Prayers and Poem for Worship




Prayers for Worship Proper 13 by Ron Gordon

John 6: 24-35

Collect:

Father God, when we look into the words of Jesus and consider his deeds, we are confronted by your grace. You do not present us with puzzles but with the gift of fellowship with you. You ask for our trust and show us in Jesus that we have sure grounds for faith in you. May your Spirit inspire and lead us in dialogue with you, that we grow closer to you and know the wonder of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer:
Lord God, you have sought people to be your own through the history of nations and you chose one people to belong to you, to observe your laws and to praise your name. In the gift of your Son you asked them to respond in faith and love. Through his cross and resurrection a new people was formed to live out his way in the world. We adore you God of our salvation. Jesus our Lord, you offered yourself to your people in humility and love and persisted to the very end, fulfilling your obedience to the Father and your love for humankind. You gave us bread which pointed beyond our daily food to the gift of life eternal offered in yourself. You have sought us out and offered us life. We adore you, God of our salvation Spirit most Holy, it was your way of seeking us that led us to seek you, and we discovered by your grace, that in Christ God has found us. We adore you, God of our salvation. On dullness of mind which fails to see the way you are leading us: Lord, have mercy. On our fascination with the things of this world which do not nourish us as real persons, but waste us away: Christ, have mercy. On our neglect of the weightier matters of justice and peace and the sharing of your love: Lord, have mercy. Your mercy, Lord, is everlasting: hear our prayer and forgive us in the name of your Son, we pray, and may we live and give in your eternal fellowship now and always, most glorious Trinity. Amen. © 2009 Ron Gordon (used with permission)
bread of life by Jenn Gordon
John 6: 24-35 you beckon, come come and collect your broken crumb while all the worlds of then and now tumble, melting into one one body offered time and time and time again then, while I stand each second takes another mother, sister, father, brother each one relieved, released, received into the time when then is now and now is always and forever and in this hollow hand there lies the bread of life and I can scarcely sense your weight in hands so safe and small and yet embraced in your incessant love you hold us once and for all for every single one this broken crumb (Comments to Jenn at jennieg@labyrinth.net.au.)