Mail order book service for churches, clergy, worship leaders, musicians, church members. We supply books from New Zealand and overseas. We publish New Zealand books of worship, liturgy and other resources that support customers’ ministries and deepen their faith. We distribute NZ Hymnbook Trust books and recordings.
Come back each Monday night for a free prayer or poem from one of the books we have published.
Pastoral Prayers 2
Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise, Immortal God, in you we trust;
We give thanks for the eternal assurance of faith.
We come from a long tradition of those who seek you in the community of Church. We meet now in this place seeking to enrich our faith through worship. We seek release from all that hinders us from encountering you.
Invisible God, in you we trust; we give thanks for the intangibles
that confirm your reality –
the comfort of love; the ability to trust; the hope that faith keeps resurrecting, and the inclination to goodness you seeded in humankind. Enable us to use our faith
to do justice and love kindness.
Wise God, in you we trust; we give thanks that you are there when we understand,
and you are there when we don’t understand. As we live within you, may you live within us. Grant us the wisdom to walk
in humble confidence with you.
God of justice, kindness and mercy, May we never forget that we are made in your image,
Grant us a vibrant faith that increasingly reflects the Way of Christ. We come in faith.
We come seeking to be better people. Amen.
From: Lay Preaching Basics by Rosalie Sugrue (2018)
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.
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)
Come back each Monday night for a free prayer or poem from one of the books we have published.
41. Thanksgiving for Winter
God of all seasons, we give you thanks for the grey wet mornings, for the cold southerly days, for the mist that hovers in the hills, and the fog that blankets the river valleys, for the fresh snow on the ranges and mountain tops, for the clear sharp sunny days that follow the frosts, for all that makes winter a time to dress snugly and keep warm. We give thanks for the reserves of silage and hay and winter feed to supplement the needs of stock, for the long acre and the electric fence, for the pruning of fruit trees and grape vines, for the season of rugby, league and football, for hockey and netball, for golf, and for pony club, for dog trials and other sporting and social events, for raincoats, swanndris and gumboots, for roaring fires, hot soup and scones and safe shelter from winter’s chills.
From The Shepherd’s Call – Te Karanga o te Hēpara: Prayers and liturgies for rural Aotearoa New Zealand By Bill Bennett (2018)
Here are two sample poems from Meg Hartfield’s A Celebration of Life
The book is available in print and in 3 eBook formats – see below for ordering links.
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Emmaus
We had heard Mary rapturous, glowing afire with excitement “We have seen him – he spoke to me!” Well, we know women – the harrowing, terrible last few days prostrated with grief obviously her mind unhinged – women are unreliable witnesses that is well known.
So, wearily, returning home seven miles, from Jerusalem to Emmaus – but seeming longer, discussing, despairingly the seeming futility the end of our dreams.
The stranger was not noticed was obviously ignorant of events so momentous to us – so we told him. Strange the way he responded – explaining courteously we invited him in.
And as we ate, amazingly, the stranger became host broke the bread, passed it – a stunned moment of recognition – only one man broke bread thus! Jesus! alive! here! gone! Seven miles was as nothing with winged feet returning bursting with incredulous joy.
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Swords Into Ploughshares
Ploughshares – implements for cutting furrows Swords – implements for cutting people.
Ploughshares – fixed in a frame drawn by a horse guided by a man Swords – fixed in a hand wielded by a man.
Ploughshares – used before sowing Swords – used for cutting down
Ploughshares – used for rooting out weeds Swords – used for rooting out lives
God help us to prepare our life-soil to receive your seeds of fruitful love.
“This book contains 71 prayers as poems by Auckland-based singer/songwriter Mark Laurent.
Mark is a Christian musician, poet, writer and communicator, and over more than 30 years, he has recorded many albums and published three poetry books and a children’s storybook. With his wife, Brenda Liddiard, he has done many tours of house- and church-based music concerts, in New Zealand and overseas.
Mark and Brenda live in a high-rise apartment in central Auckland, close enough for Mark to do busking on Queen Street. As he writes: “It’s good to keep in touch with life where it happens – with people where they are.”
This collection contains seventy-one poems inspired by the Hebrew Psalms, which provide ‘good jump-off points’ for the poems that express Mark’s ‘love, hopes and fears to God’.
