58C*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 18C [Ordinary 26C] or [Proper 21C] 2010
Psalm 91: 1-6, 14-16
Trustworthy God, you are our Refuge,our place of safety in an uncertain world.
We can always trust in our God.
Sheltering God, you are our Security,
against all our doubts, fears and anxieties.
We can always hope in our God.
Ever-present God, you are our Strength,
because you equip us and empower us
to stand firmly in the face of adversity.
We can always have confidence in our God,
and with that surety, we come to worship God. Amen.
Prayers of Thanks and Trust
Pentecost 18C [Ordinary 26C] or [Proper 21C] 2010
Psalm 91: 1-6, 14-16
Trustworthy God, we come together to celebrate the securityand joy of your abiding presence that is with us in all of life’s
circumstances. We come today not only seeking reasurrance,
but also to affirm and give thanks for God’s infinite grace and mercy.
You are our Refuge, our Hope, and our ever-present Strength!
Ever-reliable God, help us to understand that your gift of courage
and strength is not a reward for our good behaviour, but that it is
a continuing expression of God’s own loving nature. Your presence
with us does not stop the bad things from happening to us; but in
your abiding presence, we discover the hope, strength and courage
to live with life’s hiccups, it’s traumas, and its deep uncertainties.
You are our Refuge, our Hope, and our ever-present Strength!
Sheltering God, with thankful hearts and minds, we acknowledge
that you inspire within us a sense of calm and peace; so that we
know that our foolish fears and anxiety is often our imagination
wildly out of control. We give thanks for the comfort you offer us.
You are our Refuge, our Hope, and our ever-present Strength!
You have promised to answer when we call to you, and to honour
our trust in your grace and mercy. What a wonderfully reassuring
gift that is to us. It offers us the satisfaction of knowing that with God’s
help, we will live with the doubts, distresses and anxieties of living.
You are our Refuge, our Hope, and our ever-present Strength! Amen.
A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 18C [Ordinary 26C] or [Proper 21C] 2010
Psalm 91: 1-6, 14-16
O Lord my God, I come with confidence and trust, knowing thatyou have always been my ever-present God and my Refuge.
In times of trouble and hardship, and when other relationships
have failed, I have always been aware of your constant presence
supporting and guiding me. You shelter me in the warmth of your
presence. Even in my private and darkest-time-of-night stresses,
I find the quietness of your peace; the strength to go on again into life.
| Creative pause: | Day and night, I shelter in God’s presence. |
Time and again my God, I have run in circles trying to find you,
only to finally realise that you were already here, ready to sustain
me through my times of doubt, fear and worry. Trustworthy God,
your promises are so precious to me and they reassure me.
| Creative pause: | With confidence, I trust in God’s care. |
Generous God, in my times of doubt, I think that your promises
are too good to be true! In addition, they are open to everyone!
Surely, there are some discriminating elements in Gods mercy!
Are God’s promises really open to everyone? Everyone?
| Creative pause: | There is no discrimination in God’s love. |
As I ponder, I discover, that God being my ‘Refuge’ is not the result
of me trusting and having faith in God. It is simply that God is being God—
God being true to God’s own generous nature; and that the offer of
refuge from the storms of life is extended to all who trust and believe
in God. That promise is open to all who have the courage to test that
faith by calling for God’s help, rather than stubbornly ‘doing it my way’,
and resolutely clinging to independence and self-sufficiency, and then failing.
| Creative pause: | God is simply being God - a trusted Refuge. |
Dependable God, you have promised to always answer when I call
to you, and that you will honour me because of my trust in you.
You have also promised the reassuring satisfaction of knowing that
with God’s help, support and encouragement, I can weather life’s storms.
| Creative pause: | God is my Refuge, my Strength, and my Hope. |
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: pentecost18[26]c_2010.pdf