50B*
A Call to Worship
After Pentecost 11B [Ordinary 18B] or [Proper 13B] 2018
Psalm 78: 23-29

Constant God: today we come to celebrate your Holy Presence is with us.
We celebrate God’s presence with us as we are blessed by God’s guidance.

Faithful God: today we rejoice because of God’s commitment to all creation.
We rejoice in God’s delight at all that the Creator continues to bring to life.

Compassionate God: today we worship and praise our God because of the
loving care and compassion God showers upon us - meeting all our needs.
We worship and praise our God for the loving care and compassion we receive
each day from our generous God – who understands and answers our prayers.
May we always trust in our God’s benevolent grace and enduring faithfulness! Amen.

Psalm 78: 23-29
A psalm of Asaph.

23 But he commanded the skies to open; he opened the doors of heaven.
24 He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them bread from heaven.
25 They ate the food of angels! God gave them all they could hold.
26 He released the east wind in the heavens
and guided the south wind by his mighty power.
27 He rained down meat as thick as dust—
birds as plentiful as the sand on the seashore!
28 He caused the birds to fall within their camp and all around their tents.
29 The people ate their fill. He gave them what they craved.

Prayers of Petition and Trust
After Pentecost 11B [Ordinary 18B] or [Proper 13B] 2018
Psalm 78: 23-29

Constant God: today we come to celebrate your Holy Presence is with us and we pray:
“Come journey with us, walk with us, listen to our story. Our hopes, our dreams, our
struggles, our joys, our story of life, we share with you as we journey…”1 Today we
celebrate God’s presence with us as we are blessed by God’s guidance; and healed and
forgiven of our confessed sin by God’s great mercy. Trustworthy God, we ask that the
lessons we have learned from our past experiences of your gracious commitment to your
people, will always act as our compass in times of temptation and decision making; so
that in hope, we all journey with you as your people on the way to God’s promised end.

Faithful God: today we rejoice because of God’s commitment to all creation and give
thanks for the delight that God finds in all that the Creator brings to life and fulfilment.
Today, we pray: “…Come journey with us…open our minds to understand the mystery
of your life with us…may our hearts be warmed and strengthened by your presence
here…”1 as we rejoice together in your Holy presence with us as we offer to you our
forgiven and renewed commitment to you. Trustworthy God, we ask that the lessons we
have learned from our past experiences of deliverance and holy freedom to worship and
thank you; and that together as a community of hope and faith, we can be a beacon of light
in a world that is dark and seems to have lost its way. O God: “…Come journey with us…”1

Compassionate God: today we worship and praise our God because of the loving care
and compassion God showers upon us - meeting all our needs; and we pray that we may
accept the answers you give to our prayers. Today we pray: “…Come journey with us,
stay with us, make us one with you...may we truly know, your life with us, your love for us:
may we go forth, on our journey with you…”1 Trustworthy God, we ask that the lessons
we have learned from our past experiences of our God’s benevolent grace and enduring
faithfulness will remain with us, especially when the realities of life, of human fallibility and
frailty press upon us; and we are faced with our final journey home to be with you. Help
each of us to walk with obedient trust and hope into the embrace of God’s Holy Presence—
and to God be the glory for all our great things God has done for us, now and in eternity. Amen.

A Personal Meditation
After Pentecost 11B [Ordinary 18B] or [Proper 13B] 2018
Psalm 78: 23-29

These verses from Psalm 78 are the alternate reading from the Psalms and are
linked to the Old Testament reading with selected verses from Exodus 16. The
first listed psalm is Psalm 51, a penitential Psalm is always set for Ash Wednesday,
and is the introduction to Lenten meditation, reflection and confession. Psalm 78
is another of the historical Psalms (also 105-107, 135 and 136) which tell the story
of Israel’s obedience and disobedience to God; and through which they were urged,
reminded and encouraged to understand their own history, so they could teach their
children; and to warn the people of Israel how simple and easy it was to drift away
from God. Ultimately though, the people of Israel were encouraged through their
history of God’s intimate relationship with them, to faithfully cherish that holy intimacy;
and to be committed to their worship of God in all their living, relationships and life.

Creative pause: Do you cherish God’s intimate relationship with you?


This lengthy psalms was intended to be a teaching song for the Jerusalem Temple’s
singers and musicians during the kingly reigns of David and Solomon. It was also
a reminder to the worshippers of the failures of their forebears to faithfully worship
and honour YHWH, their liberating God; and a warning of the consequences of failing
in their commitment to God. The worshippers were reminded of the continued anxiety
and grumbling of their ancestors, firstly wanting fresh water; then they wanted bread;
and finally they wanted fresh meat. So God provided water and meat, and a sticky flaky
substance that appeared each morning on the ground, and was named manna – which
actually meant “What is it?”; and gave them a sense of being fully satisfied when they
ate it. So, God faithfully provided and cared for the people in the wilderness as they
were also being gradually moulded into a cohesive unit as a nation; on their long trek
to the promised land and their new home. Despite all their setbacks, God remained
faithful, although angry and disappointed with their lack of trust in their Generous God.

Creative pause: Have you recognised God moulding your life and faith?


In the past, we have discussed the importance of disruptive conjunctions, which with the
insertion of a word, contradicts or qualifies the previous statement. In the verse before
our selected passage these words are sung: “…Yes, his [YHWH’s] anger rose against
Israel, for they did not believe God or trust him to care for them…” and then comes "but"
that disruptive word that contradicts: “…But he [YHWH] commanded the skies to open;
he opened the doors of heaven…” and the people were fed each day. So what can we
learn today from this ancient lesson? The author’s view of the situation was that we all
have a journey to make in life; and that God journeys with us caring and providing for us;
and we choose whether to grumble or trust in God’s faithfulness and mercy! Will we
act positively today because our past experiences; or will we forget and go our own way?

Creative pause: Will you act positively today - guided by your past experiences?


1 From “A Special Collection” track 2
Words and music by Monica Brown
© 1991 Monica Brown & Emmaus Productions
Used with personal permission.

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 help and inspiration so frequently available from the writings of Professor Walter Brueggemann and Professorial brothers Rolf and Karl Jacobson; and the resources from "The Text this Week" (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditation are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2018 Joan Stott –‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Based on verses from Psalm 78.
Used with permission.

joanstott16@gmail.com
www.thetimelesspsalms.net

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost11[18]b_2018.pdf