55A*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 12A [Ordinary 23A] or [Proper 18A] 2011
Psalm 149

Praise the Lord, and rejoice in God your Maker!
Sing a new song to God, because God is forever new.

We rejoice in God our Creator and Sustainer
in our homes, and in our personal relationships.
We sing and give praise to God in all our daily living.

We gather with God’s people from near and far—
to celebrate the wonders of our glorious God!
Together we rejoice with songs and praises, with dancing
and music; great is the Lord and greatly to be praised! Amen.

Prayers of Praise
Pentecost 12A [Ordinary 23A] or [Proper 18A] 2011
Psalm 149

Praise to the Lord our God, who created and
sustains us each day; and who offers people
with a humble heart and mind, the joy of God’s
gift of salvation. Let us celebrate and sing our
praises to our Great and Holy God! Let us share
the joy of our salvation with singing and dancing,
and with great and joyful musical extravaganzas!
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.

We gather as people who have faith in God, and
who seek to honour God not only in worship, but
also in our daily living - in our homes; with our
family and friends; and in our community life.

So often, we have tried to share the good news of
God with members of our community, but this is not
always acceptable to them. With sorrow, we know
and understand that we live in a world that has
rejected God, by its failure to be just and merciful.

Help us to be more worthy representatives of our
God in our living, so that our misrepresentation of
God is corrected and our sin and failure is forgiven.
May we serve the people of the world through our
living and loving; and by our attitudes and actions.
It is with relief that we know that we can leave
judgement to God, and that it is our responsibility
to love and serve God where we live and work.

Praise and glory be to God forever. Amen.

A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 12A [Ordinary 23A] or [Proper 18A] 2011
Psalm 149

O Lord my God, if only you would not continue to
give me puzzles to work out from your Holy Word!!!!
If only the writers of the Psalms did not challenge me
to look within myself and my hidden agendas! If only
all I had to do was sing and dance in praise and
with joy to the Lord!! How much simpler it would be!

Creative pause: Challenged to look within myself for hidden agendas.


I love it when we can sing and dance with joy before
the Lord, and I delight to do so in our sacred spaces—
or at least I sing and dance with joy in my heart and
mind, because the physical dancing is passed me now!
But even as I sing and dance, I am challenged by the
world in which I live; where mercy, justice and peace are
often words spoken as if in a foreign language for many
leaders, who have no wish to know or deliver to their people
the blessings of mercy, justice, peace, and wholeness.

Creative pause: The foreign language of justice and mercy!


Is it because the songs I sing and celebrate have no
relevance to the world in which I and all humanity live?
Do I need to keep singing new songs about the Lord so
that the message of God is more relevant to the world
and its leaders? I know our God is unchanging, always
present in the lives, hearts and minds of people, even if
they block out that holy presence. However, is it the ever-
new God that I represent each day in my living and loving?
Do I need to update my understanding of God, so that I
can more truly and accurately represent God to the world?

Creative pause: The challenge of updating my understanding of God!


Our God, is a God of mercy, justice, compassion and peace.
May my new songs celebrate that new message every day.

Creative pause: May my new songs about God be heard.


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:
© 2011 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au

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