Prayer of Praise

 (Psalm 33: 1 – 5 and 8 – 12, Psalm 50: 23, Psalm 30: 18, 20, 21 & 22) 

Shout for joy for what the LORD has done,

Praise Him all you who obey Him.

Give thanks to the LORD,

Sing a new song to Him.

The words of the LORD are true,

And all His works are dependable.

The LORD loves what is righteous and just;

His constant love fills the Earth.

Worship the LORD, all the Earth!

Honour Him, all peoples of the World!

When He spoke, the World was created;

At His command everything appeared.

The LORD frustrates the purposes of the Nations;

He keeps them from carrying out their plans.

But His plans endure forever,

His purposes last eternally.

Happy is the Nation whose God is the LORD;

Happy are the people He has chosen for His own.

The LORD says,

“Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honours me,

And I will surely save all who obey me.”

The LORD watches over those who obey Him,

Those who trust in His constant love.

We put our hope in the LORD,

He is our protector and our help.

We are glad because of Him,

We trust in His holy name.

May your constant love be with us, LORD,

As we put our hope in you.  Amen.

Prayer of Confession

(adapted from Wesley’s Prayers and Praises p22 & 23) 

Prince and Saviour of Mankind,

Giver of repentance true,

Bring our secret sins to mind,

Drag them into open view;

Show us what we dread to know,

To ourselves the sinners show.

What we cannot hide from Thee,

From ourselves we hide in vain.

Give us, Lord, ourselves to see,

Break our hearts with grief and pain.

Then our guilty load remove,

Then reveal Your pardoning love.

Jesus, suffering Son of Man

Your whole nature is to save,

Give us pardon, as you plan,

Freed from sin is what we crave.

Grant us peace of mind and soul,

In your mercy make use whole.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness 

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Church saying:

“Because of our sins Jesus our Lord was given over to die, and he was raised to life in order to put us right with God.”  (Romans 4: 25) 

What joy is ours, then, knowing that we are accepted as righteous because we “believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from death for the forgiveness of our sins.”  (Romans 4: 24b) 

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others

Almighty God, knowing of your love for all of Humanity, especially of your compassion for the needy, we come to you with our cares and our concerns.

We bring to you our prayers for the World around us and for people individually.

We pray for the Church,

that we may take on the mind and heart of Christ and continue the mission of Jesus.

We pray for Christian unity,

that we may be a people of deep gratitude and allow you to continue to build us into a community of faith and love.

We pray for all who are suffering from famine or drought,

that you will nurture them, sustain them on their journey, and supply the assistance that they need.

We pray for all who hunger spiritually,

that they will gain access to your Word, through which they may be nourished and find the way to live in peace and wholeness of life.

We pray for all who have experienced violence,

that you will protect them from further harm, right the injustices that have occurred, and give them hope.

We pray for governmental, business and cultural leaders,

that you will give them wisdom to address the unrest, insight into righting the injustices, and words that will unite Society.

We pray for all who are unemployed,

that you will give them courage and hope, sustain them as they wait, and help them find new opportunities for work.

We pray for all who are ill and those who care for them,

that you will send healing to the sick, strength and wisdom to those who care for them, and inspiration to those researching treatments and vaccines.

We pray for an end to violence in our cities and between Countries,

that you will give courage to all who are working for peace, help the voices of those who have experienced injustice to be heard, and turn the hearts of those prone to violence toward new ways of working for change and for the good of all.

Copyright © 2020. Joe Milner. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use. – https://liturgy.slu.edu/BodyBloodA061123/ideas_other.html

We pray for the work happening behind the scenes to prepare for Scripture Union Winter camps and missions across the country, that it will be done in a spirit of expectation and enthusiasm.  We pray that many young lives will transformed through these events!  We pray for the Scripture Union run GENTS Camp Core Team in South Australia as they prepare for Spring Rite of Passage Camp to be run later in the year, that they will be guided and equipped to present the Gospel message in a challenging manner.

