55C*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 15C [Ordinary 23C] or [Proper 18C] 2010
Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18

All-Knowing, all Loving God, we worship you:
The God who is Great Known and Greater Unknown!
Each day, you surround us with your love and care.
You, O Lord our God are here – now and always.

All-Creating, All-Sustaining God, we praise you:
The God who is Great Known and Greater Unknown!
Each night, you uphold us through our vulnerable rest.
You, O Lord our God are here – now and always.

Ever-Watchful God, Ever-Mysterious God:
The God who is Great Known and Greater Unknown!
We come to sing your praises and offer you our worship:
Ever-Present God, we are never beyond the reach
of your love and care, for you are our Help and our Guide.
You, O Lord our God are here – now and always. Amen.

Prayers of Trust and Praise
Pentecost 15C [Ordinary 23C] or [Proper 18C] 2010
Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18

God within us and God surrounding us, God beneath
and God above us, we praise and bless your holy name.
God of all goodness, we come to you now, trusting you
to be our Guide, our Leader, and our Help in all of life.

Great and Glorious God, we give thanks that as your children,
we have been created in the image of Goodness itself.
We give thanks that when the peripheral things of life are
taken away from us, that we remain always a child of God;
and at the deepest and richest core of our being and life,
we are shaped, grounded and blessed in our Father God.

Trustworthy God, because you are so deeply imbedded
in our lives, you know all there is to understand about us—
even the things we hide from our family and best friends.
You also know the gifts you have entrusted to us, for us
to nurture, develop and use for the benefit of all creation.

Ever-Mysterious God, whilst we each are known by you to the
depths of our beings, ours is a life-long journey of exploration as
we seek to learn more of you, our loving and ever-merciful God.
We seek your continuing blessing as we travel life’s road to our
final destination at home with God. Help us to humbly seek to
learn more of the will and purposes of God, so that we may more
faithfully live a life filled with trust, praise and worship of God.

Loving God, we thank you for your past mercies; for your present
blessings; and in anticipation, for your care and love into the future.
As we awake each morning to creation’s songs in praise of God,
may we join in that chorus of praise; and dedicate all that happens
that day to the honour and glory of God; by sharing God’s love, peace
and joy with others, in a world desperately crying out for such blessings. Amen.

A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 15C [Ordinary 23C] or [Proper 18C] 2010
Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18

All-Knowing and Mysterious God, my life is like an open book
to you – with very large easy-to-read print! You already know
the introduction to my life-book; all the characters; the plots in
the middle section; and the last pages of my life’s story. You also
know ‘whodunit’, and who ‘lives happily after’ within my life story.

Creative pause: I am a large-print open book to God.


Great Creating God, it is beyond my comprehension that you
knew me from my conception, when I was just a tiny single cell,
dividing and dividing again. Yet you were there, present within
each cell, mixing and matching my inherited genes, my strengths
and weaknesses, my likes and dislikes, all waiting to be revealed
to me as I mature, and eventually as I go to my end in and with God.

Creative pause: Cell by cell, God is within me.


God of all Goodness, you have created me in the image of your
own Being; bestowing on me the deep goodness that is God,
so that God lives and moves within me - deep within my being;
always nudging, and always encouraging, so that my God-given
gifts, insights and understandings will grow, develop and mature.

Creative pause: God, you are Ultimate Goodness.


Reassuring and yet Scary God, this deep knowledge of me both
scares and reassures me! I know that so many times I fail you and
myself, and yet when I turn to you, you forgive me these failings.
It is overwhelming to think of being known so well, and yet to still be
loved and accepted by God - my Maker, my Judge and my Father.

Creative pause: God is both awe-inspiring and welcoming.


My Lord and God, how I treasure the concepts of having your Presence
deep within me, and that I can never go beyond your love and care.
No matter where I travel, wherever I am in the world, you go before me—
and you come behind - following me; your Holy Being surrounds and
supports me . When I wake up in the morning - you are still there with me,
my Guide and Helper. How reassuring that is! What a wonderful blessing!

Creative pause: Each morning, wherever I am, you are still with me.


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:
© 2010 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year C. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost15[23]c_2010.pdf