As the poet writes in his introduction, “The songs are numbered instead of having titles, in the hope that this leaves a degree of open-endedness, so that God can say to you what you need to hear. Dip into them at random. May there be a few holy surprises here for you.”
The language is everyday and unpolished, with imagery drawn from the poet’s life experiences:
God holds us, just as I hold this stone sees our hardness and our beauty feels our weight and rough edges knows our history and potential we’re all miracles, waiting to happen we should feel loved.
There is a strong confessional and salvation note in the poems, reflecting similar emphases found in the Psalms and the parables of Jesus:
I’m like a child coming home from school tasting my mum’s home made baking life seems a bit like Heaven – now and then.
As reflecting the lows and highs on life’s journey, the feelings embrace both anger and frustration, compassion and hope:
When I look around me it’s dog eat dog out there and if you’re vulnerable or broken they stare like you’re some kind of freak. There will never be too many God songs let’s keep on singing about the good stuff get out the guitar – warm up your voices it’s time to compose another one the best and loudest anthem yet!
There are prayers for the individual and prayers for community, and we need both. Redemption Songs complements well Mark Gibson’s The In-Between Land: Psalms Poems and Haiku (2015). While Gibson’s prayers/reflections find a place for collective worship in civic and church venues, Laurent’s poems offer resources for those working in pastoral and counselling roles with individuals and small groups in such places as hospitals and rest homes, prisons and shelter homes. They are also good for personal devotions.
These two collections of poetry are published by Philip Garside Publishing, which is to be commended for making it possible for Christian poets in Aotearoa to be widely read.
Those wanting more information, including how to arrange a local concert from Mark and Brenda, can email him atmark@marklaurent.co.nz ”
The full text of the reflection is shown below after the video.
Reflection: Who is my enemy?
Let’s pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable to you, O God, Amen.
Jesus parables were always challenging and in that style I have titled this reflection: “Who is my Enemy?”
The ideal of loving God and loving your neighbour was not new in Jesus’ time. In Leviticus 19:18 we are told “Don’t seek revenge or carry a grudge against any of your people. Love your neighbour as yourself.” The ten commandments given to Moses are rules about living harmoniously in community with our neighbours. So these ideas had been part of the Jewish tradition for many centuries before Jesus.
In Matthew chapter 5 we find Jesus sharpening, making more provocative and demanding, the commandments in the Old Testament. There are a series of teachings in the pattern: “You have heard that it was said…But I say…” For instance:
You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement;”
And…
You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.
And…
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
Jesus adds to the commandments to love God and neighbour, the challenge to also love your enemies.
Here is a paradox: If you can learn to love your enemy, can they still be your enemy?
Two things have brought this question into focus for me.
I have been reading Jewish academic Amy-Jill Levine’s book “Short Stories by Jesus: The enigmatic Parables of a controversial Rabbi.” She has lots of stimulating ideas about how to interpret Jesus’ parables, as they have come down to us in the Gospels, in modern translations of the Bible. In her comments on the Good Samaritan story, in which the lawyer asks, Who is my neighbour, Levine says something remarkable.
It relates to how Hebrew is written down. In the formal written Hebrew used in handwritten scrolls of scripture, only the consonants are printed. The person reading the text has to mentally add in the appropriate vowels, based on the context of the rest of the sentence.
Let me demonstrate in English with the consonants T L L.
We can form many words by adding vowels to these letters. The context will help us, for example:
“A child is short, but an adult is…. TALL.”
“Ask me no questions, TELL me no lies”
“The shopkeeper put the money in the TILL”
“She paid a TOLL to cross the bridge.”
“And for fans of early 1970s folk rock, we have the band Jethro TULL.”
You get the idea.
Back to Amy-Jill Levine.
In Hebrew, the words “neighbour” and “evil” share the same consonants (Resh ר Ayinע); they differ only in the vowels. Both words are written identically. ע ר
So on the page these two consonants can stand for two opposite ideas.
Combined with Hebrew vowels this way, the resulting word means
רֵעַ שֵם
friend, comrade, buddy, colleague ; neighbour, another
Or combined with vowels this way, the resulting word means
רַע שֵם ז’
bad, evil ; villain ; trouble, ill
(Sorry I can’t pronounce the Hebrew words.) But can you see the challenge here?
