| New Book now Available Here is an anthology of over 1100 brief prayers and thought-starters, for each day of the year, with almost 400 original prayers by Bruce Prewer. Included is both a subject index and an index of authors-- an ecumenical collection of about 300 different sources. |
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| Title: Brief Prayers for Busy People. Author: Bruce D Prewer ISBN 978-1-62880-090-6 Available from Australian Church Resources, web site www.acresources.com.au email service@acresources.com.au or by order from your local book shop or online on amazon. |
Year C, SUNDAY 14
July 3-9
Luke 10:
1-11 & 16-20 (Sermon 1:
“Serpents, Scorpions and Satan”)
Galatians 6:
1-17
2 Kings 5:
1-14.
(Sermon
2: “The Healing of an Untouchable.”)
Psalm 30.
PREPARATION
Far be it
from me to glory,
except in the cross of Jesus Christ.
God has
turned my grief into dancing,
cast off the hair shirt and clothed me with joy.
I shall
never again take you for granted.
God
my true Love, I will thank you for ever!
OR-
Grace mercy
and peace be with you all,
And also with you.
God is
light,
in whom there is no shadow or darkness.
God is love,
those who love are newborn from God.
God is
Spirit,
and worshippers must worship in Spirit and in truth.
PRAYER OF APPROACH
Most holy
God, in Christ Jesus you have shown us a light and love which is overwhelming.
As we worship you, let us not be frightened by your glory but enraptured with
your love.
In quiet
confidence, may we take authority over all those negative influences that
burden, handicap and seek to ruin humanity.
Empower us
with your Spirit that we may be enabled to take charge of our own lives,
without looking over our shoulder or fearing what lies around the next bend.
Through Christ our Saviour.
Amen!
CONFESSION AND ASSURANCE
Let us
confess our sin to one another and to God.
Let us pray.
Holy Friend,
God and Saviour, please deal with us not as we would like but as we truly need.
Bring us to self-honesty, to recognise what is good and to admit what is evil.
Enable us to sincerely repent of both our blatant
sins and our secret ones. Do not allow us any self pity or wallowing in guilt,
but help us to turn to you for forgiveness and cleansing.
Encourage us
to accept that new beginning our promise, and to take the wisest steps to amend
any wrongs done to others.
If we cannot put things right, give us the humility
to pray for those who can. By your abundant grace, bring goodness out of evil
and success out of failure.
Through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen!
FORGIVENESS AFFIRMED
Remember, my
Friends, that if your conscience wants to keep on condemning you, God is
greater than your conscience and knows and forgives all. In Christ perfect love casts out fear.
The peace of
the Lord Jesus be with you all.
And also with you.
PRAYER FOR CHILDREN
Forgotten
People
This is a
bi-i-i-ig thank you, God,
for people
we often forget:
Those who sweep
the streets
or collect
our garbage;
Those who
clean our schools
or cut
lawns in the park;
Those who bake
our bread
or produce
our bread and fruit.
Bless them and
many more like them,
please God.
Amen!
“Prayers For Aussie
Kids” Ó B D Prewer & Open Book Publishers.
PSALM 30
God-Friend,
I praise you for picking me up,
for not allowing
evil to have the last laugh.
I yelled out
to you for some help
and you have
made me whole.
You picked
me up from the gutter of despair,
rescued me from
those who treat me like trash.
Let the
recycled people praise you, God,
and give thanks
to your holy name.
For your
fierce discipline burns but for a moment,
yet your grace
lasts a lifetime.
Weeping may
go on for a night,
but joy arrives
with the morning.
When all was
going well I boasted:
“I am surely set up for life,
I must be a
favourite of God,
immovable as a
mountain”.
So when you
hid your face from me,
I was dumbfounded.
I cried out
and pleaded with you, God,
I made my complaints heard:
“What could
you get out of my death,
if I am lowered
into the grave?
Can a body
returned to dust serve you?
Would I be any good to you then?
Please hear
me, and give me another chance.
Only you, God, can get me out of this.”
Since then
you have turned my grief into dancing,
cast off the
hair shirt and clothed me with joy.
I shall
never again take you for granted.
God my true Love, I will thank you for
ever!
© B.D. Prewer 2000 & 2012
AND SATAN FELL
After a life
of strong ministry
rich in faith
and service,
I saw Dwight
chose death
rather than
life-support systems;
and Satan fell!
Rich with
multi-cultural love,
now bruised by a
new grief,
I saw
Rosalie hand out
bulbs for Easter
gifts;
and Satan fell!
