12 October 2016

Collects

Prayers developed from the daily readings 

Wednesday 12 October 2016

Morning Prayer

Psalms 99 and 100

Songs of praise to God who rules, is awesome, loves justice and fairness and will stand by us. We are to come, be joyful, sing, be thankful, know we are loved and will be loved forever.

Zechariah 7: 1 – 8: 8

A group of high-profile people come from Bethel to inquire whether they should continue the fasts and lamentations about the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem now that all is being restored. Zechariah’s response is that the fasts and lamentations were set up by the people and not by or for God. The destruction came because the people ignored the prophets and ignored God. The commandments are reiterated and they are reminded that past prophets told them this and the people would not hear.

When the Kingdom comes, God will dwell with us and it will be like a park where elderly people sit watching children play in safety. Salvation is coming. God is bringing salvation so the correct response of the people is obedience: to be just, kind, merciful, non-oppressive and we are not to devise evil in our hearts.

Matthew 13: 31 – 43

Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that grows into a bush or like yeast mixed in flour to leaven bread. Both are tiny at the start – both transform.

Jesus’ telling of parables fulfils the prophecies. Then Jesus explains the parable of the weeds in the wheat field to the disciples.

Collect for Morning Prayer

The peaceful park that is our garden (mid-winter)
Harrietville Vic L Osburn

Holy and magnificent God creator of all, your Kingdom of salvation is with us transforming us. Open our hearts to commit ourselves to loving you and loving each other so that we may be part of your transformational process, sing your praises, play and rest in your park of peace and shine with your light through Jesus Christ who died for us. Amen.

Wednesday 12 October 2016

Evening Prayer

Psalm 103

A beautiful psalm of praise blessing God with every part of our being and for every benefit we have been given especially God's eternal love. This is a luscious reverent, adoring psalm.

Daniel 2: 17 – 35

Daniel returns home to his friends and asks them to pray and seek God’s mercy and help so that he can tell the King what dream he had and interpret it. In this way their lives and the lives of the wise can be saved. Daniel sleeps and receives a vision in the night. Daniel wakes and praises and blesses God. He goes to the executioner and asks him not to kill anyone but to take him before the King. The Kings asks can Daniel tell what he wants to know and Daniel says not he but God reveals. He tells the King that he dreamt of a magnificent statue made of different layers of material. A stone hits it, the statue crumbles and blows away then the stone becomes a mountain that fills the whole earth.

1 Peter 1: 18 – 2: 3

Peter says we have been ransomed from the futile ways we learned from our ancestors. The ransom was not gold but the blood of Christ, his death and resurrection so that our faith and hope is now set on God. As we have purified our souls by obedience to the truth and by love of our neighbours we have been born anew.

All flesh is like grass – it withers. God’s word endures and that word is the good news. Therefore we are to rid ourselves of any insincerity, envy or malice and seek spiritual food from God so that we grow into salvation.

Collect for Evening Prayer

The great pruning (summer)
Harrietville Vic L Osburn

Holy Lord you are greater than all rulers and powers. You have given us the gift of salvation and the promise of your Kingdom through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Help us appreciate that your salvation is not coming but is here! Help us seek you and your spiritual food so that we may grow into salvation – that we can understand that it is now and we have work to do in joy and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord and with your Holy Spirit in our hearts. Amen.