Welcome

Come to the God who knows us, to the God who created our being, to the God who knows our frailty, to the God who loves and cherishes us beyond measure. Come as you are and worship God.

  Amen.

Psalm 103: 8 - 13

8The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

    slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,

    nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve

    or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

    so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

 13 As a father has compassion on his children,     so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him

Confession

Forgiving God, 
more willing to forgive than often we are to confess,
help us to see our failings,
to see where we fall short,
to see where we deceive ourselves,
where we close our eyes and ears to the ripples of our wrongdoing.
May we breathe in the reality of our actions,
the need to change, the depth of our unworthiness.
We come before you, seeking forgiveness.

Now let us breathe in the power of your forgiveness,
and breathe out the need to live and love in the shadow of your forgiveness of us, that we may forgive as you have forgiven us.
Amen.

Thanks

Psalms can be a creative way of praising God and giving thanks for his blessings upon us.You may not recognise Psalm 103 from reading it but you might be able to see some similarities to it from so many hymns and worship songs including praise my soul the king of heaven (Sam’s favourite) and Bless the Lord oh my soul.

God made us in his image and part of that involved being creative, like him, having an imagination. So let’s use our gift of creativity to praise and thank our Lord this week.

I want to challenge you to praise the Lord creatively for something this week.

May you want to try your hand at creating a psalm, song or poem. Maybe you’d like to draw something. And before any of you claim ‘your are not creative’ because you can’t weald a paint brush or play the harp like an angelic cherub, remember that God made you to be creative like him and think of a different and new way to praise him.

Maybe you can praise God by dancing or waving flags, or making a paper aeroplane and covering it in all the things that bless you. Go for a walk to find space for thanks, drawing on your environment for inspiration.  Repeat a simple verse or prayer over and over. Light a candle. Write a prayer using only emojis. Think of something you are thankful beginning with each letter from the alphabet. Blow bubbles. Make something out of play dough. 

I have created a mind map with pictures to symbolise everything I am thankful and will be hanging it up somewhere in my home office space to remind me of all the things I have to be thankful whilst I am working this week. 

Why not share with those you know or via the comments of the YouTube video what you are thankful for and how you have said thank you. 

Prayer of thanks

God of love and grace beyond our telling,
we bring our thankful hearts to you,
acknowledging that without you we are nothing
and with you we can be so much more…
thankful that you care for us, and love us beyond measure;
that you have endless patience with us;
that you teach us time and time again
what it is to be committed to you and your way…
thankful that you reveal yourself to us in myriad ways,
to inspire us and evoke within us a heartfelt response…
thankful that while all this is for everyone who will come to you and accept you,
it is for me – for me! – and may I know it deep within.
With overflowing hearts, hear our prayer.
Amen.

Talk

Song - Bless the Lord oh my soul. 

Prayers of Intercession

With all our heart and mind let us pray to the Lord. Let us lay our requests before Him, saying “Hear our prayer”.

Inspire all those who lead and serve in this church. May they know your guidance and direction. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.  

 Help us to be understanding and forgiving of all those we encounter.Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer. 

Show us how to serve one another, to offer love, care and support. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Guide all those who are called to lead and advocate in the world, may they carry love with them always. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Inspire our leaders, teachers, doctors, social workers and counsellors to be bringers of hope in all situations. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Protect all those who carry peace to other nations. Bless the food, care and shelter they provide. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Comfort those who live with grief. Help them see the light of heaven. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Come embrace those in pain and physical suffering. May they feel you close to them. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Watch over all those who feel isolated and alone. Calm their fears and lead them into peace and freedom. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Strengthen and encourage all those who seek to serve and protect the vulnerable. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Lead us to be generous with our time, possessions and money. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

For those who have lost loved ones recently, comfort them in their grief and heal the broken-hearted. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Finally, we bring to mind any in our community that we know to be need. (pause for a few seconds) May love and goodness fill their lives. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Blessing

Into a world of noise and confusion;

into a world that bewilders and even bemuses us at times;
into a world of delight and regret;
into a world of hope and fear;
into a world that is ever changing,
we go with the message of an unchanging God
who gave his all that we might live life to the best of our ability.
God of all, go with us and within us,
this and every day.
Amen.