You or I reading the text have to decide whether it means enemy or neighbour based on the context. The meaning is not fixed, but flexible.
Taking this idea one step further, if we can choose to interpret the same text two different ways, can we also choose whether to consider another person as a neighbour or an enemy? I think we can.
Today is the 15th anniversary of the event that Americans call 9/11. After the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York were destroyed, people in the United States flew flags from their houses and many started going back to church again. In the face of an identifiable enemy and threat, they united behind traditional symbols of meaning and togetherness.
The government response was to seek revenge by going to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Horrifying wars, which have led directly to many of the conflicts we see today in the Middle East. The prophesy from Jeremiah we heard this morning brings to mind the devastation to people, and to the land itself, that war causes. It is a warning to follow the ideals of loving God and neighbour, or face catastrophe.
Many odd things happened on 9/11. There is a lot of speculation about what really happened and why?
What is clear is that people in the United States identified themselves as us the good guys under attack from them, the enemy.
That’s where the trouble starts, by identifying and naming someone else as different, as other, rather than looking for the things we have in common.
How can we discover what we have in common with another person?
I find social occasions with lots of people making small talk very difficult. What works for me is to find one person to talk to and by listening carefully to what they are saying, find a topic that is important to them to talk about. Then I can contribute my ideas and experiences and we get to know each other a little.
The second thing I want to share with you is a visual idea I have been mulling over since February.
Religious beliefs can divide or unite people.
Imagine for a moment that this segment represents Methodists. The darker shades at the top of the segment are where we find the sacred texts, rituals and traditions that we hold onto most firmly. John Wesley’s sermons, Charles Wesley’s hymns, an open communion table and a concern for social justice. These are things which Methodists identify with.
Lets say that the next segment represents Catholics. The darker shades at the top of the segment represent devotion to the Pope, rosary beads, regular confession – the things that Catholics hold dear.
Lets say the next segment represents Islamic faith. The darker shades towards the outside of the segment represent a belief in the prophet Mohammed, the Koran, pilgrimage to Mecca and the other things that Moslems hold dear.
Now lets complete the circle with other faiths.
Note the black lines separating the segments. They symbolise the divisions between people of faith. These divisions can lead to intolerance and conflict. Taken to extremes they can lead to violence and war. I imagine this as a journey into the darkness, which swallows up all the good things about faith and leads to oblivion.
[Show slides of circle receding into blackness]
What if instead we look inwards to the centre of the wheel, towards those things which we have in common with other people and other faiths. And let’s remove the borders between us. Now as we journey towards the light at the centre, we are free to sample the ideas and ideals of other faiths and discover the things we have in common.
Loving God (or Gods) and loving neighbour are universal ideas, shared by people of faith.
[Show video of turning circle]
And what if the Holy Spirit blows and the circle rotates, pivoting around the light in the centre and blurring the distinctions between us?
Is world peace really that easy? No, but Jesus pointed us in the right direction.
In the Good Samaritan story the lawyer wants an easy, tick the box answer to eternal life. Instead Jesus tells him to love his neighbour, a lifelong commitment. So the lawyer asks, OK who is my neighbour? and gets an unpalatable answer. Your enemy, the Samaritan, is your neighbour too.
Jesus’ wisdom that we should love our enemy still challenges us profoundly today.
If you can learn to love your enemy, can they still be your enemy?
No, because of your change of heart, they are now your neighbour.
Imagine for a moment that this segment represents Methodists. The darker shades at the top of the segment are where we find the sacred texts, rituals and traditions that we hold onto most firmly. John Wesley’s sermons, Charles Wesley’s hymns, an open communion table and a concern for social justice. These are things which Methodists identify with.
Lets say that the next segment represents Catholics. The darker shades at the top of the segment represent devotion to the Pope, rosary beads, regular confession – the things that Catholics hold dear.
Lets say the next segment represents Islamic faith. The darker shades towards the outside of the segment represent a belief in the prophet Mohammed, the Koran, pilgrimage to Mecca and the other things that Moslems hold dear.
Now lets complete the circle with other faiths.
What if instead we look inwards to the centre of the wheel, towards those things which we have in common with other people and other faiths. And let’s remove the borders between us. Now as we journey towards the light at the centre, we are free to sample the ideas and ideals of other faiths and discover the things we have in common.