We pray for the Winter Core Training Day happening in Western Australia on this coming Saturday, that all attendees would be blessed and equipped to serve in upcoming ministry opportunities.  We also pray for our Rockhampton chaplains as they host their first Rodeo on this coming Saturday, partnering with a local business in town, for their wellbeing and energy during the event, and that there will be a large buy-in from the community as they support this important work.

(SU%20Prayer-Guide-JUNE-23-SEQLD.pdf)

We pray for The Leprosy Mission Bangladesh as they seek to find a new generation of staff who have the right skillset and a passion for leprosy.  We pray for their work on finding funding to support the rehabilitation of persons affected by leprosy and on preventing the transmission of leprosy in Bangladesh.

(The%20Leprosy%20Mission%20Prayer%20Diary%202023.pdf)

We pray for the work undertaken by the Church of North India (CNI) through the Diocese of Durgapur in West Bengal, to find a way to put in place a sustainable source of crop irrigation that doesn’t dry up when the rain stops and the local streams become empty, and also in helping the local communities to access high-quality education through their study centre and self-help groups, teaching skills to people to help them develop extra sources of income and pathways to career opportunities.

(https://unitingworld.org.au/lift-a-village-out-of-poverty/)

We bring before you our Queensland Bush Chaplains:

Pastor Joe Eka in the Kennedy area in Cape York, Pastor Michael Chapman in the Carpentaria M^cKay area centred around Cloncurry and Mt Isa, and Rev Dona Spencer in the Bottle Tree area centred around Roma and Moonie.

We pray for safe travelling as they drive or fly to visit remote communities, that they will be led to those who are deeply in need to consoling or comforting, and that they will be adequately equipped to deal with situations and circumstances that arise.

(https://frontierservices.org/bush-chaplaincy/)

We pray for Christians from ethnic minorities in Vietnam who are often subjected to severe persecution, who need encouragement as they face daily challenges imposed by their circumstances.  As they speak their indigenous languages and as the education system only teaches Vietnamese, we pray that Scripture translation currently underway in these ethnic minority languages, will meet the peoples’ immediate need to engage with God’s word in their own language.

We pray for the Bible Society South Pacific as it serves 16 independent island nations, with a total population of 2.8 million, more than half of whom live between minimum wage and the poverty threshold, as they struggle to bring in new stock, use inadequate equipment, and deal with technological limitations which makes it difficult to communicate with mission and translation coordinators based in the islands. 

(https://www.biblesociety.org.au/projects/)

We pray for the peoples of Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Eswatini.

We are thankful for the rich biodiversity of plants and animals and of mineral resources in this region, the faithful witness of churches throughout the world during apartheid and how people of different races and lifestyles have come together since then, the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and others to bring healing from the atrocities committed, and how South Africa has made antiretroviral drugs accessible to all with HIV and AIDS.

We pray for protection of resources for the good of all rather than their exploitation for economic gain, more democratic and transparent governance in these countries, at all levels, measures to effectively countering rape, sexual violence, and other crime, and adequate resources and changed attitudes for welcoming refugees in these countries.

(https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/prayer-cycle/)

We pray for Kylie Conomos in her role as chaplain at Bald Hills State School.  May she have the wisdom to be able to discern the needs of those associated with the school and the graciousness to offer whatever she can do to help.

We pray for the volunteers who lead Religious Instruction classes at Bald Hills State.  May they enthuse the children in their classes to seek to learn and understand more about the message of your love and grace for them.  May the Holy spirit work in the hearts and minds of the children so that they will become the fertile ground for the good seed to grow and bear fruit.

We pray for those who we have not seen in person for some time. Please surround them with your comfort and support, and may they experience your love for them every moment of every day.  May they know of our continuing prayers and hopes for them.

Lord God, we bring these prayers to you, trusting in your lovingkindness.  To your glory we pray.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil,

For the Kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,

Now and forever.  Amen.