Prayer of praise and adoration – Christmas Eve

Lord, as we await Christmas morning we wonder,

Will our lives truly proclaim who you are tomorrow?

As we eat and drink and drink and eat and eat and drink

Remind us that yes, our God is a God of plenty, but you came to be on the side of the poor, the ones who have few possessions and less power.

As we enjoy the atmosphere of homes decorated with lights, Christmas greetings and colour,

Remind us that yes, our God is a God of colour and flamboyance, but you arrived in this world in a dusty cave with the smell of hay and dung and dust.

Tomorrow, as we think about the things that need to be done, the time the turkey needs to go on, who needs to be picked up when, whether people will be happy with their presents and whether there’ll be enough food,

Remind us that our God is a God of welcome and family, but you came to us to show us that you love it when we simply drop everything and sit with you and enjoy being in your presence.

Tomorrow, as we consider who will be with us, who might argue with who, who we’ll miss and how we wish things could be different

Remind us that our God is a God who listens to our pain, but you came to heal us and forgive us.

Tomorrow, as we drown our loungerooms in wrapping paper and lavish gifts on each other, remind us that, yes, our God is a generous God and a giver of gifts too numerous to mention, but there is one gift which surpasses them all, and that is the gift we celebrate tomorrow.

O Lord, let your presence fall.

Break in through the tinsel and the advertising and the chaos.

Break in through our shopping lists and our preparations and our family gatherings.

Come to us again and be our Christmas, Lord.

Amen.

Christmas prayer

Jesus,

Our friend and brother, teacher and Saviour

Because our world values strength and wealth and power

But you came to us as a vulnerable baby, holding nothing in your hands,

You continue to amaze us and we praise you.

Because the world is so troubled and we can feel frightened and angry

But your Spirit is a spirit of peace

You continue to amaze us and we give you thanks.

Because people around us let us down and we find ourselves alone

But you are always walking beside us

You continue to amaze us and we give you thanks.

Because we hurt other people and ourselves, and we bind ourselves up in our own mess

But you came and keep coming to forgive us and heal us and set us free

You continue to amaze us and we give you thanks.

Because we want the world and our families and our lives to be full of the joy and

Love and peace that we talk about as we prepare for Christmas

And you share this desire with us

And because you continue to challenge us and inspire us and encourage us

We praise you and thank you.

Amen.

God of light in the holidays

Loving God,

As you know, some of us have been on holidays.

It was strange this time.

When I’m at work I’m so aware of your presence.

In the hospital as I enter each room as a chaplain I know you’re there with me.

When I don’t know what to say I silently call out to you.

I talk to you as I walk the corridors and ask you where to go next.

But on holidays – relaxing in Echuca and Canberra and Nerrandera -  it wasn’t so clear.

Where can you be found when I’m not living on the edge?

But soon I found you.

I must say I was a little surprised to find you at Parliament House.

I saw you in the diversity of the people visiting

And the way that, even if we don’t always do it well

This country was set up to be fair and just, to treat all people equally, to give everyone a voice. Sounds like you must have had something to do with that.

I noticed your work at the War Memorial too.

Parts of it were dark and scary and showed us at our very worst.

But then there were the clear signs that you had been at work in the dark -

People who put other people’s lives before their own and did courageous things

People who worked long hours to care for others when they themselves were sick and hungry and exhausted

The sounds of the changi choir wafting above the sadness, uniting people, pointing to something bigger, bringing hope.

And then, those last few days when we were camped by the billabong and it seemed like no one else was there with us, we could see your handiwork.

We knew you in the golden yellow light of dusk, as we watched the azure kingfishers flying to and fro.

We sat for a long time by the fire and watched in wonder as this enormous earth we were sitting on passed between the moon and the sun and the moon turned red. How small we felt. What an enormous universe we are a part of. How great you are.

And then in the morning we revelled in the brilliant golden white light of dawn and the way it made the most mundane things look brilliant and fresh and new and full of possibility.

