February 7th
- Are you light coloured and    salt flavoured?



Readings

     
Isaiah 58:1-9a
Psalm 112:1-9
1 Corinthians 2:1-12
Matthew 5:13-20		 Not fasting but fellowship
A good person
God's wisdom and the Spirit
Salt and Light

Hymns

      from Rejoice and Sing unless otherwise stated
266  
274    
350      
474
558
572
648
Songs of Fellowship 167
SofF 196
SofF 328
SofF 439		 Eye hath not seen thy glory
God is love, his the care
God my Father loving me
Brother, sister, let me serve you
Will you come and follow me
Colours of day
Jesu, Jesu
Here I am, wholly available
I am a lighthouse
Let there be glory and honour
One shall tell another

Call to worship

We come to worship our Lord
WHO PUTS THE FLAVOUR OF LOVE INTO OUR LIVES
We come to worship our Lord
WHO BRINGS LIGHT TO OUR DARKNESS
We come to worship our Lord
WHO GIVES US GOOD THINGS.
PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!

Prayers

Prayer of praise - based on Psalm 112

We praise you O God for all you have done for us.
In love for us you have made us your children,
you have given us the power to be stewards of your land
You have blessed us.
You have showered us with wealth
- the riches of your love, our talents, your unfailing presence in our lives
You have brought light to shine in our darkness
You have shown your people  mercy - you are kind and just
on the side of those who are poor and needy
You give of yourself generously - even giving us Jesus who came as one of us
You never fail
You remember each one of us - you can call us by name.
It is as if our names were etched on the palm of your hand
You give us confidence to face the future, even if bad times are upon us
for you have faith in us, which gives us faith in you.
Your kindness and love are without limit.
Yes! we praise you O God for all you have done for us. Amen

Prayer of confession - based on Isaiah 58:1-9a

O God we have so much to confess to you.
We need to tell you about out sins.
For though we try hard to please you, yet we still let you down.
We worship you, we give you praise
hoping that we may draw closer to you.
And yet through our thoughts and our actions we move further away.
We put our interests above those of other people.
We quarrel and fight.
We oppress others through our actions.
And we fail to do good for hungry and the poor.
We turn aside the refugee instead of giving them help.
You know all the things that we have done wrong
You know the good that we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry and ask to be forgiven.

God says 'when you pray I will answer you. When you call I will respond.'
He has heard us crying in shame and sorrow.
He has sent us his Son to show that his favour shines upon us
and the spirit to guide and protect us.
Hear jesus words - 'your sins are forgiven'
and his call 'come, follow me'
Thanks be to God. Amen.

Offertory prayer

We have received so much from you O God
so we offer this money, as a sign of our love and commitment to you
and we offer ourselves, to be salt and light to the world
committed to you, as you, in Jesus, showed yourself committed to us.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Prayers of intercession

Salt enhances flavour and taste.

We pray for the town in which we live and the communities that fill it with life.
(Pause)
Loving God, show us how to be salty Christians, enriching the life of our town.

Salt removes impurities, leaches out bitterness, but also preserves and resists decay.

We pray for the circumstances when we meet people we meet day by day.
(Pause)
Loving God, show us how to be salty Christians, taking all bitterness and impurity from the encounters people have.

Salt holds a colour dye in cloth, remains behind when snow melts or water evaporates.

We pray for situations where courage is needed.
(Pause)
Loving God, show us how to be salty Christians, to be there when others have gone, to bring hope where despair has set in.

Salt raises the freezing point and helps ice to melt.

We pray for places where the absence of love brings an icy chill.
(Pause)
Loving God, show us how to be salty Christians, bringing the warmth of your love and your joy where people are lonely and forgotten.

Salt aids buoyancy, helping us to float in the sea.

We pray for people who are at the end of their tether; people who feel they are about to go under.
(Pause)
Loving God, show us how to be salty Christians, holding up those who are sinking in anxiety and despair.

Salt is nature's healer, as an antispetic, soothing sores.

We pray for those who are suffering in body, mind or spirit.
(Pause)
Loving God, show us how to be salty Christians, bringing your gentle healing to those bruised by life.

We offer these and all our prayers, those spoken out loud and those whispered in the quietness of our hearts in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen