazareth, who is the very image of this invisible Holiness, and the source of
redeeming grace, whose life, death and resurrection has made all things new.
I believe in the Holy
Spirit, who makes the grace of Christ real to our minds and hearts, and
who Counsels us when all other good counsel fails.
I believe in the One
God, the Cradle, Crux and Krisis of all things seen
and unseen,
in whom we live and move and have our being.
Amen!
TRUST AND
OBEY
I pass on to each of
you
what we have first received
from a friend of the Lord Jesus:
“They who believe, obey,
and all who obey will believe.”
Though shadows arise,
and clouds fill the skies,
there’s nothing can drive you away.
Not a sigh nor a tear, not a frown nor a fear,
can win while we trust and obey..
We shall trust and obey,
for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus,
but to trust and obey.
There’s no burden we bear
and no sorrow we wear,
that can outwear his love for our
clay.
Not a joy nor a
pain,
not a loss nor a gain,
but is shared if we trust and obey.
They who believe, obey,
and all who obey will believe.
We shall trust and obey,
for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus,
but to trust and obey.
THERE IS NO
OTHER
Sure and generous are you, loving God,
your Christ has brought light and laughter into our days.
You are the A and the
Z, the genesis, gestation and destiny
of all that breathes and thinks, hopes and prays.
Apart from you there is no Creator.
You are the travail
and the birth, the parable and its teller,
the wounded healer and the Easter uprising.
Apart from you there is no Redeemer.
You are the gift and
the giver, the breath and the rebirther,
the font of liberty and the soul of integrity.
Apart from you there is no Spirit of Truth.
Giver most
bounty-full, Friend most grace-full,
Counsellor most
resource-full,
We love you, we worship you, we
adore you.
You are God, there is
no other.
You are God, we want
no other.
You are God –
let earth rejoice and the morning
stars sing for joy
THIS WORD
ENDURES FOREVER
*
Inspired by Isaiah and John.
All flesh is as grass
and human beauty as brief as wild
flowers;
the grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of the Lord endures
forever.
I believe in Jesus,
the Living Word,
with God and of God from the beginning,
This Word is boundless
life,
and this life is the light of the world.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures
forever.
From the beginning
this Word was,
yet human ears have heard it;
we have seen it with our mortal eyes,
and touched it with our human hands,
the Word of abundant life.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures
forever.
The Word became human
flesh,
pitched its tent among us,
full of truth and grace,
and we beheld his glory,
such glory as belongs to God's Son,
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures
forever.
He came unto his very
own,
but his own would not welcome him,
but to any who do welcome him,
he gives the right and the power
to become children of God.
All human flesh is as grass
and human beauty as brief as wild
flowers.
What remarkable love
has God shown us,
that we should be called the children of God.
It is not yet clear
what we shall finally become,
but we know that when he appears
we shall see him and be like him.
All human flesh is as grass
and mortal beauty as brief as wild
flowers;
the grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of the Lord endures
forever.
THE LIFE THAT
I LIVE
I put my trust in the unnamable Name,
the genesis and journey of glories seen and
unseen,
my rock and salvation.
The quality life that
I live,
I live by the grace of
the Son of God
who loves me and gave himself for me.
The gifts I employ
are a bonus from the Spirit-Companion,
who gives that we may share with the world.
This is my faith;
this is my sincere intention;
this is my joy and my destiny.
Amen!
GOOD NEWS TO
THE POOR
Luke 4: 14-21
God is good, God is loving,
and God wants a fair go for each and for all.
This I believe; so
help me God.
I believe the Spirit
of God alighted supremely upon Messiah Jesus,
who in humble strength came to announce
good news to the destitute and hungry, and
forgotten;
to cry freedom for captives of war and
addictions,
to deliver restoration of sight to those blind in
body and soul,
and to win liberty with justice to all who are
oppressed.
He came for all
people,
whether clothed in fine raiment or wearing jeans and
joggers.
He came and lived
among us,
making it clear, once and for all,
that the jubilee of salvation has arrived.
God is good, God is loving,
God is like Christ
Jesus.
Into this faith I have
been liberated.
This I do believe; so
help me God.
RESURECTION
LIFE 1 Cor. 15
Remind me, sisters and
brothers,
of that Easter faith that launched the infant
church
and propelled it down through the long centuries,
until this very hour.
We share with you what we have freely received:
For you and all people.
Tell, me again, my
sisters and brothers,
lest caught up in the vanity of the world
faith may ebb away without me noticing.
This is the faith by which your stand,
by which you are healed and set
free.
That Christ died for our sins,
was crucified and buried,
and was raised on the third day.
He appeared to Peter,
then to the first twelve disciples.
Later he appeared to over five hundred believers
gathered at the one time.
Also to his brother James,
and to all the enlarged group of apostles.
