The pattern for daily servicesO God, open my lips,and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. I pray to you, O God: you hear my voice in the morning; Early in the day I offer my prayer and wait for your answer. As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may we reflect the light of your presence to all whom we will meet this day, Amen. (Note 1) A Psalm (leader and congregation reading alternate verses)(note 2) A Bible reading Short reflection Hymn (Note 3) Prayers and Lord's Prayer Benediction
Note 1: This short introduction above was used at all sea-day service after Easter. It helped provide a measure of continuity day by day.
Readings, hymns and prayers for sea-day morning services in April-May 2016.
|
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Monday 18 April | 119: 1-8 | Matthew 5: 1-16 | God of my faith, I offer you my doubt | Colin Ferguson | St Agnes 10 10 10 10 |
|
Prayer Gracious God, thinking back to those early days of your new community, the New Israel, we marvel at their courage and fortitude when they were surrounded by opposition and persecution. By contrast we have it easy, but we also know that there is much to do to before people begin once more to recognise your place in their lives. Give us courage, we pray, to see the challenge in these words of Jesus, and to be stimulated by them to renew our commitment to following in his Way. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Tuesday 19 April | 119: 9-16 | Matthew 7: 21-28 | All my hope on God is founded | Robert Bridges | Michael 87 87 33 7 |
|
Prayer Gracious God, we hear around us so much talk of a declining Church, of diminishing congregations, and we are prone to wondering if the Church we belong to will remain active and fruitful in future years. Forgive our anxiety and small faith, and help us realise yet again that your work will continue despite our human frailty and weakness. Give us confidence to think afresh about what we believe, and give us courage to allow those difficult questions time to resolve. Keep us from hanging on to our faith by our fingernails, and encourage us, perhaps through others, to face our doubts and work through them. Above all else, help us to keep alive our faith in you, to trust your faithfulness, and to live our lives as those who do our best to respond to your love which we see in Jesus. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Thursday 21 April | 119: 17-24 | Matthew 9: 9-17 | Church of the living Christ | Shirley Erena Murray | Little Cornard 6 6 6 6 88 |
|
Prayer Grant us, gracious God, the courage to look beyond what we're used to, beyond our traditional ways of being Church, to see where it might be appropriate to find new ways. As we stand in our Church doorway we see people walking past but not coming in - using our Church perhaps as a landmark, or maybe as a reminder of childhood days. And yet, we believe we have a message that can transform lives and spark a whole new way of being. But the message is not being heard, partly because what is reported is so often negative and people have stopped listening. Help us to listen to your Spirit, to follow your leading, so that your Church in all its variations can become the Servant Church, in all those places where people gather and find community. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Friday 22 April | 119: 25-32 | Matthew 9:35-10:15 | The Kingdom of God is justice and joy | Bryn Rees | Paderborn 10 10 11 11 |
|
Prayer You call us all, gracious God, to exercise some form of ministry within the circles of our lives - whether at work, or amongst our friends and neighbours, or just at odd times when opportunity knocks. Give us, we pray, sensitivity towards those we meet, the ability to see need or pain or distress, and then the will to offer whatever we can by way of help and comfort. And even in our prayers, as we see much distress in the world, among people we will never meet, help us to think of them with compassion, and to remember all who try to offer support and understanding. Above all, give us hearts of love, responding to the love that we know comes from you. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Saturday 23 April | 119: 33-40 | Matthew 10: 24-39 | Committed to Christ | Fred Kaan | Hanover 10 10 11 11 |
|
Prayer Gracious God, we pray that your Holy Spirit will re-invigorate us that we may live as those who have good news to share. Help us to proclaim the Good News in word and in deed. But this prayer itself is scary, we wonder what may be asked of us, and we are afraid to commit ourselves. May the faith we have become a gift to be shared with one another. We thank you for your presence among us, and ask for courage and confidence as we continue our Christian journey, following the Way of Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Monday 25 April | 119: 41-48 | Matthew 11: 2-11 | Jesus heard with deep compassion | Joy Patterson | Bethany 87 87 D |
|
Prayer Gracious God, you call us to life in all its fullness, following the path set out by Jesus. Help us to reflect on his leadership as servant, and deepen our desire to imitate his example. May our exercise of the gifts you have given us be a faithful reflection of his presence at work in our lives. As followers of Jesus, may his way of servant leadership become our own, as we grow and use our gifts in service of others. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Thursday 28 April | 119: 49-56 | Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30 | Now come to me, all you who seek | Michael Cockett | Noel DCM |
|
