Loving God
we come
we gather in this place
from different communities
with all our worries and doubt
all our joy and delight
all the things which have happened to us or those we love over the past week
all the things which we will experience in the week to come
gathering together in worship and adoration
of the one who watches over us
in the day and in the night
the one who will not let our feet slip on the mountain passes, however we experience them
the one who breathed life and shape into the landscape which surrounds us
how can we fail to look to the hills and marvel at their seeming timelessness
all the things they have witnessed
for thousands upon thousands of years
yet, that majesty is nothing, nothing compared to you our Saving Lord
for we know your promise to us
the covenant made through your Son, Christ Jesus
sealed by his sacrifice on the cross
a promise which cannot be fully explained
a promise for us and all people on earth
offered freely
openly
without cost
what can we give in return?
How do you receive our prayers, our song, our meditation on your word?
Offered with humbleness and trusting in your great goodness to us, Great Judge of all creation
[pause]
Judging Jesus
do not judge our iniquity too harshly
those times we have given up on your way for us
as it seems to echo into the abyss
those times we have judged others harshly, but forgotten to hold a mirror up to our own lives
those times where we have let other things get in the way of spending time in prayer
[pause]
Forgive us, Jesus
through the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
turn our hearts, minds, bodies and souls
to your way, your truth, your love
that as we bring our adoration this hour
and all the days of our lives
it may be a fitting sacrifice of praise for our God, our King, our Redeemer, our Friend
Amen