A shy,
inarticulate labourer
wearing op-shop
clothes,
Ron gave
more money away
than anyone I
had known;
and Satan fell!
Cheerful as
the sun, Carol
displayed her
faith
by
the love and laughter
she brought to
each day;
and Satan fell!
From
“Beyond Words”
© B. D. Prewer and JBCE
COLLECT
Divine Friend, your ever-living Son has given us
free passage into a new life, where tears are turned to joy, and emptiness
becomes an overflowing cup. Let no fear dismay us and no sin betray us.
Align us with your own Spirit,
that the bedevilment of the world may shrink away before our love for
you and our fellow human beings. Through the grace of Christ
Jesus our Saviour.
Amen!
SERMON 1: SERPENTS, SCORPIONS AND SATAN
Luke 10: 18-20
Jesus said: I saw Satan fall from heaven like
lightening. Hear this! I have given you authority, so that you
can walk on snakes and scorpions and overcome all the power of the Enemy, and
nothing will harm you. However, don’t be happy because evil spirits obey you;
be happy because you names are written in heaven.
Plenty of
vivid imagery here! Satan falls from
heaven like lightening. The disciples names are now
written in heaven.
This is the
direct effect of the loving work of Jesus: Evil loses its grip when those who
trust Jesus receive and practice his kind of authority.
There is
also a note of warning: Our surest happiness will not be in how effective our
work for Christ seems to be, but in our own unearned (and unearnable)
status as children of God. Here, as in Paul’s writings, faith in the free grace
of God is the unshakeable basis of Christian joy. Nothing is more important in this passage
than this message concerning our status as God’s children.
NOW FOR THE
AWKWARD STUFF
So far I
have briefly dealt with the easy bit of this passage from Luke. Now it’s time
for the awkward stuff. What is all that
about walking on snakes and scorpions?
There are
inevitably some who take this literally. In their sectarian chapels they
deliberately handle snakes, daring them to bite. Many of these worshippers have
fingers missing, in some cases an arm or leg missing, as a result of untreated
snake venom. It is not uncommon for a sect member to die while their fellow
believers rejoice that their dying comrade has kept the faith.
To go down
that track is both naive and in error. One should never read Eastern literature
with Western literalism. Eastern people go in for pictorial language and often
much hyperbole. Hyperbole, or colourful exaggeration, is the way teachers of
the Middle East convey a deeper truth. Jesus used this form of speech often-:
as when he spoke of a camel trying to get through the eye of a needle; or
again, that we must hate a father and mother before becoming his disciple; or
again, if your hand offends you, cut it off, if you eye offends, pluck it out.
It is never meant to be taken literally. When misguided folk do take hyperbole literally, they miss
the whole point of Jesus’ message.
Treading on
snakes and scorpions is another example of hyperbole. Jesus is using
exaggerated language to speak about the venomous nature of evil, and to
emphatically state that evil shall not conquer his followers. I have given you authority, so that you can
walk on snakes and scorpions and overcome all the power of the Enemy. The
enemy is of course Satan; humanity’s grave adversary.
Compare
these scorpions and snakes with Pandora’s Box. All those foul creatures that
spring out of the unlocked box are also symbolic of evil. It is not to be taken
literally but as a vehicle for a profound truth about human affairs.
Or take that
outstanding English writer of the last century, C. S.Lewis.
In the story of his long spiritual pilgrimage from unbeliever to Christian
believer, he tells about the day when he first gained a glimpse of what was
going on inside himself:. He writes that under the
veneer of his sophistication was “ a whole zoo of
lusts”. Lewis did not literally mean
there was a zoo inside him. It was hyperbole to emphasise the chaotic confusion
and noise of his inner life.
So let’s get
this straight: Those who religiously handle venomous snakes are not holier, nor
have a nobler faith than those who do not. What counts is the authority to
tread down evil: We are not to be bowed
down by all the wickedness we see in the world. We are not to shake our heads and moan to
each other about things going from bad to worse. We are not to participate in the cynicism of
our society, but to take whatever positive steps we can to conquer evil with
goodness. Our charge is to tread down evil in the name of Jesus; to help
eradicate its venomous influence.
WHAT ABOUT
EVIL SPIRITS
I am of the
opinion that the same truth is contained is the second ,
and more controversial, aspect of Jesus’ teaching: namely that bit about having
power over evil spirits.
There are
some sections of Christianity which put much effort into praying over unhappy
people and ordering unclean spirits to come out of them.