Prayer Gracious God, we thank you for every moment when we realise afresh your love for your Church, and for every moment when we feel ourselves to be renewed and born again. But we also know that our worship and devotion can grow tired and can become at worst mere repetition. So help us, we pray, to recapture that first thrill of realising what new life in Christ really means, and what it is to look at the world through eyes of faith. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Monday 5 May | 119: 57-64 | Matthew 13: 1-9 | As dawn awakes another day | Claire Stainsby | Wareham 8 8 8 8 |
|
Prayer Gracious God, thinking back to those early days of your new community, the New Israel, we marvel at their courage and fortitude when they were surrounded by opposition and persecution. By contrast we have it easy, but we also know that there is much to do to before people begin once more to recognise your place in their lives. Give us courage, we pray, to see the challenge in these words of Jesus, and to be stimulated by them to renew our commitment to following in his Way. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Friday 6 May | 119: 65-72 | Matthew 13: 24-30 | The reign of God, like farmer's field | Delores Dufner | St Stephen CM |
|
Prayer Gracious God, we cannot tell by looking those who are followers of the Way of Jesus. You have called us to live lives transformed by love and by knowing you. So help us, we pray, to be distinctive, that in the field that is our world, we may offer a witness to you in the way we mix and mingle with others, in the way we put others first, and in the way we seek to meet need where we find it. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Tuesday 10 May | 119: 73-80 | Matthew 14: 22-33 | Jesus calls us! - o'er the tumult | Cecil Alexander | At Andrew 87 87 |
|
Prayer Gracious God, help us to put our whole trust in you. In those times when we need some guidance, it is so easy to think that we can manage by ourselves, and perhaps we forget to include you in our thinking. Help us to move from believing that you can help and support us towards trusting you to do so. And when it comes to answering your call, give us such trust in you that we are able to get out of the boat. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Thursday 12 May | 119: 81-88 | Matthew 15: 21-28 | In Christ there is no east or west | John Oxenham | Kilmarnock CM |
|
Prayer Eternal God, the refuge and help of all your children, we praise you for all you have given us, for all you have done for us, for all that you are to us. In our weakness, you are strength, in our darkness, you are light, in our sorrow, you are comfort and peace, We cannot number your blessings, we cannot describe your love: For all your blessings we bless you. May we live as in your presence, love the things that you love, and serve you in our daily lives; In the name of Jesus we pray. (St Boniface) Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Saturday 14 May | 119: 89-96 | Matthew 16: 13-20 | As Jesus faced his closest friends | Marjorie Dobson | St Fulbert CM |
|
Prayer Gracious God, we have committed our lives to you, but there are still so many questions. Encourage us to face up to doubts and questions, trusting that you will walk with us as we work through our beliefs. And remind us, we pray, that there are many others who have similar doubts and questions, so that we may offer support and a listening ear to others. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Monday 16 May | 119: 97-104 | Matthew 16: 21-28 | Take up your cross, the Saviour said | Charles W Everest | Breslau LM |
|
Prayer Gracious God, sometimes we feel ourselves overtaken by fears of failure - failure to attract new folk into our churches, failure to have much influence in our communities, failure in our diminishing numbers, and fears that your Church is failing. And yet we know in heart and mind that this is not a true picture - that some churches are full and apparently successful, that Christianity is winning converts in some continents, and that the Church's role in civic affairs is still well regarded by many. Help us then to have confidence in you and in others that will free us from these fears - help us to grasp your bigger picture and to commit ourselves to carrying the cross wherever we travel, wherever we stay. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Tuesday 17 May | 119: 105-112 | Matthew 17: 1-9 | We have come at Christ's own bidding | Carl P Daw | Hyfrydol 87 87 D |
|
Prayer Gracious God, we spend most of our time grappling with the realities of life, struggling to retain control of our lives. We get anxious about so many things, important and trivial, and too easily get ourselves bogged down trying to fix what we think needs fixing. Remind us, we pray, of the need sometimes to just stop, take a deep breath and just "be". Help us to recognise when we are getting stressed in one of life's valleys, and help us look for the mountain where we can rest, knowing that your hand will bid us be raised. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |
| Date | Psalm | Reading | Hymn | Author | Tune |
| Thursday 17 May | 119: 113-120 | Numbers 9: 15-23 | Come, faithful pilgrims all | Michael Forster | Monks Gate 65 65 666 5 |
|
Prayer God of cloud and fire, you spoke to your people in ancient times, and led them to land they could call their own. Through wilderness and desert, for many a long year, they followed the signs of your accompanying presence, the signs of your purpose. Now we, in very different times, are searching for ways to discern your will and purpose for your people. We are grateful for our heritage but hindered by our past - a past which has the power to dominate our imagination and our vision. So help us, we pray, to have the courage to step out in faith along new paths, to begin new journeys, to see beyond our past to a new future, and above all, to recognise your guiding hand, your accompanying presence as we try faithfully to follow the way of Jesus, wherever love and peacemaking may lead us. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. |