Tag Archives: New Zealand

Prayer / Poem of the Week # 16

Prayer / Poem of the Week # 16

Come back each Monday night for a free prayer or poem from one of the books we have published.

45. Christ Ascended

A brilliant sun
shining on snow-capped mountains
lifts our hearts
to the risen Christ,
presidential, ascendant,
with the Father in glory.
Enable us, awesome Lord,
to pause and revere you,
then to set about the work
for which you have commissioned us,
in and through the power
of the Holy Spirit.

Lord Christ, kingly and supreme,
Aoraki salutes your greatness.
Taranaki, Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe
honour you as transcendent
Lord and Messiah.
Hikurangi reaches for
the morning rays of sunrise
before all others.
You are kingship like Taupiri.
You are the summit
of all human searching,
te maungaroa,
te puke teitei,
yet all may reach out
and touch you,
ascendant, triumphant, all-glorious,
in unity with the Father and the Spirit,
for ever adored and worshipped.

From The Shepherd’s Call – Te Karanga o te Hēpara:
Prayers and liturgies for rural Aotearoa New Zealand
By Bill Bennett (2018)

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Prayer / Poem of the Week # 12

Prayer / Poem of the Week # 12

Come back each Monday night for a free prayer or poem from one of the books we have published.

Spirit God (Gathering)

Genesis 1:2; Exodus 19:18 – 20:1-21; Psalm 78:14; 1 Kings 8:10-11; Isaiah 6:1-4; Ezekiel 43:1-5; Malachi 3:1; Mark 1:9-13; Acts 2:1-4

Spirit God, hovering over a watery world,
ordering creation from primordial chaos,
clothing earth’s nakedness with nature’s abundance,
breathing your spirit life into our humanness;
shelter us under your motherly love,
transform our turmoil into tranquillity,
fill up our emptiness with your wisdom divine,
raise us aloft on the winds of eternity.

Spirit God, dwelling in pillars of cloud and of fire,
alighting on Sinai in flaming splendour,
thundering forth commandments of covenant,
sanctifying holy a nation of slaves;
guide us on journeys through barren wastelands,
help us climb mountains for encounters with you,
speak laws of love into our consciences,
make sacred a church of commonplace folk.

Spirit God, filling with glory Solomon’s temple,
soaring heavenward on chariots of fire,
inspiring your prophets with visions that challenge,
promising the coming of the Davidic Messiah;
form from your people your present day temple,
transport us above our everyday thinking,
show us the ways of heaven on earth,
make of us true disciples of the Anointed One.

Spirit God, as a dove descending,
declaring beloved of the Father his Son,
driving the Christ into the wilderness,
inspiring rebuffs to the tempter’s allures;
fly down upon us the blessing of peacefulness,
proclaim our membership of the family of God,
be there for us in our spiritual barrenness,
grant us release from the enemy’s snares.

Spirit God, on Pentecost coming,
sounding like wind and appearing like fire,
descending upon the hundred and twenty,
bringing to birth the new covenant church;
bless our celebration of time that is holy,
full us with the joy that gives light to our lives,
be in our midst as we gather together,
proclaim in and through us the gospel of God. Amen.

From: Prayers for Southern Seasons: Poems and prayers for Christian worship and devotions. By Joy Kingsbury-Aitken.

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Prayer / Poem of the Week # 11

Prayer / Poem of the Week # 11

Come back each Monday night for a free prayer or poem from one of the books we have published.

Approach 4

God of blessings,
We are thankful that we are not alone,
that we have been placed in community.

We are thankful that we live in your world;
A world skewed towards good and not evil;

a world which rates compassion
higher than complacency;
a world where love is cherished and
creatively expressed.

Confront and stir us from dullness of perception;
forgive our lack of response to your Spirit.
Sharpen our awareness of holy ground;
Prompt us to turn aside and see wonders.

Forgive us if we have made your world less loving
and help us live life as your daughters and sons,
actively engaged in life’s wonders and concerns.
Forgive us for times when we have over-reacted,
and for times when we have lagged in zeal.

Encourage us to speak the truth we know
and to act in love wherever love is needed.
Enable us to live in your strength and power,
liberated for the possibilities of the future. Amen.

From: Lay Preaching Basics by Rosalie Sugrue (2018)

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Prayer / Poem of the Week # 5

Prayer / Poem of the Week # 5

Come back each Monday night for a free prayer or poem from one of the books we have published.

Prayer

God of goodness, gaps, and glitches
help us to see each other for what we are.

God of struggles, strengths, and strategies
help us to cope with what we have.

God of difficulties, disabilities, and delights
help us find joy in who we are.

God of individuality and invisibilities,
enable us to understand how life is harder
for some than it is for their peers;
Give us a readiness to ease difficulties,
remove barriers,
and create level playing fields

Bless us with the will to appreciate
the courage, creativity, and skills
required to live with impairment;
along with the discernment to realise
impairment is merely a fragment
of personhood.

Empower us all to live in fullness,
valuing what we have,
and knowing we are loved. Amen.

From: Lay Preaching Basics by Rosalie Sugrue (2018)

Click here to Order Print books and here for eBooks