31C*
A Call to Worship
Easter Day Year C 2013
Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24

“The strong arm of the Lord our God has done glorious things!”
So God’s people respond: “God’s faithful love endures forever”

The strong arm of the Lord our God is doing magnificent things!
So all creation responds: “God’s faithful love endures forever!”

The strong arm of the Lord our God will always do wonderful things!
With hope, faith and trust we respond: “God’s faithful love endures
forever!” The Lord is our strength and song; and is our complete victory!
We gather on this Lord’s Day to honour and thank our Glorious God. Amen.

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Prayers of Trust and Thankfulness
Easter Day Year C 2013
Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24

This is God’s day of celebration, and together, we happily rejoice in it!
God of steadfast and enduring love, we your people gather to praise
and thank you for your generous love for all creation, and especially
for all humanity, whom you gifted with a tiny spark of your divine being.
We come to you in worship and praise with trusting hearts and minds;
to offer to you our reverent awe; our complete confidence in your Holy
Name; and our desire to faithfully serve and honour you all our days.

This is God’s day of celebration, and together, we gladly rejoice in it!
Faithfull God, as individuals and as a gathered community of faith, we
declare together, that you are indeed our strength in the struggle for
right living and honest dealings. You are our song of joyful celebration—
when all that is good, just and pure which we yearn for, is now realised
through God’s grace. In addition, the victory over injustice, greed and
covetousness is actually won, because of the way God undergirds and
sustains God’s people to live faithfully as God’s people in God’s world.

This is God’s day of celebration, and together, we cheerfully rejoice in it!
The Almighty God is our fortress and stronghold, because the strength
of God’s arm is known and experienced as being underneath and around
us when trouble and trials beset us; when our own strength is weakened
by temptation or doubts; and when we lose our sense of trust and hope in
God. We give thanks for our Trustworthy God, who knows how vulnerable
we are, and understands our need for comfort and courage from our God.
Listening God, we give thanks that you always hear and answer our prayers. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Easter Day Year C 2013
Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24

How gracious is my God, how generous in love and mercy, and how
supportive that love has been to me when life became so tough; when
all the things that had seemed so worthy of trust have turned out to be
only valueless words! I am so thankful for God’s enduring, trustworthy
love; for a love that is not devalued, empty and hollow; but a love that
upholds and strongly surrounds, and all that that love willingly embraces!



I am very grateful to God, for all God’s saints in light who have sustained
and supported me, whatever have been my trials. Being held in the palm
of God’s hand is a comforting blessing, but when that hand has real skin,
flesh and bones to add strength to its clasp on me, that is truly miraculous!
That is when the victory over pain and sorrow, doubt and fear is so sweet—
and that my experiences have not meant a defeat of my belief and trust
in humanity; and when I could relearn what it means to trust people again.



The strength of God’s arms that have been - and still are - around and under
me have triumphed over the powers of darkness; over narrow interpretations
of what family love and life really means; and how destructive self-gratification
can become, as it takes over from all other attitudes and actions, so that no
one exists beyond their own selfish desires and wishes. I give thanks to God,
that my rising from the defeat of my trust in other people has not ruined my life.
Now, I want to tell anyone willing to listen, what good things God has done for
me! God has indeed become my song and my greatest joy, because although
I have been badly hurt and suffered deep grief it did not destroy me forever!
Yesterday, today and all the tomorrows - including now, are the Lord’s own days,
created by God for all God’s people to celebrate, rejoice, and be glad in them!

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Acknowledgements:
Unless stated otherwise, all Bible readings and extracts used in these weekly Prayers and
Meditations are from the ‘New Living Translation’, © 1996. Copyright. All rights reserved.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189 USA.

*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:
© 2013 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year C. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: easter1c_2013.pdf

© 2013 Joan Stott - " The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year C