3 July 2016

Collects

Prayers developed from the daily readings 

Sunday 3 July 2016

Morning Prayer

Psalm 66: 7 – 19

Bless the Lord who holds our souls carefully. We experience difficult times and God brings us through. The psalmist tells how his own prayers are answered. God is a God of steadfast love.

Colossians 2: 1 – 15

Paul wants us to be encouraged and united in love, to have assured understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery: Christ. As we have received Christ we are to continue to live our lives, rooted, established and grounded in Christ and to give thanks.

Paul warns not to allow us to be captured by philosophy or empty deceit or elemental spirits but only according to Christ. In Christ all deity dwells. We have new forms of circumcision, baptism, burial and rebirth. We have been made alive through forgiveness. We do not have to go through the legalistic rules – those were all nailed to the cross. Christ disarmed rules and authorities and triumphed.

Collect for Morning Prayer

Sailing
Fremantle Harbour WA  L Osburn

Holy and loving God you carefully hold our souls and answer our prayers, When we get caught up in the anxiety of following human generated rules and processes, when we are buffeted by plausible arguments and are unsure whether our teachers are false or true, remind us of how hard Paul struggled to encourage us to be rooted, grounded and united in the steadfast love of Christ alone through the power of your Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Sunday 3 July 2016

Evening Prayer

Ecclesiastes 7: 1 – 14

Here’s a comparison of things that are good with things we think are good. The things that are good are reputation and really appreciating that we all will die. Mourning does gladden our hearts. Focusing on fun and mirth is foolish.

When we are rebuked by someone wise that is better for us than foolish laughter.

But even wise people can be made foolish when they are oppressed. Bribery too corrupts the heart.

Being patient in spirit is better than being proud in spirit.

The end of something is better than its beginning. Being quick to anger lodges that anger inside us.

Wisdom is a great inheritance – it brings life.

We have good times and bad times. These are so humans cannot know what is to come.

Psalm 66: 1 – 8

A great song of praise to God: “Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth” (v 1).  The psalmist lists the some of the deeds of God and encourages us to bless and praise the Lord.

Luke 9: 12 – 24

The disciples just back from mission and Jesus have withdrawn to Bethsaida. Crowds have gathered and Jesus is teaching and healing. This passage begins with the disciples saying to Jesus, "Send the crowd away." Their concern is that it is late and the people need to go and get provisions for the place is isolated. Jesus tells the disciples to feed the crowd and they reply that they only have 5 loaves and two fish. Jesus instructs for the disciples to group the people into clusters of 50 and get them to sit. He blesses the food, breaks it and all are fed. There are leftovers.

Another time, alone with the disciples Jesus asks who do the crowd say he is. They answer, John the Baptist or Elijah. Jesus ask, and "who do you say I am?" Peter answers, "Messiah, Son of God".

Jesus sternly tells them to not say this since he is about to undergo great suffering, be rejected and killed then be raised on the third day.

Jesus then says that if anyone wants to be a disciple first they have to lay down their own interest and take up Christ's cross daily and follow Christ.

Collect for Evening Prayer

... and subtlety
Tronoh Dredgehole Harrietville Vic
L Osburn

What can we say of you wonderful God who has done great things, the greatest of which is giving us Jesus as teacher, friend, coach, Messiah and saviour? Help us be aware of, confront, and lay down our own self-interest. Guide us to be joyful and to step away from concepts, values and ideologies that oppress. Help us appreciate life in all its glory and subtlety. Help us to assist other to find who you are for themselves and to faithfully show patience, wisdom and deep, deep joy that comes from a life changed by you so that we may help others sit, rest and be fed through the power of your Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

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