12B*
A Call to Worship
Epiphany 4B 2012
Psalm 111

*Amazing God, we praise and glorify your name!
Blessed and Holy God, we gather to worship you.

Creative Love, you have formed us to praise you.
Dependent on you as we are, we gather to worship you.

Ever-present God, we experience your majesty in the
world around us, and in people’s lives and witness.
Faithful God, we revere your goodness and mercy,
and celebrate together, our holy and awe-inspiring God. Amen.

Prayers of Praise
Epiphany 4B 2012
Psalm 111

*Generous God, we praise you, we thank you from the depths
of our hearts and minds for the way you bless and guide your
faithful people. Hope-giving God, even when the things of
life cause us stress and anxiety, we know that the God we
worship will continue to be with us – because that is who
our Faithful God always was and is - to God’s committed people.

Inspirational God, how can we ever forget the wonders of
your mercy and love; the miracles of your grace that we
experience every day; the blessings of your peace; and the
trust that you inspire within us as we journey through life.

Justice-loving God, you have created promises for your
faithful people - promises that we can all rely upon, and live
by – promises that encourage us to seek to live lives that
are just and holy – just as you, O God, are just and holy.

Keeping-God, you have kept your people in the palm of
your hand for generations, and we praise and thank you
for this incredible blessing! Loving God, your Name and
Being is Merciful-Love, and we seek to follow this principle
of love and mercy in all we do and say; so that we may
become wise in our living and generous in our loving. Amen.

A Personal Meditation
Epiphany 4B 2012
Psalm 111

*My Lord and my God, how blessed I am to be your child!
No matter what happens in life that is a guaranteed promise!
Only a God who is merciful and generous could give me
and my brothers and sisters within God’s family, such an
iron-clad promise! Privately, and in company with others,
I seek to live by the promise of wisdom which comes from
revering my God, and which is the reward for Godly obedience.

Creative pause: Quietly and in joyful celebration, I praise my God.


Reverently and thankfully, I acknowledge the amazing deeds
of God in my life. Secure in the knowledge of God’s abiding
presence, I have been blessed to be able to serve God in
unexpected ways and in unimagined places and events.
Time after time, day after day, God has opened doors of
service for me to walk through and to bring honour to God’s
glorious name. “Underneath are the everlasting arms” has been
a life-long promise that has been generously fulfilled in me.

Creative pause: Various ways to serve God have been given to me.


Wisdom-giving God, how blessed I have been to be a recipient
of God’s mercy, love and justice! “X” is the letter used to designate
an unknown person or thing, and for me “X” speaks of the mystery
and wonder of my God, as I am constantly amazed at the
ways of God in my life! Year after year, I have been guided
and blessed, and all I can humbly say is “Thanks be to God!”
“Zzzzzzzz” is the symbol of quiet and trusting rest, and I leave
all things in God’s hands, to be directed, guided and blessed.

Creative pause: Try and write your own acrostic prayers!


*Psalm 111 is an acrostic Psalm, where each sentence begins
with a sequential letter of the Hebrew alphabet. I have attempted
to write these prayers using the letters of the English alphabet.

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:
© 2012 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au

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