Prayer Column - June 2021

A kingdom of priests?

According to Peter, in Jesus we are a royal priesthood (1 Pe 2:9), and the words are echoed twice in Revelation (1:6; 5:10), drawing on a promise to the Israelites as they were being given the ten commandments (Ex 19:6). It’s even implied in the making of humanity as the image of God and stewards of his creation, marred when they rebelled (Gen 1:26-31; 3:1ff). What does it mean to be a royal priesthood? As his image humans were to represent God. And as we love God, so we love his world. We treat it as God would, and raise its problems to him in prayer for healing.

Our dealings with God are largely spiritual (prayer; heeding his word), but must also affect the way we live. Likewise, material problems on earth have spiritual elements too – hence the need for being a priesthood in our stewardship. Lest we forget this, the Old Testament is replete with references to the

disobedience of God’s people harming the world, and the whole Bible looks forward to a time when, through Jesus’ spiritual salvation and Lordship, all will be physically well on earth once more, and for ever: no more discord (Is 65:17ff; Ro 8:18-25; Rev 21:1ff).

We are called to pray for progress at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in November, and also to change the way we live, to help the environment. Both the spiritual and the physical are right. Both are part of our priestly stewardship through Jesus. He came to save the whole world, starting with humans, and we are his friends if we do what he tells us. Indeed, how can we call him our Lord if we don’t? (Lk 6:46; Jn 15:14). We need prayer for our own obedience too, if nature is to thrive.

Roy Lorrain-Smith

A prayer for each week

Creator and Re-creator Lord, saving your world beginning with us as stewards, please so change us (and me) that we may play our part in your kingdom of healing. Amen.

Creating and Re-creating Lord, endlessly inventive and rich in everlasting promises, please fill me with confident hope in your plan to save the world through Jesus. Amen.

Creating and Re-creating Lord, complete in yourself and perfect in all you do, please transform me by the renewing of my understanding of Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. Amen.

Creator and Re-creator Lord, who came here in human form to show us how to live and to make it possible, please lead in the way we should go, in step with the Spirit. Amen.

Your own prayers

Comments

Christmas Day Worship 2021

Today is the day - Christmas! The central candle is lit. The waiting is over. The child is born. As we celebrate the Feast and Holy-Day of Christmas, with the Psalmist (Ps. 98:4-6) we proclaim: Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn – shout for joy before the LORD, the King. Prayer Let us pray: Generous God, even as we praise you for the good news of today, and seek to shout for joy at the coming of the Christ-child, we acknowledge Mary’s mix of pain and joy, both today and in the days to come. As we do so, we face our own emotions on this difficult and delightful day, and ask your help to live it well. Amen. Carol You might like to sing, or reflect on the words of Geoffrey Ainger’s hymn at StF 193/H&P 95, Born in the night, Mary’s child, a long way from your home; coming in need, Mary’s child, born in a borro...

Prayer Column - January 2022

The turn of the year As a new year approaches we tend to wonder what lies ahead, hoping always to shake off the past’s bad record and for something better to come, as if hoping could make it so. We wonder about next year because of course we don’t know what lies around the corner (however great the store of human knowledge, and however thorough our Googling). Search as we may, and it’s a royal honour to do so (Prov 25:2), some things are known only to God: times and seasons fixed by his authority are not for us to know (Acts 1:7), for the future is his. This is a time to remind ourselves of God’s omniscience: he does know (Rom 11:33). He knows the plans he has for us – plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future (Jer 29:11). And it’s time to remember also that God is not far-off and aloof, but a loving, heavenly Father who wants a close living relationship with each of us, day by day and breath by breath – he sent Jesus to bring us back to him. So ...

Virtual Worship - 6 June 2021

Parables for Bradford - Week 1 Service Sheet (pdf) Opening Prayers: O God of all, lead us from death to life, from falsehood to truth. Lead us from despair to hope, from fear to trust. Lead us from hate to love, from war to peace. Let peace fill our hearts, our world, our universe. Amen . Peace to the nations, to east and to west. Peace to our neighbours, to rich and to poor. Peace to all races, all women, all men. The peace of Christ above all peace. The peace of the Prince of peace, to you and to me. Amen. Song STF 262 All glory, laud, and honour. Address: Mark 4. 34 tells us that Jesus did not speak to the crowds unless he used parables. Matthew 7:28 tells us “ Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching. ” In the gospels, there are at least 9 verses like this, where we hear that the Crowds were astounded at Jesus’s teaching. Much of his teaching was in Parables. In the next few weeks, we will be looking at some of his Parables, ...

Bradford North Circuit

Search This Blog