Sunday 20 July 2025
16th Sunday of Easter/Te Rātapu Tekau mā whā o He Wā Noa
Prayers taken from/inspired by Amos 8:1-2; Psalm 52; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10: 38-42, and ANZPB.
Bidding: [we] will hope in Your name,
Response: for Your name is good.
[Psalm 52:9b]
Let us pray.
He came to the village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
[Luke 10:38-42]
Lord Jesus, we pray for our communities; show us the few things that are needed.
[silence]
Bidding: [we] will hope in Your name,
Response: for Your name is good.
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created: all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.… He is the head of the body, the church…
[from Colossians 1:15-18a]
Lord Jesus Christ, the church is yours.
Hold us together in your authority and love.
[silence]
Bidding: [we] will hope in Your name,
Response: for Your name is good.
“In that day, declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your religious festivals into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make you wear a sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.
[Amos 8:9-10]
With hope and heartache, we call on your justice and pray for Your creation.
[silence]
Bidding: [we] will hope in Your name,
Response: for Your name is good.
For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.
[Colossians 1: 19-20]
God of all delight, grant us that joy which none can take from us, of having a work to do, a life to live; that joy in believing which will carry us through. This we ask through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen.
