07A*
A Call to Worship
Christmas 2A 2011
Psalm 147: 12-20

All creation is a revelation of the glory of our Great God!
Praise the Lord! All the earth joins in praise of its Creator!

Countless generations have praised the Lord our God!
Praise the Lord! We join in the songs and prayers of praise!

We gather in this sacred space to praise our Holy God!
Praise the Lord! Let all people praise God’s Holy Name! Amen.

Prayers of Praise and Thankfulness
Christmas 2A 2011
Psalm 147: 12-20

We gather in this sacred space to offer our prayers of praise
and thankfulness to our God, the Holy One. We join with
countless generations to offer our reverent worship to the
God who created and continues to create and sustain all
things and all peoples. Praise be to God’s Holy Name.

In times past, people worshipped God on the holy mountains
that surround the city of Jerusalem, that place sacred to so
many generations; but today, we meet in this our sacred space,
also the place of worship for many generations. We have come
to worship the one true God of all generations, the Almighty God—
known yet unknown - because of the mystery of all that is God.

The wonder and diversity of God’s creation gives us a glimpse
into the Being and Nature of our God. The animals, birds, insects,
and all other visible and invisible creatures respond with their praises
for their Creator; and the birds, butterflies, moths and insects in all
their beauty and diversity fly above the earth to their silent rhythms.

The animals of all shapes and sizes move across the face of the
earth to a beat we cannot hear. The fish and other water-based
creatures move through their under-water world at their own pace.
The immensity and mystery of the heavens, with their countless
suns, moons and stars is beyond our knowledge or imagination.

The wide ranging weather patterns are also part of an expression
of the wonder and majesty of our God; yet all these wonders tell
the same story of the glories of our God; and all we can do is fall
down in worship before our God in awed praise and thankfulness.
Praise be to the Lord our God for all eternity, and to beyond all time! Amen.

A Personal Meditation
Christmas 2A 2011
Psalm 147: 12-20

This morning I awoke to the glories of a fiery sunrise, to the chorus
of birdsong, and I watched the world wake up and stretch with joy!
Children and people started to appear as their day commenced, and
shouts of joy rang through the air as the children rejoiced in their
boundless energy; whilst their elders went about their daily routines
with slow or swift steps taking them to their day’s work and activities.
How glorious is our world, and how wonderful is God, its Creator.

Creative pause: I greet the day with God, and I’m blessed.


Today is a day of worship in the sacred space, the sanctuary where
many generations before me have praised and worshipped their God.
Soon, we will gather to praise and worship our God, yet it will also be
an intensely personal experience. I give my thanks to our God for this
privilege of freedom to worship; to share my faith with others; and to
rejoice together in the ongoing discovery of the mystery of our God.

Creative pause: I will join with others in a shared scared space.


Later today, I will spend time in the garden on my knees, a very fitting
attitude of worship, as I seek to cooperate with the Creator in sustaining
the beauty of God’s created world. Being on my knees with my hands
deep in the nurturing soil helps me to be in touch with God the Creator
in a most intimate way, and I give heartfelt thanks for this special blessing.

Creative pause: I am in partnership with God in caring for creation.


Tonight, after watching the sunset, I will go to my rest with a quiet joy, as
I have lived another day in fellowship with my God. How blessed I am!
I will have had another day of my life span in communion with my God, and
with the world around me, and with people whom I love and who love me!
I commit my vulnerable body to God as I rest at peace in God’s hands.
In thankfulness, I offer my worship, my praise and my commitment to God.

Creative pause: I have lived another day in fellowship with my 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:
© 2011 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: christmas2a_2011.pdf