13B*
A Call to Worship
Epiphany 5B 2012
Psalm 147: 1-11, 20c

How good it is to come together to sing praises to God!
How right and appropriate it is to sing our praises to God!

Through the works of God’s hands, God’s generous ways
are seen every day at work amongst people and situations.
God delights in receiving the praises of God’s own people.

Praise to the Lord! How great is the Lord our God, whose
understanding and powers are beyond our comprehension!
We sing our praises to the Lord God for God’s unfailing love.
We offer God our worship in reverent awe and in deep humility. Amen.

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Prayers of Praise and Thankfulness
Epiphany 5B 2012
Psalm 147: 1-11, 20c

Praise the Lord our God! How right and appropriate it is
for us all to give our sincere and grateful thanks to the God,
because each of us have grown out of the energies of
God’s Creative Spirit; this God who continues to pour those
energies of goodness day after day, night after night on
all humanity, and on the created world that God has gifted
to us to maintain and treasure - for God’s greater glory.

How great is our God, and how wonderful are God’s ways
of sharing with humanity the beauty of God’s nature and
being, as it is expressed through the wonders of the natural
world in which we live; in the amazing diversity of the earth’s
creatures; and in the scale and variety of the planets, suns,
stars and moons that we can only dream about, as they are
totally beyond our understanding or even of our imagination.

It is also right that our hearts and lives continue to sing to
God’s praise, as each day we see the compassion of God
at work in people’s lives. Through the gracious generosity
of God, the earth and all its creatures are sustained and
renewed through the cycles of seasons and their harvests;
and through the cycles of birth, life and death that ensures
the balance of the created world is delicately maintained.
God’s love is actively involved in each and every one of the
cycles, as God guides and blesses the works of God’s fingers. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Epiphany 5B 2012
Psalm 147: 1-11, 20c

I wholeheartedly agree that it is a delight and privilege
to sing praises to our Lord and God! The ancient Psalmist
thanked God for their particular blessings, and I want to
thank God for my particular blessings. I give thanks to
God for the blessings and love experienced in family life;
for the blessings of deep spiritual nurture and support
that I receive from my friends and colleagues; and for the
joy of living in God’s world amongst God’s glorious creation.



I give grateful thanks to God for the grace and mercy shown
to me on my faith journey; for the personal knowledge and
experiences that God does indeed heal the broken hearted and
bind up the spiritual and physical wounds that life has inflicted
upon my fragile human body and mind; for the way that God
has supplied all my needs; and the way God blesses and accepts
my attempts in faithfulness in my life of worship, witness and
service for God - where I am placed in this world I share with so
many other people; each of whom can share their own stories.



The Psalmist expresses his delight in the amazing diversity
of God’s the creation; and I want to add my thanks for that too.
I give thanks that I can participate with God in the nurturing of
beauty in my garden, which gives joy to the neighbourhood.
I give thanks too, that my small contribution is only a small part
of the many acts of nurturing of God’s creation that takes place
every day. I thank God too, for the mystery of outer space, for
the wonder of the stars and planets; for the immensity of space,
which speaks to me of the mystery and power of God, and of
God’s creative, nurturing and sustaining capacities. Ultimately
and finally, I give special thanks for God’s gift of hope in God’s
love for me, that has been implanted in my spirit to bless me.

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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

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: epiphany5b_2012.pdf

© 2012 Joan Stott - " The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year B