11B*
A Call to Worship
Epiphany 3B 2012
Psalm 62: 5-12

God of unfailing love, we gather to worship you.
Quietly and reverently, we come to worship you.

God of unshakable trust, we gather to worship you.
Quietly and honestly, we come to praise you.

God of eternal hope, we gather to worship you.
Quietly and confidently, we come to honour you;
God of unfailing love, you are our refuge and our home. Amen.



Prayers of Petition and Trust
Epiphany 3B 2012
Psalm 62: 5-12

God of unfailing love, with confidence we gather to worship you;
to praise your holy name; to express to you our trust and confidence
in your promise of security and refuge within your loving presence.

Within the safety of your love, we honour you for the commitment you
have made to your people, and pray that your people will respond to
that love with trust and an acceptance of God’s merciful forgiveness.
If only all your people showed the same commitment to you, O God,
as you show towards them – they would know a that life lived within
God’s presence is one that is rich beyond our understanding, and with
a depth of inner peace that can only be hoped for and dreamed about.

O God, our Rock and our Redeemer, you are our stronghold against
the forces within human life that confront us each day; and which try
to shake our faith and resolve; so we look to you in confidence and trust.
We pour out our hearts to you O God, because our God is there waiting
to lovingly respond to our needs, and quietly waits to offer us love and
acceptance, and a secure road to travel that will lead us to our home in God.
Thanks be to God - our Rock, our Redeemer and our Refuge – always. Amen.


A Personal Meditation
Epiphany 3B 2012
Psalm 62: 5-12

O Lord my God, you are indeed my Rock and my Refuge
and you have helped me weather the storms of life, and kept
me relatively well balanced - and for this I am very grateful.
Most of the time, I have been content to wait quietly for you,
and on you, to fulfil your purposes in my life; but I confess there
have been times when I have screamed to you in my anguish—
when I have been badly shaken by life’s unexpected traumas!

Creative pause: Even though I am sometimes shaken, God is not!


I am so grateful that not only are you MY Rock and Refuge,
you have also been the Rock and Refuge of my loved ones,
and I have been able to leave them in your compassionate care.
As a single parent bringing up two children, that has been a
huge comfort to me – knowing that through the prayers of your
faithful people – my children have been loved and nurtured.

Creative pause: Through my prayers God is also my loved ones Rock and Refuge!


What a privilege it is to be able to pour out my heart and soul to
God, confident in the knowledge that God is really interested in
me and my concerns; but that God is also interested and yearns
over the concerns and fears of all other needy people! What a
generous and gracious God it is that we all have! If only we always
trusted in our Rock and Refuge - how much easier life would be!

Creative pause: If only we always trusted in our Rock and Refuge!


Power and majesty are the right and left hands of God; and love
and generosity are the arms of God as they reach out in love to all
God’s needy children; and unfailing love and compassion are at the
heart of our God – and the motivation and source of all that is God!
Secure in God’s mercy and love, I can rest quietly and patiently
for God’s fulfilling of my life, and I accept that God’s direction in
my life is what God is calling me to accept as I journey home to God.

Creative pause: God’s heart is only unfailing love and compassion.



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:
© 2012 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au

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