Sunday 23 February 2025

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Prayers inspired by: original prayers: Psalms 37:1-11,39-40; Luke 6:27-38  Whaiora Te Moni ‘Rau Whakaara’. Tom Wuest ‘Breath of God’.

Kōpū mai te ata
Tomokia mai te rā
Tomokia mai rā e

E te Atua,
Kia whakapaingia rātou mā
kua wehe atu,
Rātou ki a rātou
Tātou ki a tātou.

The morning begins -
the day grows,

God, bless those who have passed beyond the veil-
Bless we who remain,
All in your love.

[Bidding and response]

For your love and goodness - we give you thanks, O God.

For the Church.

E Ihu,
We are your Church,
Your body in this world.
Grant us the strength to do our part -
to see your upside-down Kingdom at work in this life,
Help us
in all our many ministries and endeavours,
to love you, and to lead others to You,
May we be weary with longing for You;

For your love and goodness - we give you thanks, O God. 

We pray for the world and for this place.

E te Wairua Tapu
Holy Spirit, may Your presence
Influence those around the world
who make decisions in the places of power,
With the radical command of Jesus

To love our enemies.
Lead them and us
“To refrain from anger and turn from wrath.
”How impossible that seems;
But not for You.
Help us.

In our own land,
May Your presence be felt
among our own decision-makers,
that they understand the many problems
facing our own people,
in our homes, our businesses, in Government,
in our hospitals, our places of learning.
Show them how they can make a difference in Your world.

For your love and goodness - we give you thanks, O God.

We pray for our communities and for our own needs.

E te Tokotoru Tapu -
God in three Persons;
Grant us your blessing
Today, and in the days ahead,
In our many communities.
We lift to you those things that pain us,
That make us anxious;
Our sufferings,
Our unacknowledged needs,
And the needs of those whom we love and care for.

And this week,
may we remember, Jesus,
That You suffered on the cross for our redemption;
help us, if we are called to suffer,
to be like you:
to forgive and to trust
in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.