05A*
A Call to Worship
Christmas Day (ii) Year A 2010
Psalm 98

O God, your faithfulness to your people is beyond measure!
The Lord God our King’s promises are always to be trusted!
A procession of people of all generations thank and glorify God.

In celebration of God’s faithfulness, we sing our praises and
shout our delight for all to hear! All the earth sings your praise.
All creation sings a new chorus to honour the Lord our God!

The holiness and power of God is beyond our understanding!
All praise and honour to God who overcomes all obstacles.
Look, our just and holy God is coming in glory and majesty! Amen.

Prayers of Praise
Christmas Day (ii) Year A 2010
Psalm 98

With joy, we meet together to praise and glorify our God, whose
holiness, faithfulness and justice is beyond our comprehension.
All honour and praise is offered to God in our songs, our prayers,
and our worship. Holy is the Righteous God, whose justice and
compassion towards of all people is honoured, praised and revered.

The holiness and power of God has defeated the powers of chaos
and darkness, and this victory displays all of God’s glory and majesty.
The seas and their inhabitants - those symbols of the deep unknown—
are thankful for the powers of Almighty God, and offer their praises.

All creation celebrates with us in a chorus of praising and thanking
our God for this victory over gloom and despair. The earth, with all
its masses of creatures, rejoice in the light of God’s presence, with
each creature adding its individual sounds and actions of praise.

All the people of the earth rejoice and sing songs of praise; musical
instruments add their joyous tones and rhythms as we sing ever-new
songs to our glorious God. We are glad and we rejoice together with
in praise and anticipation, that our glorious God is coming in majesty,
in justice, righteousness and peace. Praise be to the Holy One, our God. Amen.

A Personal Meditation
Christmas Day (ii) Year A 2010
Psalm 98

How blessed I am to be part of a joy-filled world, where God
rules, and where the powers of darkness and chaos have been
overcome; and where Mercy, Compassion, Righteousness and
Justice are quite inadequate descriptions of our glorious God.
Yet how do I describe God, other than through God’s actions?

Creative pause: How can I describe the wonders of God?


How delightful it is to sing and dance for joy to the Lord!
How blessed am I that I can join in the earth’s celebrations
of the glory of God, with every creature adding their distinctive
contribution of praise and joy, culminating in boisterous shouts
and celebratory songs, dances and praises to our glorious God.

Creative pause: Is a boisterous shout an appropriate greeting to God?


How breathtaking it is to be given the opportunity to sing and
praise my God! In humble awe, I bow before the Holy One!
I have the blessing of knowing that God has overcome all
that threatened me and all that frightened me; and now my fears
are laid to rest in God‘s hands. Those things that threatened to
undermine my faith and trust in God have been defeated for now.

Creative pause: What is an appropriate response to so generous a God?


How wonderful it is for me to be part of the world’s response to
God! The seas and rivers; the meadows, mountains and hills
add their responses to that of people and all other living things
in praise of the One who is coming in justice and judgement to
the earth; and who has promised to assess all things with equity.

Creative pause: How could I doubt God’s justice and mercy?


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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