The 23rd of April we celebrate Saint George, the patron saint of England. It is also the anniversary of the deaths of William Shakespeare and William Wordsworth. With so much material, I couldn’t help but create a prayer service for the occasion.
Enjoy!
Here’s the latest Prayer update. Take your time, click on the music links, listen to what Jesus says to you.
I promise you will be blessed.
A walk with Michel Quoist. This has been created with places just for Coniston, Cumbria. Your one walk a day sorted.
Good Friday
The commemoration day for John Donne spoke to me. Here is a service that I think you will appreciate at this time of Lockdown for Corona-19:
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”
Preparation
The Lord is the strength of his people, a safe refuge for his anointed.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Opening Hymn, O God our help in ages past
Link above for Westminster Abbey service 20/11/2011
Call to Worship from Psalm 34[a][b]
1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Numbers 21:4-9, The Bronze Snake
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea,[a] to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
Meditation
In the quiet of this space think of those things you are missing. Take this time to forgive yourself and anyone else who has upset you.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner
Hymn: O Lord hear my prayer (link below)
Lift your eyes instead to Jesus who took with him our sin that we can have life. Nothing and no-one can take that away. We are saved, redeemed people, in His love and grace. Amen!
John 8:31-42
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up[a] the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Meditation from Jesus Calling
I am the truth: the One who came to set you free. As the Holy Spirit controls your mind and actions more fully, you become free in Me. You are increasingly released to become the one I created you to be. This is a work that I do in you as you yield to My Spirit. I can do My best handiwork when you sit in the stillness of My Presence, focusing your entire being on Me.
Let My thoughts burst freely upon your consciousness, stimulating abundant Life. I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. As you follow Me, I lead you along paths of newness: ways you have never imagined. Don’t worry about what is on the road up ahead. I want you to find your security in Knowing Me, the One who died to set you free.
Prayers for the world including:
Note: Pray as if what you desire has already come to pass. That the blessing of Christ is full to overflowing on all things and all people and all situations. We know this to be true! May the Spirit guide you as you and the world and those you love receive the blessing that you pray!
Collect
Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Lord’s Prayer is said
Blessing
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
St John’s Passion from the BBC Proms from 23 August 2017, especially the first Chorus beginning at 5:49 minutes into the programme but the first 5:49 minutes are brilliant.
Here’s something everyone can do wherever they are. It’s the lunchtime Examen and I promise it will be a treat. Find some space in a park, in a quiet office, or put some head phones on, listen to Cody Carnes and follow the script. You won’t regret it!
Prayer dates for your diary:
St Andrew’s Coniston
Wednesday, 17 & 24 July, 12 noon. A short half hour of Prayer & Praise. Lunch follows. A quick time-out and infusion of power and love in His presence.
Torver Village Hall
Wednesday, 31 July, 2 p.m. Two hours of blessing in the love and grace of Jesus. Hear what the Holy Spirit says to his people.
‘Four churches journeying together’
Praying with our fellow Christians in Cumbria, together with our link dioceses of Northern Argentina, Stavanger and Zululand
Pray with us as Bishop James leads his team on a journey through the Carlisle Diocese for Lent.
God for All: By 2020 every person in Cumbria of all ages and backgrounds will have had an opportunity to discover more of God and God’s purpose for their life