That sounds like something you would enjoy doing.

Even the songs of the birds sounded more beautiful in that light.

God, present in all places, in all times

God of wonders,

God of light,

We praise you.

Amen

Gappy days confession

Loving God,

When we look around at each other some days we can see that when you made us you made us in your image. You made us creative and loving and to be in relationship. At our best we are courageous and generous and serving. But some days there are big gaps in between the good things. 

We’re sorry.

We’re sorry when we push ourselves up by pressing down on other people.

When we demand what we think we deserve.

When we want to be the top dog.

We’re sorry when we’re not good sharers

When we hold our ground

When we draw the circle too small or dream too tiny.

We’re sorry when we look in and not out

When we hold on with a vice like grip instead of opening our hands and letting go.

When we want to do things the tightly controlled, take no chances, risk nothing way

And resist the upside-down, topsy-turvy, first-shall-be-last-and-last-shall-be-first, God- way.

Please take our gappy days

And fill them up and make them new with your grace.

We pray this in Jesus’ name

Amen.

 

Adelaide show prayer (written some years ago)

Loving God,

On Wednesday, as you know, I went to the Adelaide Show and I worked in the Red Dove Cafe.
And I worked alongside people who believe in you and live for you.

I worked with people who showed the arthritis in their hands through the pained expression on their face as they made hundreds of scones
and with people with aching backs as they carted hundreds of trays of dirty dishes to the kitchen.
But they did it because they wanted to give, as they've seen you give.

I worked with people who cried as they cut onions
and people who topped up a cup of tea again for a man with one eye who could only pay for his first cup of tea with five cent pieces.
And they did it because they wanted to love as they've seen you love.

I saw neatly dressed, elderly church ladies,
chatting and laughing with tattooed, long haired, hardened side show workers
as they served them bacon and eggs
And they did it because they wanted to listen as they've seen you listening.

I looked out over the crowded dining area and I saw people satisfied with good food
made by loving hands,
People chatting together for an hour over a cuppa in a place of service,
People sitting and resting their tired bodies in a place of rest.
And I saw people stay and stay and stay and then leave and then come back again.

And when I finished my shift I stepped outside into the sideshows.

I walked up and down
And I heard people yelling at me to try my luck while giving them my money.
Loud music was blaring at me and there were signs encouraging me to pay to sit on a ride
and get the thrill of my life.
Excited children carried enormous expensive bags of things that will be eaten or broken tomorrow.
There were a million things to buy to make my life better or easier or to make me more beautiful.

And it all seemed so empty.

Thank you God that sometimes somewhere unexpected we can see in a flash so
clearly how different you are from so many of the things around us.
Suddenly we can see how many good things you give us,
How radical your ways are,
How useful we can be if we place ourselves in your hands.

We praise you because you won't break or ever go away.
We praise you because you love us as we are and not just for what we could be.
We praise you because you are truly good, through and through, and we long for that in our world.
We pray that through us you can continue to bring evidence of your abundant goodness into our world.

Amen

Fathers Day

Thank you God for this morning.
Thank you for the beginning of Spring,
For warmth and light and life bursting forth.

And today is also Father's Day.
Thank you God for fathers.
We know that whatever our experience of our fathers or our own fathering
You are our ever reliable Father
Loving us
Providing for us
Welcoming us when we run to you.
Slow to anger, swift to bless
Picking us up and showing us a wider perspective than just ourselves.

Lord of all creation, of the seasons, of water, earth and sky
And loving Father who knows our every need
We praise you.

Amen

Migrant and Refugee Sunday

God, you are good.

God, you are good.

Life can be hard.

Still you are good.

We can feel sad.

You hear our cry.

We can be lonely.

God, you are there.

Home might be distant

You are close by.

People can be cruel

You are never cruel.

Life can be relentless

You are more relentless

Life can feel hopeless

You are never hopeless

Our comforts last a little while

Your love goes on forever

You are our real home.

You are good.

(Together) We praise you, Amen

Written by Jesse and Liz