6 June 2015

Collects

Prayers developed from the daily readings 

Saturday 6 June 2015 

Morning Prayer   

Psalm 86

The psalmist approaches God in humility and reverent recognition asking for assistance against people who seek his life who are “insolent and ruffians”. Praise and honour are awarded to God and the psalmist asks to walk in truth and to have a heart for God alone. Thanks are given to God for steadfast love.

1 Samuel 4: 1b – 22

The Philistines war with Israel. Israel is losing. The elders decide to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the field of battle thinking that the Ark itself would mean God was with them and would rout the enemy. A great shout goes up from the Israelites. The Philistines, knowing the reputation of the Israelites’ God do not want to be enslaved and fight harder. They win the battle and take possession of the Ark of the Covenant.

Eli’s sons Phineas and Hophni die. A man from the tribe of Benjamin runs to tell Eli the news. He falls backward from his seat and dies. Phineas’s wife, who is pregnant goes into early labour, has a son and she dies. The child is named Ichabod, which means, “The glory has departed from Israel”.

Acts 6: 1 – 7

The number of Christians is increasing and those who are originally from Greek speaking cultures noticed that their widows were missing out on the food distribution. The apostles are torn between their duty to spread the gospel and serve on tables. They made the decision to appoint 7 deacons (many have Greek names) to distribute the food properly while the apostles focus on prayer and preaching. The deacons are blessed through the laying on of hands. The word of God spreads and many of the priests in the temple, become Christian.

Collect for Morning Prayer

Sgraffito on left of providing clothingand support to those in need beside a crest of the church.New Norcia Benedictine Community WA
E Byford 2014

O God of consolation, blessing and love you forgive us when we come to you. Help us in times of pressure whether from opposition or from success. Help us avoid treating the structures of our belief as idols. Keep us true to you, to have a heart for you alone so that we engage others to ensure all are feed with your word, your sacrament and that which sustains their bodies through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

Saturday 6 June April 2015

Evening Prayer

Psalm 88

This is a prayer of a faithful person who has been seriously ill since childhood and now believes they are close to death. The prayer asks God to listen. The psalmist is bold with God. “Is your steadfast love declared in the grave…?” (v.11). The only sense of hope in this psalm is in God’s response.

Proverbs 4: 1 - 19

Just a s a loving father would say to a child we are told to get wisdom and seek insight. We are to prize wisdom highly so that our lives may be long, unhampered and upright. We are not to follow the ways of the wicked who can’t sleep at night unless they have done wrong. Instead the path of the righteous is like bright dawn.

2 Corinthians 2: 12 – 3: 6

This passage of Paul’s tells of his movements and the realities of his anxieties as he moves place to place. Also it is lyrical and speaks of Christians as Christ’s aroma to God – that we spread Christ’s fragrance.

He then says that what he does is not the same as marketing or sales. He isn’t selling Christianity. He is testifying and we are people of sincerity. We don’t need letters of introduction because where there are Christians we are already linked and connected by the Holy Spirit. It is not our skill that links us, but God making us competent ministers of the Spirit.

Collect for Evening Prayer

Dawn
Lake Mulwala NSW 2014 L Osburn

Holy God you alone are faithful and turn our lives into bright dawns that honour you. You know us whether we are ill, anxious, on the move and / or in families. Help us to be faithful and to know that we can boldly bring before you all our concerns and cares, seek your wisdom, gain insight and deeply comprehend that we are never alone but connected through your Holy Spirit to all your people through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

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