Wednesday 12 April 2017

Easter Sunday

Father,
What a blessed relief to not have to carry that which is my due;
To be given freedom in place of punishment;
To be granted amnesty in the place of justice;
To be granted sonship in the place of alienation.
And to have these for all eternity is sweet bliss…
Thank you for the suffering servant, raised from the dead today.
Amen              

Friday 7 April 2017

Good Friday Confession

Good Friday Confession


Father, we come to you in our weakness, with our fears and our unbelief. We are guilty of prayerlessness and guilty of often being asleep to the realities of this life. We live in our own strength and we live for this world forgetting that it will all soon pass.
Lord, in your mercy hear us and forgive us.

Father we have often betrayed you and your son. We have doubted your love for us. We have doubted Jesus right to rule our world. We have not loved you alone. We have not desired to see the day when your son returns on the clouds of heaven.
Lord, in your mercy hear us and forgive us.

Our Father, we been slow to listen to you, we have been lazy in our Bible reading, and slow to give our hearts to your word.
Lord, in your mercy hear us and forgive us.

Our Father, we have been slow to pray and unwilling to throw ourselves on your mercy. We have failed to pray for our nation and our leaders. We have failed to pray for our brothers and sisters across the world.
Lord, in your mercy hear us and forgive us.

Father, we have been lacking in love for the poor. We have desired what others have and we have loved money more than people. We have not cared for those oppressed by political authorities. We have not cared for those who do not know you and are heading to an eternity separated from you.
Lord, in your mercy hear us and forgive us.

We have not been committed to personal transformation and holiness. We have let respectable sin reign in us. We have been content to be like everyone else. We have unquestioningly absorbed the values of our society and taken them as our own. 
Lord, in your mercy hear us and forgive us.

Lord’s prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today you daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the
     glory are yours now and for ever

Amen
Good Friday


Father you exercised considerable restraint as your innocent son died in our place.
   Give us restraint not anger.
   Grace not revenge.             
   Peace not hatred.
   Meekness not arrogance.
   Mercy not vengeance.

As we worship you alone…

Thursday 6 April 2017

Isaiah 53/Palm Sunday/Easter


Father, to be great is to serve;
to be first is to be slave of all.
Your son came as the despised servant
To give his life as a ransom for many:
  May we know that;
  Rejoice in it;
  Revel in its liberation;
  Embrace its challenge;
  Repent of our self-absorption;
  Follow your example;
  And glory in your character.
For Jesus Christ sake.

Amen