I will not
say that they are wrong. In fact,
occasionally I have encountered evil in such a cruel and crazy form, that the
person does appear to be possessed, and I have lamented my apparent inability
to be of help except by prayer. There is a place for the ministry of exorcism.
I tend to trust it more when it is done lovingly and quietly, without
super-star billing and much trumpeting.
Nevertheless,
I must be true to myself and say this: Jesus has liberated me from the need to
fear or serve evil spirits. At his name, as it were, the host of evil spirits that primitive societies believed in and much feared, have
been dissolved into oblivion. Christ has
delivered us from that kind of superstition. He has emptied my world of the
demons.
‘Though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,’ for this
liberating Christ is with me.
I am mindful
of speaking with some indigenous ministers from Papua New Guinea, some years
back when the charismatic movement (so called) was making its first impact in
Australia. They were puzzled at that time about the growing popularity of belief in many
devils. One of them said: “But that was what Christ delivered my people from,
over forty years ago. The demons are now mere nothings as far as we are
concerned.’
SATAN HAS
FALLEN
Jesus said: I saw Satan fall from heaven like
lightening. Hear this! I have given you authority, so that you can walk on
snakes and scorpions and overcome all the power of the Enemy, and nothing will
harm you. However, don’t be happy because evil spirits obey you; be happy
because your names are written in heaven.
As far as I
am concerned, Satan has fallen. We have
authority to tackle venomous evil in its many forms, the snakes and scorpions
of injustice, racism, greed, lust, hatred, apathy, self righteousness, war and me-first-ism,
that can frighten and dominate and cripple people.
I cannot
stop myself rejoicing when I see these things being trodden down.
THE BEST
HAPPINESS
But, let us
all get back to the best joy of all: However, don’t be happy because evil spirits
obey you; be happy because your names
are written in heaven.
Such
happiness, such rejoicing,
is not something which is performance based, not a “productivity
award.” It is the free gift of God. By God’s grace in Christ
, our names are written in heaven. That should be our chief happiness.
Hence St Paul wrote to the Galations, “Far be it from me to glory, except in the
cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Gently yet
most firmly I say to each of you: Is that profound glory yours? Is that your ultimate
happiness? Anything less is not worth your trouble. Believe me,
any other joy is not in the same league. Be happy because your names are written in
heaven.
SERMON 2: THE HEALING AN UNTOUCHABLE
2 Kings 5: 1-14
“Naaman was a mighty
man of valour, but he was a leper.”
That brief sentence from the second Book of Kings
says a volume.
Though he was a powerful figure in the Syrian army,
commander in chief, a favourite of the king, Naaman was
reduced to becoming a social outcaste. He was a leper. An untouchabale.’
Here, at this point in my sermon preparation, my imagination took
off.
I pictured myself going with some friends to visit a
restored Naaman in his up-market home in Damascus. I
wanted to hear his story from his own lips. Servants received us, and ushered
us into the office of this very important ‘man of valour.’ We felt somewhat
nervous, and bowed respectfully, but he immediately put us at our ease. His
welcome and his story I record as follows.
NAAMAN’S STORY
Said Naaman-
“Welcome, visitors from the land of.. er....
er... Ozstraliya? Please don’t bow down to me, my friends. Don’t be nervous.. I beg you, do not
keep standing. Be seated here on this leather sofa. I must admit that I have never heard of your
country. it must be very far away indeed.
Take your ease.
You have come to hear my story; to receive my witness. I will try to
make it brief, and I hope you will not go away disappointed. It happened this
way.
When I was at the height of my fame and power, I
contracted an awful disease. I still find it hard to use the “L” word. Yes I
became an unspeakable “L”. A leper. The king was
surprisingly patient and generous.
But no longer was I able to sit with him at his
golden table for feasts. No longer did I go with him, arm in arm, to worship in
the glorious temple of Rimmon. When he needed to
converse with me, the king now had me fetched and made to stand at the far end
of his audience chamber.
Yet through the kings
mercy, I was not suspended from duty. I ran the army from my confined quarters,
officers reporting to me at an open window, and receiving my orders for the
day. I wondered however, how long this state of affairs could last.
I was angry about my disease. Why me? How could the
gods permit such an important person as I am to be afflicted with the
unspeakable curse? I fretted and had my
servants take special gifts to the priests, begging them to say prayers for me
to. Just to be sure, I asked for sacrifices to be made to each of our Syrian
deities. Then I also instructed my wife and children made lavish sacrifices on
my behalf.
The gods were not listening. The disease slowly but
inexorably spread.