Last of all,
although we are unworthy to be called
apostles,
he has made himself known to us.
If Christ has not been raised,
there would be no church,
The Christian would be a brief chimera
which appeared and then faded
in an obscure land long ago.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the
dead,
the first fruit of the harvest of
the dead.
For as from the very first creation,
all have been born to die,
so in Christ’s new creation
are reborn to live forever.
Thank your, my sisters
and brothers.
This is indeed the faith by which we stand,
by which we are healed and set free.
Like a grain of wheat,
what is sown is perishable,
what is raised is imperishable,
what is buried with apparent hopelessness,
is raised with great honour and joy.
This I do believe,
thanks be to God.
This we believe, thanks be
to God.
THE LIGHT
SHINES
We believe in the
Everlasting Light,
God of God, light of
light,
shining before all worlds began.
And God said, let there be light, and there was
light.
God has caused Light to shine upon us, to give
the light
of revelation of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
Like the morning
light, driving back the darkness, illuminating all things, bringing out their
shape, colour and purpose.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a
great light, on them the light has shined.
The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness can never smother it.
As sun-shower light,
breaking through the rain clouds, creating rainbows of hope, and inviting
children to skip and dance in its radiance.
We do not belong to the darkness; we are all
children of ligh.
A chosen race; a royal priesthood, God’s own
people, called to declare the wonderful deeds
of the One
who calls us into marvellous light.
Strong
The Lord will bring to light what darkness
hides, and disclose our inner motives.
This is the judgement; that the light has come
but many have preferred darkness to the light.
Sunset
light; hushing the busy world, lengthening the shadows, bringing calm to
fevered souls and inducing a spirit of contemplation.
If we walk in the light, as He is in the light,
we shall have true communion with one another. The Lord is my light and
salvation, no more do I we need to be afraid.
Like starlight,
filling the awe-filled soul with holy questions, and providing navigation
guides for wise souls on long journeys through the unknown.
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
Entering the house they fell down and
worshipped him.
In Him is abundant life, and this life is the
true light of all.
As
moonlight, gentling over the contours of farmland and city, releasing people to
speak those words of love that are too often neglected or suppressed.
If any of us should say “I am in the light,”
yet does not show love for others, we are still in darkness. Only when we are loving toward others, are we living in the light of
Christ.
God of God, true light
of true light.
This we believe!
Thanks be to God!
THIS
WORD 1 John 1:1-4
We have faith;
we have very good news
to share.
It was there; always
there,
there at the beginning.
It is always there,
And will for ever be
there.
It has been seen it
with human eyes,
heard it with mortal ears,
felt it with our human hands.
This is the Joy we
celebrate:
the very Word of Life,
the creating and redeeming Word,
the Word was made visible and palpable,
loveable yet also crucifiable.
This is not for solo
performers;
for through this Word of life
we have entered a new community
which through the Spirit we share
with the Father and the Son.
This is our faith.
Of this we speak and
write,
for this we pray and serve,
with this we will live and die.
It does not ever get
better than this!
No wonder our joy is
complete!
LIFE MAY SEEM
CHAOTIC
Life may seem chaotic;
it can appear brutal, without pity or purpose;
it can be written off as ‘vanity of vanities.’
Yet by a miracle of
Divine grace,
we do have a faith to celebrate.
We believe in One
Source of all things, a providence sure yet
unsearchable.
Therefore we will go
on sowing seeds of hope,
as small as mustard grains,
yet more potent than despair,
We believe in One
Healer and Rescuer, whose love is costly yet free.
Therefore we will go
on sharing the fruits of love,
with the poor, the meek and lonely,
looking for no kudos or personal profit.
We believe in One
Counsellor, who pleads our cause when words fail us.
Therefore we will go
on encouraging others,
pleading the cause of those who have no voice
and, when appropriate, wearing some of their pain.
We choose not to
complain or cringe,
we refuse the delusion that life is chaotic
vain, brutal and without pity or purpose.
We believe, and try to
live out our belief
in Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
the Community of One God,
who is beyond all, within all, and for us all.
Amen!
L
OUR OWN CROSS Mark 8:34-38
I believe in Messiah
Jesus,
and though my lot is not all smiles
I’ll trust his word
and way.
I believe in the
paradox of faith,
that in selfishly pampering our life we will lose
it,
but through willingly losing it in the cause of
Christ we will save it.
Make me a captive, Lord,
and then I shall be free,
force me to render up my sword,
and I shall conqueror be.
I believe in carrying
my own cross;
not Christ’s cross –a presumption patently stupid–
but bearing whatever scorn or pain comes from
following him.
My faith is small and weak,
a cross at first seems vile;
but when I bear it for his sake
I sing the second mile.
I believe in a public
creed,
not fearing jeers or shame,
confessing Him by word and deed,
delighting in his name.
