60C*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 21C [Ordinary 28C] or [Proper 23C] 2013
Psalm 66: 1-12

Liberating God, in joyful confidence we come together to praise our God.
Our songs of praise proclaim the awesome and freeing actions of our God.

Faithful God, all creation and all peoples join in our songs of praise to God.
All peoples and creation celebrates the mighty wonders of our Amazing God.

Enlivening God, as a community of faith, we have been inspired and blessed
by God’s faithful commitment to God’s people, bringing them all to a new hope.
“...Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth! Sing about the glory of his name!
Tell the world how glorious God is…. For…our lives are in God’s hands… and
God keeps our feet from stumbling… Come... let the whole world bless our God. Amen.

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Prayers of Thankfulness and Praise
Pentecost 21C [Ordinary 28C] or [Proper 23C] 2013
Psalm 66: 1-12

God of our past, present and future, the awesome extent of God’s goodness
to each generation is almost beyond belief, and yet we know that that mercy
and goodness is a reality to God’s people. We come to God in thankfulness
and praise - not because we want God to supply us with something special—
no, we come, simply and reverently to offer our thanks and our praises for our
God’s loving generosity! We also want others to join with us in our celebrations!
This good news about God is too special to keep to ourselves – we need to tell
others - to share with all whom we meet the news that God’s goodness is not
exclusively for people who are responsive to God – it really is open to everyone!
Make a joyful noise to God all the earth, sing praises to the glory of God’s name.

Praises and thanks to God are not exclusively for humankind - many joyful songs
are to be sung by all God’s creation in their own distinctive way! Creative God, we
celebrate the fact that as many forms of creation that ever existed, there is also a
unique song or sound of praise to be offered to God. Let all of creation share in
an anthem of praises to our Creator, whether the voices and sounds clash or are in
harmony, so long as God’s cherishing care is celebrated with thanks and praise.
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth, sing praises to the glory of God’s name.

Holding and Keeping God, despite our thankful celebrations, we also acknowledge
that we have been tested by life, and by each other, and without God’s steadfast care,
we would have been lost in the bewildering fear of all that enslaves us; and the powers
of evil would have overwhelmed us. Rescuing God, you keep us safely in the palm of
your hand, to steady and sustain us, and to keep us from stumbling. Despite our misguided
attempts to free ourselves, we needed our Glorious God to be our Saviour to rescue us,
and then to set us free from all that threatened us as God’s people. Generous God, you
have blessed us with so many of life’s true treasures and pleasures, and for this we offer
you our thanks, and we humbly yet confidently remember and rejoice in God’s mercy!
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth, sing praises to the glory of God’s name. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 21C [Ordinary 28C] or [Proper 23C] 2013
Psalm 66: 1-12

The Psalmist invites you and me to: “…Come and see what our
God has done, what awesome miracles he does for his people…!”
The author then listed one of the people of God’s great miracles
of freedom and release from all that enslaved them. But it is also
possible that other generations of God’s people could sing that
same message in different circumstances. There are probably
countless stories of people – in large or small numbers – who have
made the same claims of God’s leading and guiding as they fled to
freedom, and a new life free from all forms of persecution and fear.



The first of the European settlers to Australia were mostly convicts,
sent here often for very minor infringements; and any criminal habits
they had, were probably learned during their long sea voyage. History
being what it is with its varying interpretations, it is also reported that
many other early settlers who came to Australia were disenfranchised
or dispirited church goers, and they were encouraged by officials in that
fledgling government, to help bring about a better balance of religious and
social influences upon that penal colony. Whatever were the motives
behind this migration policy, people were uprooted in a far away land
with few resources, other than their character, determination, and their
faith in God’s guidance and blessing. They were certainly tested in that
journey, but they received many blessings from God in their freedom.



The courage and fortitude demonstrated by many of those settlers who
placed their trust in God even as they each day prayed words like these:
“Our lives are in God’s hands, and God will keep our feet from stumbling.”
To help compensate for the wild harshness of the land, they imported their
own trees, plants, birds and animals - anything that brought a touch of their
homeland to them. They also experienced so many different climatic changes
because of the wide range of weather experienced in this land, but eventually
they also knew “...a place of great abundance…” They also knew all about “fire
and flood…” and knew they were being tested and purified. Those faithful, Godly
people surely sang God’s praises in their campsites: “…Come and see what
our God has done, what awesome miracles he does for his people…! “Come,
let us rejoice in who God is. For by God’s great power he rules forever. God
watches every movement of the nations… Let the whole world bless our 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 Living Translation’, © 1996. Copyright. All rights reserved.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189 USA.

*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:
© 2013 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year C. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au
www.thetimelesspsalms.net

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost21[28]c_2013.pdf

© 2013 Joan Stott - " The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year C