47C*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 7C [Ordinary 15C] or [Proper 10C] 2010
Psalm 82

O Lord our God, you are the Judge of your people.
Your judgement is fair and you show compassion.
You show merciful love to people, who need your comfort
and who carry the burden of isolation and oppression.

O Lord our God, you are the Judge of your people.
Praise the Lord, our righteous and honourable
It is you, O God, who brings comfort and compassion
to widows and orphans, and to all vulnerable people.

O Lord our God, you are the Judge of your people.
We come to worship you - our Righteous God.
It is you, O God, who brings light to people in
darkness, and hope for people who are in despair. Amen.

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Prayers of Confession and Petition
Pentecost 7C [Ordinary 15C] or [Proper 10C] 2010
Psalm 82

O Lord our God, our Righteous Judge and Saviour, in penitence
we come before you, to share our concerns about the needs of
your suffering and fragmented people. There seems to be no
justice in the places of power! Orphaned children are neglected;
widows are ignored; and there are few signs of any compassion.

You are the Righteous and Holy Judge, O God, and we seek your
mercy and forgiveness, as we confess to our part in ignoring
the plight of people who are distressed, who are in desperate
need of help; or who have had their personal dignity stripped
away and have been robbed of the basic necessities for life.

O Lord our God, we ask for your compassionate involvement—
even your intervention - in the complex affairs of the world’s
leaders. When placed on the scales of God’s rules of justice,
their ethical values appear to be deficient; their morals corrupted;
and they often appear to ignore the plight of vulnerable people.

Great and Eternal God, in times past you have corrected your
people when they have taken a wrong path, or when they have
failed to fulfil their responsibilities as leaders, who are shepherds
of God’s defenceless flock. In the past, these corrections inspired
by God, have shaken the foundations of many nations, causing
them to rethink their priorities, and their commitment to their people.

We pray O God, that your rule of peace, justice and equity will
again flourish amongst the peoples of the world’s nations, and
that their leaders will follow you – the True Leader of the world.
We pray that you will be honoured and revered as the Great and
Glorious God of all peoples, all nations, all rulers, and of all people. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 7C [Ordinary 15C] or [Proper 10C] 2010
Psalm 82

O Lord my God, you are the mighty and powerful Judge
with authority and power over all things - including honour
and justice; truth and equity; and mercy and compassion.
In addition, Compassionate God, you have a righteous concern
for the welfare of all the vulnerable peoples of the earth.



I am a dependent child of this great and powerful God, and I
was created to bear something of God’s own inner image—
which challenges me to be more compassionate and caring;
and to reflect some of God’s attributes of mercy and love.
I find this very challenging as I seek to fulfil my calling as a
participating member of this world, this nation and this community.



Am I open enough to God’s love to enable me to assist in lifting
up the down-trodden, and helping the battered and bewildered
people with whom I come in contact? God has blessed me with gifts,
so am I using those gifts in helping to bring justice and peace to
the fragile peoples of my community, and to this bewildered world?



Even while I complain and deplore the attitudes and policies of leaders—
I must also take some responsibility for the continuation of these
situations. I know that I too will be judged and found wanting—
in my attitudes and actions! May God forgive me! Unless and until
God’s authority and rule of justice and peace becomes universal
people who are weak, neglected or overlooked will remain the same.



O Lord, my God and my Judge - both now and for all eternity—
open my eyes; unblock my ears; sensitise my touch, so that
I may be an instrument of your peace; so that I may give all of
myself in the service of others, in name of our Compassionate 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:
© 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: pentecost7[15]c_2010.pdf

© 2010 Joan Stott - " The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year C