Ways of abundance

 

Jesus, All those years ago

On the lake when the disciples saw you again after Easter

What a reunion it must have been.

Jesus, Lord of creation,

You knew where all the good fish were to be found  

you told the discouraged fishermen to throw their nets on the other side and the nets nearly broke under the weight of fish

We praise you.

When we just want to do our own thing our own way

And fumble around in the darkness

Help us to listen out for your voice to find out what to do next.

Because your ways are ways of life in abundance.

Jesus, friend and companion

you knew your disciples by name

Stood waiting for them on the beach

Sought them out,

Prepared a fire and cooked fish and broke bread for them and served them

We praise you

When we want to keep ourselves and our things and our time to ourselves too much

Help us to be like you, welcoming, serving, sharing, blessing.

Because your ways are ways of life in abundance.

Jesus, forgiver and teacher

Your knew the frailty of Simon Peter

And the way he denied you three times

He was so pleased to see you again he leapt out of the boat when he saw you

And then you offered him three chances to tell you how much he loved you

And you gave him important work to do

We praise you.

When we feel weighed down by our failures

Help us to remember that you forgive us and forgive us and forgive us

And you have all kinds of plans for us, more than we can understand or imagine.

Because your ways are ways of abundance.

Jesus, Lord of creation,

friend and companion

forgiver and teacher

We praise you

Like Simon Peter did

We long to see your face

Help us to walk in your ways

May your face can be known in our faces

And may we see your face in all those we meet.

Amen

Effortlessly, overwhelmingly, abundantly good

Prayer of praise and thanksgiving

Our hearts cry out to you O God

For you are truly good

And only you are the source of all that we need

On our best days

we have our excellent moments

But it’s so hard for us  

To do even the best things

In the best way

or for the right reasons

And then there are our less than best days.

But you are different

You are good

Every moment

Of every day

Effortlessly

Overwhelmingly

Abundantly

Through and through

Good.

How beautiful it is

To find ourselves in the presence

Of One who

Welcomes us

Holds us

Blesses us

Loves us

Knows us

Calls to us

Whoever we are

Whatever we have done or not done

A lighthouse guiding the way in stormy seas

The rock that does not move when the ground we stand on feels shaky

The sun that is always still burning even when our part of the world seems dark

As close to us as the air that we breathe

Always there whenever we turn our hearts to you

Blessed be You our God

Who formed the universe

And wants to transform each of us

So that we may freely, fruitfully and joyfully walk in your ways

Amen

The Lord our peace

Yahweh Shalom – The Lord our peace

We praise you.

We don’t need to tell you that our world is troubled

Bushfires and loss

Wars and rumours of wars

Sickness, violence

El Roi – God of seeing

You already know.

We don’t need to tell you that we long for peace, peace for our community, peace for our world

But even in our own homes, even in our own minds, peace isn’t always to be found.

El Roi – God of seeing

You already know.

Peace is not easy,

Peace can be costly

even for you.

In these weeks of Advent we await again with joy the birth of the prince of peace

Knowing that in only a few months we will be experiencing the grief of Good Friday,

But you are Yahweh Shalom

The Lord our Peace

Your thoughts are not our thoughts,
    nor are your ways our ways

Yahweh Shalom

The author, architect and perfecter of peace

With you there is often a way through

A secret tunnel to forgiveness

A hidden doorway to reconciliation

An overgrown and unexpected path to a new and better way through

Help us to keep our eyes peeled for them

Peace is who you are

Peace is what you want for us

Peace is what you bring

Our hopes for peace are in the best possible hands.

For this we praise and thank you.

Amen

Thank you God that you are so very good

Prayer of praise

Thank you God that you are so very good.

Full of love and always wanting the best for your people and your creation

Thank you that you know us and notice  us.

We praise you for giving us life itself

and all that we need to live and to grow

We thank you for giving us the gift of each other

- a place to belong

Thank you for giving us the gift of freedom

Thank you that shared your life with us

You showed us how to live the very best life that could be lived

And then you gave life up

Until bursting forth again

Full of life

You beat death forever

So that we could live lives that are truly alive.

Christ is risen, he’s risen indeed

May our lives, on the good days and the bad days

The struggling days and the joyful days

The broken days and the beautiful days

Tell of your life in us

And our life in you

May our lives tell of your goodness to us

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

That's what you're like

God, we praise you for who you are

We are grateful for what you’re like

The solid rock when the whole world is shaking

The fresh air when the room is stifling

That’s what you’re like.

Warm sun on our back when the week has been wintry

Fresh shoots when everything seems to be withering

This is what you’re like.

Good food when there’s been too much junk food

Cool clear water when all other options are full of artificial colours and flavours and sweeteners and preservatives

That’s what you’re like.

The familiar voice when home is distant

The still small voice when the world is yelling at us

This is what you’re like.

God, we praise you for who you are

We are grateful for what you’re like

So in the light of all of that

We don’t know why we find ourselves pursuing things that aren’t like you

Or are the opposite of you

Why do we let ourselves get lured in by things that diminish us, or tire us out for no good reason;

Things that waste our time and resources.

But sometimes we do.

We’re sorry Lord.

Help us each day to keep an eye out for you

To find you

To follow you.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.