Tag: Full

Grace-full


 

A few grace-full verses to ponder.

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
 
John 1:16
Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.
 
Colossians 4:2-6
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

A prayer for Ordinary Time *

* the season between Pentecost and the beginning of Advent

Creator Redeemer Sustainer God,
How extraordinary is Your “ordinary time.”
How uncommon is the commonplace in Your Kingdom.
The mundane is made miraculous,
full of holy opportunities.
The smallest joy a jubilee!

Created anew may we grow tall and
“grace-full” in Your likeness.

Redeemed by Your sacrifice may we come
to know the depths of Your love.

Sustained by Your Spirit may we be steadfast
and shining in Your service.

We humbly ask that You continue to bless us
with all we need for
the living of these days—
these wondrous ordinary days—.
that our everyday lives may be gifted
to experience the vitality of Christian community,
to share Your message of hope,
reaching out to the poor and hurting,
and bringing glory and honor to You, our God. Amen.

 
~ written by Deborah Harris, posted on re:Worship

DAY OF PRAYER: 31 October 2026

Light in the darkness

On Saturday 31 October, congregations, presbyteries and small groups across the Church of Scotland are invited to come together for an hour of prayer, praying for the light of Jesus to transform our Church, our communities across Scotland, and the places around the world where the Church worships and serves.

See the Church of Scotland website for details and resources.
 

Full of meaning

 
 
From time to time I reread Penelope Wilcock’s books, The Hawk and the Dove, The Wounds of God and The Long Fall.

Here’s a scene I marked in my copy of The Long Fall to share with you. Take a moment to take it in – the setting, the poetry, the offering.

 
Two friends are outside in the “aromatic darkness of the physic garden” to see the stars. Peregrine, the former abbot of the monastery, is in a wheelchair, recovering from a stroke. Brother Tom reflects on his friend’s predicament and what this starry night offers him, by way of healing.

What a relief it must be, Tom reflected, to be away from the geometry of man-made things, feeling the wild, anarchic beauty of the night wind’s caress and seeing the random flung scattering of the stars, to a man who has lost the ability to interpret patterns, who has been baffled and defeated by codes and schemes these long dismal weeks. It must have been like putting down a great burden to come out here where there was no pattern, no code, only the wordless immediacy of life. Tom thought on the times in his life when everything had seemed to be disintegrating. There had been such a healing reassurance in the rhythm of natural things. Maybe, he pondered, maybe it was not that it had no pattern, but that human beings were part of the design, and couldn’t look at it because it didn’t exclude them, only restored them to themselves.

Day and night, the dance of the stars, the cool fingers of the breeze … it wove men into its purpose like single threads. Even the broken ones could be woven together with the others to make the whole thing beautiful. There had to be a pattern, surely, because it was not empty of meaning, all this. It made more sense than anything. It was just that the pattern was not so much of a code … more like a dear, familiar face.

 
~ from Chapter IV, The Long Fall by Penelope Wilcock
 

Call to worship

Only the hungry search for bread.
Only the thirsty look for water.
This is a place for those who are hungry and thirsty in spirit.

Only those who ache for meaning will pursue it.
Only those who yearn for a deeper life will seek it.
This is a place for those who ache and yearn for something more.

So let us come here today with our hunger and thirst,
our unsatisfied longings, our heart-felt yearnings,
and let the God of life satisfy our souls.

~ written by Ann Siddall, posted on re:Worship

From the blog
Restless / restore
Bloom where you’re planted
Unite my divided heart
 

To enter more fully

The invitation

“Is there something you are sensing an invitation to let go of in order to enter more fully into the life God desires for you? What help do you need in order for this to happen?”

 

Pastoral prayer

Lord God, we give you thanks for all your gifts to us —
for daily food, for health, for each breath we take,
for freedom to choose,
and for the gifts of your word, your power and your love.
Our hearts are truly overwhelmed, O God,
when we consider how you have entrusted so much to us.
May we be worthy of that trust —
may we be a people who are unafraid to live
as fully and as richly as you want us to live.

Help us, O God, as followers of Jesus,
to multiply all that you have given us,
to risk spreading your word and perhaps see it misunderstood,
to gamble by loving those whom others think worthy only of hate,
to take chances by doing good to those who have not done good to us.
Help us be faith filled and desire
to increase your glory and your goodness in this world.
Make us people who share in both word and deed
that which you have given to us.

We pray for the church gathered today,
both here and around the world,
that it may encourage all of its members
to discover, develop and use all their gifts,
those of nature and those of grace.
We pray for those who are poor in body or in spirit,
for those oppressed and heavy laden,
for those sick or in despair, especially _____.
Minister by your Spirit and by us,
to all those for whom we have prayed,
and help us walk faithfully in the path of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 
~ posted on Life in Liturgy

From the blog
A simple “Yes. Amen.”
United by love
In the school of prayer with Terry Hinks
 

Full and overflowing


Spotted on the sidewalk in Tilburg, NL  (Photo: Irene Bom)
 

A prayer

Mighty God
we rejoice in your reckless and extravagant love
scattered among us
and found in the mud and thorns of life.

We rejoice
that your will for us and for the world
is not one of carefully apportioned judgement
or neatly wrapped rewards.

Praise be!
Your aim and desire for all your creation
is a cup full and overflowing with good wine,
a banquet for all to share,
a harvest of full and ripe grains,
a growing tree in which all can make their nest.

Your gifts, freely offered,
are life in all its fullness,
hope in abundance,
peace that passes understanding,
love that none can measure
from which nothing can separate us.

~ written by Terry Hinks,
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #187
 

From the blog
In the school of prayer with Terry Hinks
Thank you. For work
God loves stories