Then one day a glimmer of hope came. A message
arrived from my wife, saying that a slave girl of hers believed there was a
renowned guru in the land of Israel who could heal me.
Visitors from far away,
please understand that this created only a tiny glimmer of hope. Israel is such
a backward country, an uncultured bunch of tribes and always fractious. The
thought of help coming from there at first seemed preposterous.
I asked the king for permission to travel to Israel.
He consented. What is more, he sent a letter of authority ahead of me; a
missive destined to put fear into any king or holy man in Israel. Once I had
made the decision to go, I was prepared to give it my best shot. I assembled a
formidable body guard, dressed in full uniform and carrying banners. I ordered
servants to load pack mules with gifts of gold, silver and exquisite Syrian
clothing. I chose my elite processional chariot and set off for Israel.
An unpleasant journey. But I won’t go into that,
except to say that in every caravanserai the fleas were rapacious, and the
quality of wine as we neared Israel, became abominable.
I sent peace envoys on ahead of me. I found their so
called “king” in a poorly designed, ostentatious edifice which he presumed to
call a palace. He was terrified at my arrival; actually trembling when my
request was made and while the royal letter was read and translated.
This king groaned aloud and ripped his robes. Protested that there were no miracles possible. Why had I
come to torment him like this? He whined
and fidgeted and wrung his hands. My patience was running out. So he gave me
comfortable quarters and played for time.
The news of my arrival, reached a Hebrew guru called
Elisha. This fellow sent a messenger to the king, saying that their god, Jahweh, could heal my disease. I set off in my gold
chariot, surrounded by my formidable bodyguard, and went to find this guru
known as Elisha.
I arrived at his dwelling (little more than a hovel)
dressed in my gold braided uniform and surrounded by my glittering soldiers. I
wanted to make the biggest impression. My herald sounded the trumpet. Nothing
stirred. My herald called out the guru’s name, and my soldiers drummed their
shields with their spears. Nothing happened. I was furious! This was no way to treat
a favourite of the illustrious king of Syria!
Just then a servant came out,
a bow legged fellow dressed in hessian. He bowed down, then informed me that
his master said: “Go and wash in the Jordan River seven times and you shall be
healed.”
This was insufferable discourtesy! The guru did not
deign to even come outside and greet me, let alone offer me the hospitality of
his poor dwelling. No herbs, no ointments, no waving of his hands over me while
he chanted prayers. Just a menial servant. Such insolence!
I cried aloud: “Damn you all! Are not the sweet rivers of Amana and Pharpar that flow through Damascus far mightier than your
piddling and muddy Jordan ? If washing in a river will
effect a cure, why can’t I wash back at home?”
Beside myself with rage, I swung my chariot around,
whipped the horses and, with my troops, circled the hovel making a mighty dust.
All the while I plotted how I could best make this rude guru, Elisha, suffer for his insolence-- with maximum pain!
Then another wretch came out and stood by my
chariot. “Esteemed Sir” he said, his voice wavering, “with the utmost respect,
if the guru had commanded you to make some costly sacrifice, would you not have
gladly done it in order to be healed? Why do you then get angry when he simply
asked you to go and wash yourself in the Jordan?”
The impudence! A mere servant now dared to advise
me; me, the
Commander of the armies of almighty Syria!
My Syria, whose king only had to sneeze and even Egypt felt a chill!
What is it with these Jews? Do they all want to be hung out for the crows to
peck their bones? I glared down at the
servant and spat in the dust at his feet.
Nevertheless, slowly the sense of what the wretch
said filtered through my anger. I had come here to be healed, hadn’t I? What
was the point of slaying these idiots in my rage, but then returning home still
a leper? Although I had not seen any image of this god of theirs, this Yahweh
thing, maybe he could still heal me. What had I to lose, except my dignity.
I gathered my troops around me and said: “Warriors
of Syria, listen carefully. Hear me and obey if you
want to go in living. I will do as this wretched little Jew asks. But if any of
you reports my humiliation when we arrive back in Damascus, you will die, but
not swiftly, I promise you.”
In silence we rode down to the Jordan. There I
stripped and immersed myself in the alien waters seven times, just as the guru
had asked. As I climbed back out of the waters I heard my men gasp. The leprosy
had gone. I was healed. Utterly healed!
Yahweh had done the impossible, even for a disbelieving and alien
Syrian. I knelt down on the bank of the river and gave thanks to this God who
could do wonders.
On returning to the house of the guru, I was much
more subdued. This time I was ushered into Elisha’s presence. Before me was a
small Jew, clothed in a white robe that looked as if it had seen many summers.
