17 August 2014

Collects

Prayers developed from the daily readings 

Sunday 17 August 2014 

Morning Prayer

Psalm 81

The psalm begins with praise and thanksgiving. It moves on to remembering the gifts of God and how God saved and delivered the people. Finally there is a lament that the people’s hearts are hard, that they are not listening and until they do, they will be besieged. God wants to feed us with fine things. The choice is left open.

Matthew 15: 29 – 39

Jesus on a mountain cures and heals people for three days. The people praise God. Having compassion he tells the disciples that he wants to feed the people. The disciples only have a few loaves and fishes. Jesus gives thanks, divides the food and sends it into the crowd. All 4000 men and women and children are fed and baskets of food remain. Jesus sends the crowds away and goes by boat to Magadan.

Collect for Morning Prayer

Skateboarding - free
Deniliquin NSW 2014 L Osburn

God of abundance, you came to heal us, cure us, feed us and save us. Soften our hearts so that we may listen to you and share your great gifts with others through prayer, generosity and spreading the good news of your love through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sunday 17 August 2014

Evening Prayer

Genesis 48: 8 – 20

Jacob is about to die and calls Joseph and his sons (Jacob’s grandsons) for a blessing. He adopts Joseph’s sons as his own and blesses them. He crosses his hands and so the second born son receives the more potent blessing.

Psalm 67

This psalm is a blessing. “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us” (v 1). The blessing asks too that our lives be testament to God’s glory. May the whole world sing praise and rejoice.

Romans 11: 17 – 28

Paul uses a metaphor of a olive tree. God is the rootstock and believers the branches. Non-believing Jews are like pruned branches. Faithful Christian people from other nations are like grafted on branches from a wild olive. We are not to be proud of being a branch. We need to be proud of the rootstock and keep strong in the faith. We too can be pruned. And any Jewish person, who by heritage is part of that first rootstock is easier to graft back in. The faithful Jewish people are always part of the rootstock, part of the whole, whether or not they embrace Christ because of God’s promises to their ancestors.

Collect for Evening Prayer

Grape bearing fruit
Armadale WA 2014 L Osburn

Gracious God, loving parent to us all, we cannot comprehend your abundant love for us and the thought of separation from you is too much for us to bear. When we offer our lives to your glory you bless us and adopt us as your children just as you adopted Israel’s ancestors. Let us praise you and rejoice so that you may be glorified through Jesus Christ or Lord and your Holy Spirit in our hearts. Amen.