My will is not my own
till I have made its yours,
I do not know what freedom is
until I serve your cause.
I believe in messiah
Jesus,
the future is an open door
where I hope to believe much more.
WHEN I START
TO LACK DIRECTION
When I start to lack
direction
and I make a lot of noise,
I believe in God beside me
who will return my poise.
When my love loses its
warmth,
and apathy smogs the soul,
I believe in God before me
with tongs and a burning coal.
When church seems a
leprous bride,
and I’m tempted to resign,
I believe in God who’s waiting
for my reformation to begin.
When the lamp of faith
ebbs low,
and the night seems dark as sin,
I believe in God within me
and dawn will arrive again.
When evil seems all
powerful,
Christ’s realm lost in
its slime,
I believe in God who is coming
to roll up the scroll of time.
THEN CAME
HOPE
When all things seemed
barren of purpose
and deep darkness covered the face of the earth,
one joyful Hope leapt down from heaven,
from the very throne of God,
and glory shone around.
The lost are now
searched for,
the unloved are cherished
the rejected are embraced
and the unlucky come into a fortune.
This I do believe,
Thanks be to the God of hope.
The nameless are
named,
the torn are mended,
the handicapped are most beautiful,
and the sad begin the wear smiles.
This I do believe
Thanks be to the Christ of hope.
The aimless are
called,
the rebels are promoted,
the useless are employed
and the lame commence to dance.
This I do believe.
Thanks be to the Spirit of hope.
The beggars are fed,
the doubters are believers,
the vagrants are home,
and the dead have become the alive.
One Living Hope has
leapt down from heaven,
from the very throne of God,
and glory shines around
and within all things.
This I do believe.
THE SURE
GROUND Romans
8:35-39
I believe,
Giver of faith,
please strengthen my belief.
What can separate us
from the love of Christ?
Nothing, nothing at
all;
neither a sea of troubles nor a valley of shadows;
neither tsunami, drought nor cyclone;
not persecution, hunger, terrorism or war.
No matter what
happens,
we will be much better than survivors
through Christ who loves us.
Of this I can be
utterly certain—
there is nothing in life or in death,
in the occult or supernatural powers,
nothing in the world as it is
or the world as it shall become,
nothing in the immensities of the cosmos,
or in the quantum quirks of electrons;
Nothing at all in
time, space or eternity
that can separate us from the love of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I do believe,
Giver of faith,
please strengthen my belief.
HOLY THREE
AND LOVING ONE
You are my Friend, my
surest guide,
you choose my path among the rocks,
you fill my mouth with honeycombed.
the holy Three,
the loving One,
With gentle yoke you
share my load
with a broad smile you cleave the cloud,
in your arm’s nook I find my bed:
the holy Three
the loving One.
My rod and staff in
dark ravines,
my sherpa guide among
the peaks.,
you are the deep well in my drought
the holy Three,
the loving One.
You are my hope when
all is lost,
my warning light when all seems gained,
the humble mender of my wounds,
the holy Three
the loving One.
WHEN I
CONSIDER Matthew
6: 24-34
When I consider the
birds of the air
who neither sow nor hoard
yet are amply fed
without anxiety
and in whose liberty
Eternity sings to me,
Lord I want to believe.
When I consider
the wild flowers
who neither sew nor knit
yet are clothed in splendour
and from whose tiny centres
Eternity smiles on me,
I want to believe.
When I consider the
Son of Man
healer of lepers and friend of sinners
who did not bow to cruel fate
but embraced a divine destiny
and in whom Eternity
is present with all its costly grace,
I do believe.
When I consider
the untameable Spirit of Truth
sometimes like fire
sometimes like wind
who fosters the love of Eternity
and makes it work in me,
I do believe.
OUR INHERITANCE 1 Peter 1: 3-5
Grace and peace is
with us
in the fullest measure.
I believe
In the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus,
who out of his priceless mercy
has give us new birth
into a living hope
through the resurrection
of Jesus the Christ
from the dead.
I believe
in the inheritance
to which we are now born,
a future than nothing
can destroy or spoil or wither.
By faith we know
this inheritance is always available
in the dwelling place of God,
in the safest of hands
under God’s eternal care,
until the fullness of our healing
is complete
at the end of time.
This I believe.
Thanks be to God.
PATCHY FAITH
Lord
we admit our faith is patchy,
There are seasons when
I believe much,
at other times only a little;
some days I put my faith to work,
other times I am slothful.
On mountains of
blessed certitude
I want to sing with
the angels,
But in the valley of
doubt
my life is one big grumble.
Sometimes I cannot
understand
why anyone could be so dumb
as not to believe.
At others times I
brood and envy
those whose sturdy faith
bear loving fruits.
Creating God,
saving Brother,
enhancing Spirit,
I believe.
