Opening prayer 10 April 2016

Lord God Almighty

ruler of heaven and earth

praise and honour and glory are yours and yours alone

your throne sits on high, a place where innumerable angels sing to you, in a constant hymn of worship

a hymn which is sung to at the feet of him who created the universe and all living beings, in this realm and the divine realm

a hymn which we long to join with

a song of worship which we desire will waft up to where your are, to blend with the voices of those angels in honour and praise

for the one who was creator of all

for the one who was the lamb for the world

for the one who is not far off, but comes to be with us here

comes, through the holy spirit to us, his church gathered in this time and place

May our worship, our prayers, our songs be delightful in your sight our Lord God

Bless our time together and time with you

that we may give you all the honour and glory which you are worthy of

That we give may not be prefect, but we offer it with open hearts, in love and faith for all you have done for us and all your created cosmos

Sometimes, Lord God, we lose sight of all you have done in our lives, and the life of the world

we focus on our own problems,

of illness, loss, pain and sorrow

that they begin to get in the way of our relationship with you

or we focus on the problems of the world

and feel there is nothing we can do to help

so we give up on prayer, we give up on worship, we lose sight of all you have done for us

forgive us Lord, for all of these things we are set free from through your son, Jesus Christ our Lord, the lamb who sits on the throne, who loves us and taught us to pray together saying: