61B*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 21B [Ordinary 29B] or [Proper 24B] 2012
Psalm 104: 1-9, 24, 35c

We gather together, to share in the praises of our Creating God!
Yet, how can we adequately describe the Creator of the universe?
In faith, we will praise the LORD. O God, how wonderful you are!

We come to tell each other how wonderful our Awesome God is!
Yet, as we respond to God’s glory, there are not sufficient words!
Even so, we will praise the LORD. O God, how glorious you are!

God’s creative Spirit draws us together to share in worship and praise
of our Almighty God, who continues to breathe life into all creation!
God is robed in light, honour and majesty; and has laid the foundation
of this universe as a mirror image of God’s own unchanging nature.
How amazing is our God! Yes, we will praise and worship our God! Amen.

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Prayers of Praise and Thankfulness
Pentecost 21B [Ordinary 29B] or [Proper 24B] 2012
Psalm 104: 1-9, 24, 35c

Awesome God, we come as an individual, and as a congregation
to praise and thank you for the glorious world you have created
for us all to share and to accept the responsibility for its sustainability.
Our magnificent universe and all within it are an expression of the
glory and wonder of our God, and for these insights, we thank you.

Over the centuries of human existence, people have tried in vain
to describe the wonders of our Creating God, with little success.
The Psalmist tried with these words: “O LORD my God, how great
you are! You are robed with honour and with majesty; you are
dressed in a robe of light. You stretch out the starry curtain of the
heavens; you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds.
You make the clouds your chariots; you ride upon the wings of
the wind. The winds are your messengers; flames of fire are your
servants. You placed the world on its foundation so it would never
be moved.” All-Knowing God, it would be hard to find better words
that express these insights! So, for these blessings, we praise you.

God of wisdom and grace, we praise and thank you for the rich and
diverse life that inhabits this planet; for the local flora and fauna with
which we are so familiar; the places, the land or water formations that
are so special to us and speak to our soul; and for the vast expanses
of the night skies that are so inspiring and yet are also intimidating!
In wisdom and love, God has blessed us all with these special gifts—
and gave each of us a task to care for this planet – and so we come
in reverent worship to thank God’s Creative Spirit at work amongst us. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 21B [Ordinary 29B] or [Proper 24B] 2012
Psalm 104: 1-9, 24, 35c

I am grateful for the privilege of exploring the imagery of this Psalm!
Describing God as dressed in light offers me an amazing variation of
descriptions of light! Light encompasses the soft dawn light to the
harsh mid-summer noon-time light; from the brilliant splashes of the
vibrant colour of sunsets, to the paler glory of soft shell-pink sunrise
light. Then there is the threatening purple light of an approaching
storm, or the dense red glow of a threatening dust storm! In contrast,
there is the gentle light of the moon and stars with their highly mystical
beams! Describing God as dressed in light conjures up amazing ideas.



The Creating God claims the winds as messengers – the gentle breezes
carry the less urgent messages, whilst the fierce gales call our attention
as they urgently thrust God’s messages towards us! The ever-changing
clouds act as the vehicles for God’s mysterious supervision and control
over all creation. Claiming leaping flames as servants seems to me to be
a rather whimsical concept, because flames flicker where they will, whereas
servants are under constant direction and supervision. That concept does
puzzle me! The imaginary dwelling of God with its roof beams holding
up the rain clouds, and its curtains made of the star-spangled night sky
are such a gentle yet sturdy concepts. How truly wonderful is our God!



The wisdom of Almighty God is beyond my understanding, and the glory
of God as expressed in creation is too vast for my finite comprehension.

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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:
© 2012 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost21[29]b_2012.pdf

© 2012 Joan Stott - " The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year B