21 February 2016
Collects
Prayers
developed from the daily readings
Sunday 21 February
2016
Morning
Prayer
Psalm 121
Our help comes from the Lord. God never sleeps. God
protects, shades and keeps us from evil. The Lord protects our going out and
our coming in.
Galatians 4: 1 – 11
Just like little children who are heirs to a great house, while we are
little we have no say; we have to be obedient to the rules. So the rules, the
Mosaic Law is there. But God sent his son to redeem us and we are now adopted
as God’s children. Because we are God’s children we have received the Spirit of
Jesus in our hearts so we can call God “Daddy”.
Paul is
concerned that the Galatians have started observing old festivals that belong
to the elemental spirits or traditional Jewish rubrics they followed before
they were Christian. For Paul, this is “backsliding” and he worries that he has
wasted his time with them.
Collect for
Morning Prayer
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| Kookaburra(s) Lake Mulwala NSW L Osburn |
Sunday 21 February
2016
Evening
Prayer
Psalm 119: 121 – 136
The psalmist is distressed fearing that oppression by the
ungodly is immanent. Watching out for God’s salvation and for the fulfilment of
God’s promise leads to failed vision. The psalmist aware of a lack of
understanding, cries out to be taught the statutes, to understand and for God
to act against the breaking of the Law. “Truly I love your commandments more
than gold, more than fine gold”.
The psalmist declares a passion for the scripture and
the commandments. There too is recognition that others do not share this zeal
and that leads to persecution.
Exodus 11: 1 – 10
God tells Moses there will be one last plague after
which Pharaoh will drive the Israelites out of Egypt. God instructs Moses to
tell the Israelites to ask their neighbours for objects of silver and gold.
Moses warns Pharaoh of the plague to come – the death of the first-born and
that his officials will come, bow down and ask Moses to take the Israelites
away. God also says to Moses that Pharaoh’s heart will continue to be hardened
so that God’s wonders can many in Egypt. The last plague will not be avoided.
Luke 22: 39 – 53
Jesus at the Mount of Olives instructs the disciples
to pray that they may not come to the time of trial. He goes a distance away to
pray. He asks God to remove the challenge but only if it is God’s will. Jesus
experiences strength from an angel. He gets up and finds the disciples
sleeping, not watching in prayer. A crowd approaches led by Judas. Judas greets
him with a kiss and thus betrays Jesus. Other disciples ask is this the time to
fight and one cuts off the ear of a slave of the high priest. Jesus tells them
no more fighting and heals the severed ear.
He challenges the officers of the temple police why
they come as if Jesus is a common bandit when he has been teaching openly in
the temple where they have not touched him but instead come in the cover and
power of darkness.
Collect for
Evening Prayer
 |
| On the lake Lake Mulwala NSW L Osburn |
O God whose trustworthiness existed from the start and has
never failed, help us to stop looking for “fulfilment of your promise” but know
it has already been done. You have already given your son for our salvation.
You have already set things up so that we may be free. Lead us to your word.
Lead us to Christ so that we might see aright and fully grasp that our
liberation is in doing your will with your timing through Jesus Christ our
saviour and the guidance of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
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