09C*
A Call to Worship
After Epiphany 1C [Ordinary 1C] Jesus' Baptism 2016
Psalm 29

We come to join with the songs of heaven and earth in praise of our God!
“Praise to the living God, all praise be to his name…”¹ singing loudly: “Glory!”

We come to join with all creation’s varied songs in thankfulness to our God.
“Praise to the living God, all praise be to his name…”¹ in awe, praying: “Glory!”

We come, to join in all the praises and thankful prayers and actions carried
out as symbols of our commitment to worshipping the God of the Universe.
“Praise to the living God, all praise be to his name, who was, and is, and is
to be, and still the same, the one eternal God…the First, the Last, beyond
all thought his timeless years!”¹ As together, we praise God and sing: “Glory!” Amen.

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Psalm 29
A psalm of David.

1 Honour the LORD, you heavenly beings;
honour the LORD for his glory and strength.
2 Honour the LORD for the glory of his name.
Worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness.

3 The voice of the LORD echoes above the sea.
The God of glory thunders. The LORD thunders over the mighty sea.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.

5 The voice of the LORD splits the mighty cedars;
the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf;
he makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes with bolts of lightning.
8 The voice of the LORD makes the barren wilderness quake;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare.

In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”
10 The LORD rules over the floodwaters. The LORD reigns as king forever.
11 The LORD gives his people strength. The LORD blesses them with peace.

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Prayers of Praise
After Epiphany 1C [Ordinary 1C] Jesus' Baptism 2016
Psalm 29

We come, to join with the songs of heaven and earth in praise of our God as
together we sing “Glory!” to our Creating God, who inspires our songs of praise
and reverence! We join with the heavenly hosts who never dare to gaze on
God, but rather, they worship in songs of never ending praise and adoration.
Today, we come to humbly worship God in all the miraculous wonder of God’s
holiness, and we dare not raise our eyes to gaze on that glory; but instead, we
bow in awe at this our small knowledge and experience granted to us by God!

We come, seeking to join with all of creation’s varied songs in thankfulness to
our Creating God for the wonder and miracle of life gifted to us by our Creator—
even as in our own ways we each sing: “Praise to the living God, all praise be
to his name…”¹ We offer praises that God said at the beginning of time: “Be
fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas…” and “God looked over all he had
made, and saw that it was very good!”² And then the Voice of the Creating Lord
echoed across the land, and the land shook and trembled with delight; and the
trees waved their branches in celebration; and the birds glided and swooped—
as they responded to their Maker’s voice – with their songs and actions giving
praise to God, who “looked over all he had made, and saw that it was very good!”²

We come, to join in all the praises and thankful prayers and actions carried out
as symbols of our commitment to worshipping the Lord and God of the Universe.
We come, because in our most insightful moments, we recognise something in
us that is of God; and that God has dared to allow humanity to see, hear, and learn
that somehow, we have a spark of the divine in the deepest recesses of our being;
and that spark calls to us to come and offer our awed worship to God, even if all
we can do or say is: “Glory!”. In awed worship we to offer God: “Praise to the living
God, all praise be to his name, who was, and is, and is to be, and still the same,
the one eternal God…the First, the Last, beyond all thought his timeless years!”¹ Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
After Epiphany 1C [Ordinary 1C] Jesus' Baptism 2016
Psalm 29

“Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters
of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” …. God made this space to separate
the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. Then God said, “Let the
waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.”
And that is what happened. …. and God called the waters “seas.” Then God said,
“Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. So God created great sea creatures
and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water. Then God blessed them,
saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas… And God saw that it was
good….² The Voice of the Creating Lord echoed across the seas, and the diverse
forms of life each responded to their Maker’s voice and celebrated the majesty and
power of God. “God looked over all he had made, and saw that it was very good!”²



“Then God… called the dry ground “land”… Then God said, “Let the land sprout with
vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit.
These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.”
And that is what happened. The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing
plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the
same kind. So God created every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same
kind and let the birds multiply on the earth…. Let the skies be filled with birds of every
kind.” Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply…² And the Voice of the
Creating Lord echoed across the land, and the land in all its various formations shook
and trembled with delight. The trees waved their branches in celebration; and the birds
of the air swooped and glided with glee - as they responded to their Maker’s voice, in
praise of and to God. “God looked over all he had made, and saw that it was very good!”²



“Then God said, “Let us make human being in our image, to be like us…. In the image of
God he created them; male and female he created them…”² And the Voice of the Creating
Lord echoed in the minds and hearts of humanity; and they responded to their Maker’s voice
and celebrated by shouting “Glory!” in reverent awe at the splendour and holiness of their
Creating God. Ever since creation began, God has revealed God’s-Own-Self to humanity
and the created cosmos, in ways that can be accepted and yet still be a mystery; and humanity
has been very blessed. “God looked over all he had made, and saw that it was very good!”²



1 From “Together in Song” #102
From the Jewish Yigdal
Words in the Public Domain

2 Selected verses from Genesis 1 in altered sequences (NLT)

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Acknowledgements:
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

*Revised Indexing Scheme from 'Consultation on Church Union' (COCU).

I acknowledge and give heartfelt thanks for the theological inspiration available from the writings of
Professor Walter Brueggemann; and through the resources from the internet and “The Text this Week” (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditations are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2016 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year C. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au
www.thetimelesspsalms.net

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: epiphany1[1]c_2016.pdf