Help me, please,
to break completely free
from unbelief.
ONE AND THE MANY 1 Corinthians 12:3-7
About the gifts of the
Holy Spirit
we are not left in ignorance.
This we believe.
In a congregation,
many gifts
but only one Spirit;
many valid ways of serving
but one Lord Jesus;
many inspiring works
but one loving God.
In each of us the
Spirit is displayed
in a particular way,
not for personal aggrandisement
but always for a useful purpose.
No one can say ‘Jesus
is Lord’
except by the influx of the Holy Spirit.
In this we believe.
THE TABLE
MYSTERY
We believe in the Holy
Mystery
of the Lord’s Table.
It is new yet old,
timely yet timeless;
it is
transitory yet everlasting,
mortal yet gloriously immortal.
The Bread precedes all
things
yet it is baked in common ovens,
the Wine is the fruit of the earth
yet is the overflow of heaven.
We consume and digest
it
yet it consumes us with holy love,
We make it a part of
our flesh and mind
yet it is over and beyond all things.
.
Such is the Table of
the Lord;
we believe in the Mystery
and receive grace upon grace.
(Inspired by Melito of
SUCH IS JESUS
To Christ Jesus
we pledge our allegiance;
In his silence he is
judge
in his words he is light;
when he frowns there is gloom
when he smiles there is peace;
where he walks there is hope
where he dines there is joy;
from his cross there flows grace
from his tomb flows new life.
Such is Jesus, our
Christ,
Child of man, Child of
God;
To him be glory forever!
Amen!
(Faintly echoing Melito of
EARLY WORSHIP
Today we take time to
cherish
our communion with Christians long ago;
like those who worshipped like a man called Justin,
from
in the third century of our Lord Jesus.
On the day named after the sun,
all whom live in country or city assemble.
The memoirs of the apostles
and the writings of the prophets
are read for as long as time allows.
When the lector has finished,
the presiding person address us
and exhorts us to implement
the splendid things we have heard.
Then we all stand and pray.
When we have finished praying,
we greet each other with the kiss of peace.
Then gifts of bread, wine and
water are brought.
The presiding person then prays
over them and gives thanks,
and the people give their assent with an “Amen!”
Next the gifts are distributed
and everyone shares in them,
and deacons take them to absent members.
Those who us who have any
resources
come to the aid of all in need,
for we are always assisting one another.
It is on Sunday that we thus
assemble
because the day of the sun is the first day,
the day on which God transformed
darkness and chaos and created the world,
and it is the very day
on which Jesus Christ our Saviour
rose from the dead.
(Justin
of Galilee and Rome, writing about 150 AD)
CHRIST IS EVERYTHING
Once city of
but now it has lost its value
because our Christ is not confined there.
Once the law of Moses was precious,
but now t has lost its value
because Christ’s love is everything.
Once the blood of a lamb was precious,
but now its has lost its value
because Christ has brought full salvation
Once the
but now it has lost its value
because Christ is our holy place.
No longer is there any single site
nor the tiniest enclosure
where the glory of God is not established;
for grace has been poured out
to the very ends of the earth,
and everywhere is the tabernacle of God
through Christ Jesus,
to whom be glory forever!
Amen!
Based on Melito of
ONE MIRACLE
FOR ME
What others claim I
don’t deny
but miracles have passed me by
no shinning cloud, no burning bush
no Naaman’s ass to give
a push
but there’s just one
that works for me
one miracle
that sets me free
it comes as free as sun and rain
it soaks me whole yet leaves no stain
it does not shout or make a fuss
nor advertise on train or bus
it’s just called
grace,
this miracle
and Jesus is
its oracle.
This I believe
my truest word
this is my creed
so help me God!
WALK AND NOT
FAINT
See Isaiah 40: 28-31
This
have come to know,
this is what we have heard:
the Eternal is an everlasting God,
creator of heaven and earth,
who does not grow
weary or faint;
whose wisdom is
unsearchable,
giving energy to
the meek
and strength to those who have none.
Even youths shall
faint and grow weary,
young athletes shall fall exhausted;
but those who love the Lord Jesus
and patiently put their trust in God,
shall renew their
strength;
they shall soar
with wings like eagles,
they shall run and
not weary,
they shall walk and
not faint.
ALPHA AND
OMEGA
All is from God,
all things are in God,
this I believe
In the beginning there
is Grace
far preceding time and space,
dreaming hopes of
magnitude,
ready with all
plenitude.
In the shaping there
is Grace,
tireless working in each place,
holiness that’s so
profound
that we walk on
sacred ground.
In the turmoil there
is Grace
underwriting every race,
caring when one soul
gets lost
saving at enormous
cost.
At the ending there is
Grace
superseding time and space,
welcoming the last
and least
wearing still a
human face.
All is from God,
all things move towards God,
this I do believe