18C*
A Call to Worship
Ash Wednesday Year C 2010
Psalm 51: 1-17

O Lord our God, hear us and cleanse us of our sin
and help us start again with a right attitude to worship.
Bless us with closer links to you, our God,
so that your Spirit can direct our life and work.


We seek for a deeper understanding of our need
of you, and how to live obediently before our God.
O Lord our God, give us your joy, and a ready willingness
to follow in your way, so that your joy may fill all our life.


Teach us all O God, that it is only as we come humbly
before you, that we can experience the fullness of your
love for us, so that it shines through of our sin-filled lives.
With praise and thankfulness, we offer our sacrifice of praise
to the God of our salvation, the God who blesses our worship. Amen.



Prayers of Confession
Ash Wednesday Year C 2010
Psalm 51: 1-17

O Lord our God, because confession is such a personal matter
between God and individual people, we come to you as if there
is only me and you, God, in this our prayers of confession.

O Lord my God, I trust in your love, I come to you to confess my
failure to be your true child, a child of honesty and trust. I beg your
compassionate forgiveness for this dark stain of sin on my life.
My God, I beg of you, take it away and create in me a clean heart.

My loving and generous God, before the light of your love and mercy,
the dark shadow of sin stands out so clearly, it follows me wherever
I go. I know I have violated your trust in me, and I have tainted the sacred
relationship between us. I belong to a sin-filled community, and I live
amongst people who have sinned. Forgive me! Release me from
my bonds of sin! Teach me! Help me! Lead me in your ways my God!
In your grace and mercy my God, create in me a clean heart.

Dear Lord, my God, please, I want your joy again! Your joy gives a
new meaning to life and living, of relationships, and of my part in them.
Help me to be teach other people about you and to learn of your forgiving
mercy – I would be a good teacher, as I have a lot of experience in sinning!
O Lord my God, please do not reject me, or turn away from me, help
me rise above my sin-filled life, and create in me a clean heart.

I ask the blessing of being given the privilege of singing your praise in
every circumstance of life. Open my lips, so I can always sing of your love.
My God, I want to worship you in honesty and truth, with an open heart and
mind that is always ready to love and serve you. I know you do not want me
to pretend in my worship of you, so create in me a clean heart, O my God, so
that your holy name is honoured, and your justice and mercy are praised.
Lord, your radiant joy restores me; your love always blesses me.

Declaration of Forgiveness

We have heard the good news!
We come now with confidence,
to praise our glorious and holy God!
Forgiven, renewed, restored, and blessed,
we join in praise of our wonderful God. Amen.



A Personal Meditation
Ash Wednesday Year C 2010
Psalm 51: 1-17

Your love for me is so merciful, O Lord my God. Your
compassion renews me – it gives me a fresh start. I earnestly
request you to remove the stain of my sin from my inner being,
so that your love can shine through the darkness that hides there.

Creative pause: God’s shining love brightens the darkness.


In the bright light of your loving presence my sin is like a
shadow following me wherever I go. My sin has violated
my relationship with you. Your acts of judgement against
me are justified. I live in a sin-based community, I have lived
in that environment all my life and I am tainted by it all.

Creative pause: The shadow of sin - in a sin-based society.


O Lord my God, please don’t look at all my past sin, I pray.
Forgive me! Release me from my bonds of sin! Teach me!
Help me! Lead me in your ways my God! I want to be pristine
and fresh again in your sight, O Lord my God. Please stay near me.
Please do not abandon me to my past, or take away your renewing Spirit.

Creative pause: Please God - do not ever leave me.


O Lord my God, help me rise above my sin. I need your special joy
in my life, as it gives my life new meaning. Let me help other people—
because of my experiences I would be a good teacher, as I understand
their problems! My God, may my mouth be always opened in your praises.
I am sure you do not want pretentious expressions of praise or worship.
Our loving God wants nothing more than an honest life, filled with praise
and a life-long commitment to the worship and service of our God.

Creative pause: Celebrating the special joy of being forgiven by God.



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 C. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au

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