Readings:
Isaiah 40:21-31
To whom can God be compared? God created the earth and human rulers are short lived. Why should God’s people complain that God has forgotten them? Those who wait on God will be renewed.
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
An exhortation to praise God for the way God restores those who have been exiled and broken, for the way God provides for God’s people and for the creatures of earth, and for the way God treasures those who honour God.
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
In his preaching of the Gospel, Paul explains how he becomes all things to all people in order to win them for Christ.
Mark 1:29-39
Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law and then many sick and demonised people come to be healed. After that Jesus goes off alone to pray, but Simon and others track him down. Then Jesus leads them off to other towns to preach and heal.
(Summaries of lectionary texts by John van de Laar, Sacredise)
Prayers of the people
We are God’s children, called by name and loved.
We gather like the people outside Simon’s house,
seeking healing, care, welcome, acceptance and longing for you to touch our lives.
Let us pray.
Come O God of Justice and Peace, listen to your children praying.
We pray for the brokenness of our world, for the cycle of suffering which never seems to end.
For those who suffer in war, in discrimination, in slavery, in anger, in fear,
in hopelessness, in homelessness, in sickness, in loneliness, in hunger.
Lord hear our prayer.
Come O God of earth and sea, listen to your children praying.
We pray for our earth, and all the problems we face with our changing climate.
For rising and warming seas, rising temperatures, loss of arable land,
loss of habitat and the extinction of many animals.
We pray for a willingness in Governments and people to work together
to find lasting solutions for the sake of our children.
Lord hear our prayer.
Come O God of love and faith, listen to your children praying.
We pray for people of faith, and those searching for faith everywhere,
and for acceptance of other ways of seeking to be close to you, Creator God.
Lord hear our prayer.
Come O God of Heaven and Earth, listen to your children praying.
We come, like the people outside Simon’s house,
because we need your help and strength .
We ask for forgiveness, for healing, for acceptance, for love,
to mend our broken bodies, minds and spirits, to find peace from pain,
and to leave here refreshed and ready to serve you in the week ahead.
Lord hear these our prayers, in the name of Jesus, our Saviour and friend.
Amen
(Source: Helen Burnham, Brunswick Uniting Church)
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