59A*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 16A [Ordinary 27A] or [Proper 22A] 2011
Psalm 19

The Lord our God is revealed to us in many ways—
through God’s creative love in nature and people.
With reverent awe we come to worship our Glorious God.

The truths about our God are spoken so fluently—
through our God’s creative Word and Presence.
With joy and delight we gather to worship our God.

The reality of God’s creative Spirit can be experienced each day—
in changed lives, and in sustained and renewed creation.
Praise be to the God who speaks to us in so many ways.
We respond by offering our thoughts in worship and praise. Amen.

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Prayers of Praise and Thankfulness
Pentecost 16A [Ordinary 27A] or [Proper 22A] 2011
Psalm 19

God of light and God of darkness, God of many words, and
God who does not need words, we are surrounded day and
night by messages from God. All creation sings the praise
of our Creating God; the skies tell the same message day after
day, night after night; with God’s glory and majestic power the
theme of their wordless messages and tuneless songs of praise.
Our human limitations prevent us from adequately describing
the wonders of our God, and we can only make do with words
such as ‘speechless awe’ and in ‘breathless wonder’ of our God.

God of wisdom and understanding, with hearts and minds
filled with praise and thankfulness, we gather to meditate on
God’s creative powers, and the way that God has given us
laws by which to live in community; with the potential for each
of us to respect and honour our ‘neighbour’; and to live together
in harmony within God’s reign of peace and justice. We seek
God’s blessing as we strive to obey these laws, which also
calls us to praise and worship God with each part of our humanity.

Holy God, when we combine the complex simplicity of your law,
and the glories of your creative and sustaining powers, we are even
more overwhelmed by the thoughts of God that flood into our minds
and hearts. We seek your blessings as we try to live these thoughts out
each day within this world you have created as our home and haven—
even as we fail to abide by these laws, and we damage some part
of your creation. O God, keep us from deliberate sins and don’t let
them have control us! Each day, may the words of our mouths and
the thoughts of our hearts be pleasing to you, our Rock and Redeemer. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 16A [Ordinary 27A] or [Proper 22A] 2011
Psalm 19

I am so grateful to God for the gifts of sight, hearing,
taste, speech, intelligence, understanding and emotion;
and that I have the spiritual capacity to come before God
in worship and praise. Without some or all of these gifts,
my life would be diminished in many and various ways.



Using all these senses and capacities, enables me to see,
listen, feel and enjoy the wonders of God’s creation; the
glories of God’s majesty and love as experienced through
the warmth of the sun, that reminds me of the warmth of God’s
love; the serenity of the moonlight, that encourages me to
think about God’s peace; the sound of the early morning world,
as it wakes to sing God’s praises; the taste of luscious fresh
fruit, as I am reminded to ‘taste and see that the Lord is good.’



As I meditate upon God, and the wonders that are all so much
a part of who and what God is, I am also reminded of the ‘mind’
of God, as I in my human frailty would name it; that part of who
and what God is that is expressed not only in nature and the
created world, but which is the very ‘essence’ of God. God, who
challenges and dares me; God, who stirs my thoughts and feelings;
God, who invites me to reach out to other people; God, who reminds
me that I am part of a larger whole; a member of a community, a
nation, a world, and even a universe. How can I responsibly live
and relate to people and creation within that broadest of contexts?



How can I as a child of God live in God’s world without guidelines,
without advice on the way to best live in community with others?
Thankfully, God has given me and everyone else commandments
to live by; guidelines for communal harmony; and rules to enable
me to network with humanity, but also, to live and grow within an
intimate and trusting relationship with God! All praise be to my God!

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

jstott@netspace.net.au

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost16[27]a_2011.pdf

© 2011 Joan Stott - " The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year A