64A*
A Call to Worship
All Saints' Day, Year A 2011
Psalm 34: 1-10, 22

With reverent awe, we come to worship our God,
for the Lord our God is a saving and redeeming God.
The Lord our God has set us free from all our fears.

Come, taste and see that the Lord is good! Let us
personally experience God’s goodness for ourselves.
Let us celebrate the greatness of our Steadfast God.

Come let us gather to share the good news of God.
Let us praise and give thanks for God’s merciful love.
Let us all together joyfully exalt and praise our God! Amen.


Prayers of Praise and Thankfulness
All Saints' Day, Year A 2011
Psalm 34: 1-10, 22

Come, let us offer all our worship, praise and honour that
belongs to God alone! We join with the ‘holy ones’ from
times past, our forebears in the faith, to sing our praises
and give honour to the Lord who saves and defends all
those who trust in God. O God, you are unchanging,
always loving, and always ready to hear our prayers,
and to listen to our anxious fears and nervous concerns.

O Lord our God, in whom we trust and to whom we have
committed ourselves, our lives, our thoughts, and minds,
our strength and our hearts, we come to offer you our
worship and praise, and to give honour to God, the Holy
One, upon whom we can always hope, trust and depend.

We come to pray and praise you O God, because you
understand us, our fears, our insecurities, and our sense
of insignificance when have to take a stand against the
powerful people of this world. So often their power evolves
from intimidation and exploitation; and against these forces,
we feel helpless! Come to us now O God, and give us an
awareness of your presence, to quieten our fears, and
give us your reassurance that this is indeed your world.

Help us at all times us to trust in you and your ways, so that
we may respond to your involvement in your world by doing
what is good; by offering generous mercy; and at all times,
to personally experience your freeing pardon and grace, and
to walk in quiet obedience beside the Lord, who is our God. Amen.


A Personal Meditation
All Saints' Day, Year A 2011
Psalm 34: 1-10, 22

O Lord, I come now before you in prayer in the peace
and quietness of the morning, when the world is silent
except for the singing of the birds; and in expectation of
your abiding presence I pause, and you are there waiting
to reassure me that you are in control. I wait, confident of
your ability to defeat the powers of evil that are waiting to
turn another day into times of stress and anxiety; when
everything in the world seems so out of control. But you
are there – and evil will be defeated within God’s own time.

Creative pause: In the morning, God is there in God’s own world.


O Lord, I come to you, amidst the bustle of daily life at
the noon-time, and there is a disquiet in the air, as the
media and the latest electronic gadgetry all scream their
headlines about further difficult and strained international
relationships; tension fills the airwaves about the inequities
of vital resources and opportunities for people and nations;
an anger at the ruthless exploitation of natural resources;
and the manipulation of the world’s finances and food supplies.
Then as I pause I am reminded, God is still in control of God’s
world, and that I need to hand over my fears and anxieties
to God, and to just trust in the way that God reacts to evil.

Creative pause: At the noon-time, God is active in God’s world.


O Lord, in the evening I come to you – tired and troubled
by many things, and you are there ready to listen, to sooth
my anxieties, to cool my anger, and to answer my prayers.
And as I pause, I am reminded that I do trust in my God;
that even in my anxiety, the security and joy-filled delight of
being held closely in God’s hands is still there for me; that
I can let go all that has hassled me during the day; and go
to my bed trusting in my infinitely wise and all-knowing God.
I know that I can rest quietly, assured that I can commit all
my anxieties, my plans, my hopes and dreams into God’s
hands - just as I have committed all I have and all I am to
my God – and that God will continue to be God despite all the
plans of the wicked, because God is supreme – always and forever.

Creative pause: In the evening, I confidently rest in God’s care, in God’s world.



Acknowledgements:
Unless stated otherwise, all Bible readings and extracts used in these weekly Prayers and Meditations are from
‘The New Revised Standard Version’ Copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

*The additional weekly numbering is from the Revised COCU Indexing Scheme
COCU = ('Consultation on Church Union'); as it offers an easy sequential numbering
for the Revised Common Lectionary for the Church Calendar.

If any part of these Prayers and/or Meditations is used in shared worship, please provide
the following acknowledgement:
© 2011 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au

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