More humbly than I had spoken for many years, I said
to him: “It is all clear to me now, sir. There is no true God in all the earth
except here in Israel.” Then I ordered
three of my troops bring in some golden gifts. “With honour to your God I give
you this small token of thanks.”
Then Elisha shook his head and said: “By the living
God I swear, I will not take payment for what Yahweh has done for you. All
thanks belongs to him, not to me his mere servant.”
For a moment I was confused. What strange people are
these Hebrews. Never before in my life had I witnessed
a man refusing riches. Usually men demand reward before any service is
undertaken. I began to realise that this God of theirs had the power not only
to change and heal the flesh of a man, but also to change minds and hearts. I
had been cleansed of leprosy, but this guru had been cleansed of the lust for
wealth. Of the two miracles, this was surely the greater.
O how much I then wished to stay longer in this
impoverished country and learn to worship Jahweh. Yet
I knew I must return to my King and his service. Then a possibility occurred to
me.
I bowed my head and said to the holy man: “ If you will not take my gifts, would you be willing to
give me a gift. Can I have enough of the soil of Israel as can be carried by
two of my pack mules, so that I can take a little of your land back to Damascus
for prayer. For I declare that I will never again worship any God but Yahweh.
At the rising of the sun and at its setting, I will kneel down on the soil of
Israel and give praise to your God who does such great wonders.”
“
Elisha looked into my eyes, then nodded and smiled:
“Your wish is granted,” he said.
I looked down and said: “There is one more favour.
When my master the king goes into the temple of the god Rimmon,
he often asks me to go with him arm in arm, to bow down in worship there. On my
life, I cannot refuse. Will Jahweh pardon his new
servant in this matter?”
“Indeed yes.” said the man of God. “Ours is a
pardoning God, whose mercy is from everlasting to everlasting on those who
trust him. He who has made you whole will continue to do so. Go in peace.”
And I did.
That is my story. Visitors from
the far land of Australia.”
AFTER THE STORY
Then in my imagination, I visited Naaman after his return to his homeland. On the first
evening, as it
was near sunset, we went with Naaman to his small
plot covered with soil from Israel.
There we knelt down with him and gave thanks to the
God of wonders who heals the diseased and broken, and grants pardon upon pardon to all who
serve him with love.
Then I thought I heard a voice saying to us: “Your
sins are forgiven, also. Now go in peace.”
And we did.
THANKSGIVING
Thankful
people are the happy people.
Let us pray.
Thanks be to you, most wonderful God, for all good gifts around us
and within us.
Thanks for
those mercies which nurture or heal us.
For life,
health, food, drink, warm clothes and comfortable houses.
For family,
friends, good neighbours and enemies who pray for us.
Thanks for
curiosity, laughter, playfulness, and the ability to learn.
For truth, courage, beauty, mercy and forgiveness.
For hospitals and libraries, theatres, parklands and cathedrals.
Thanks for
our Christian heritage: the Bible, the sacraments, and church fellowship.
For the prophets, the martyrs, the evangelists, the scholars and the
saints.
Above all
else, for the son of Mary: Jesus our Brother, our Messiah and Saviour,
by
whose grace our names are written in heaven.
As we freely
thank you, so may we also serve you willingly and cheerfully. For your love’s sake.
Amen!
INTERCESSIONS
Let us
affirm our Lord’s command to love others, in the same way that we love
ourselves.
Let us pray.
On this cool
winter’s day, we pray loving God,
for
people whose eyes are so clouded by misfortune
that their eyes cannot see anything bright about life.
We pray for:
the insolvent
farmer or the deserted mother,
the workless
hard worker or the rejected social misfit,
the neglected
child or the dejected mentally ill,
the prisoner
sighing or the drug addict dying,
the persecuted
Christian or the despairing atheist.
God our
helper, be to each of these an inner warmth and light,
and
bless all those kindly hands that reach out to them this day.
Through Christ our Saviour.
Amen!
Adapted
from “Brief Prayers” Vol 1
SENDING OUT
May God
implant in you that quiet trust
which can transform self criticism into growth,
knock-backs into
courage,
suffering into
compassion,
and happiness
into praise.
Amen!
May we
glorify God with our whole bodies,
which is a most reasonable worship.
In the name
of the Holy Trinity I bless you:
The Holy Three be around your head,
The Holy Three be around your heart,
The Holy Three be around your spirit,
One God,
the Holy Three, by night and day.
Amen!
( From a Celtic blessing.
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