Some of them are: Immanuel, Prince of Peace, Ancient of Days, Friend, Servant, The Word, Saviour, Good Shepherd, Rock.
Which name for Jesus means the most to you at the moment?
What does it really mean to you?
What does this tell you about Jesus?
How could this help you to love and trust Jesus?
Verses from Psalm 23…
Walking hand in hand with God, you’re led through green meadows so you can lie down and rest when you’re tired. You feel safe, comfortable, relaxed. You feel the cool breeze against your skin and warm sun on your face. Breathe in deeply the peace God offers you. Someone watches over you while you sleep. Rest a moment.
God – the creator of all of this – is good. God is the one who takes care of you so everything you need is yours. When you feel thirsty, God leads you to a fresh stream. Feel the cool water, taste its sweetness.
Your soul is restored and refreshed as you journey with God. You are gently guided along paths that offer life to you and to others, paths of good things, your heart is full. You really want to sing. Go ahead.
Even when you walk through a dark, scary valley, there is nothing to fear. God is with you, protecting and comforting you. You’ll never be left alone. Feel yourself lifted into God’s strong arms as you journey through the dark.
God prepares a banquet for you in the midst of all your fears. You are God’s own. God blesses you with oil. Your joy overflows as you sit at the table and eat.
Goodness and love will be with you always. You’ll live in the house of love forever and ever. Stay in the beauty of this love that never ends. Dance, play, rest. Enjoy.
Imagine yourself in this place. Share your heart with God. Was there anything you heard that you found difficult? Spend some time considering that with God. Do you sense an invitation from God? How are you drawn to respond?
I really liked the idea of the nail crosses for Sunday. The song that you mentioned could be playing in the background while the congregation are holding the crosses. And then I could say this prayer
Father God,
I kneel before you knowing that I have sinned against you in so many different ways, in what I have said and in what I have done. I know that I am a sinner and as such I was the cause of the Lord Jesus being crucified on the cruel cross to take the punishment that I justly deserve- to pay the price for my sins. Lord, I know that I am unworthy to come before you, but I ask for your forgiveness of all my sins, for the sake of you son, Jesus Christ- who died for me on Calvary.
Thank you Lord that you have promised that all who trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour will have their sins forgiven forever. We praise you Lord for Your grace and mercy on me- a sinner saved by grace, in Jesus name I pray,
Amen
Verse: John 3:1-17
Creative Prayer:
In the reading, the Pharisee asked Jesus a lot of questions. Jesus was sat there with the Pharisee so he could verbally answer. Today, if we have a question for God, he can answer in different ways. Some people directly hear his voice while other people hear God in things that people have said to them. God talks to us in the way that we will hear him the best, we just have to listen out for him.
Ask people to write down a question that they would like to ask God. This could be personal or general question. I’ve seen people do this with writing on ripped up cardboard but it could also be done on paper. If people have time at the end of the service they could talk to other people about their question to see if they have answers, or the prayers could be taken home as a prompt for personal reflection or study.
Verse: Matthew 4:1-11Creative Prayer:Invite everyone to collect a stone. In the reading, Jesus refuses to turn stones into bread, so the stones they are holding are a symbol of perseverance and faithfulness in the face of temptation. Then say this prayer:
We pray for encouragement to remain true to God’s word.
Lord, when we are tempted to seek comfort over truth
Let us pray with Christ, ‘one does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
Lord, when we are tempted to demand you fulfil our wishes
Let us pray with Christ, ‘do not put the Lord you God to the test.’
Lord, when we are tempted to deny our faith in you
Let us pray with Christ, ‘worship the Lord you God and serve only him,’
Because it’s Transfiguration Sunday on Sunday I found this prayer.
O God,
We open our eyes and we see Jesus,
the months of ministry transfigured to a beam of light,
the light of the world,
your light.
May your light shine upon us.
We open our eyes and we see Moses and Elijah,
your word restoring us, showing us the way,
telling a story,
your story, his story, our story.
May your word speak to us.
We open our eyes and we see mist,
the cloud of your presence
which assures us of all we do not know
and that we do not need to fear that.
Teach us to trust.
We open our eyes and we see Peter’s constructions,
his best plans, our best plans,
our missing the point,
our missing the way.
Forgive our foolishness and sin
We open our eyes and we see Jesus,
not casting us off,
but leading us down, leading us out –
to ministry, to people.
Your love endures forever.
We open our ears and we hear your voice,
‘This is my beloved Son, listen to him!’
And we give you thanks.
Amen
This week I looked at Matthew 5:14-16. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’
Light 3 candles, on the first on put a bowl over it, surprisingly you won’t be able to see the light from the candle. On the second on put a glass, the flame will go out either straight away or after a while (I don’t know which) and the glass will fog up due to the lack of oxygen. Leave the third one to burn.
Ask people which of the candles is similar to the light in their life. Are they keeping their light hidden? Are they allowing their light to show but allowing it to fade without the oxygen of the Holy Spirit? Are they a beacon to the world around them?
Hope this works
This week I looked at the Beatitude ‘blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.’
The prayer idea is to give people the opportunity to think about disagreements, wars, conflicts, arguments in on a personal and global level. These are things that are really common in the news today. It’s important to pray for peace in our lives and on a global scale. Ask people to ‘take a hand’ and write or draw a situation where there isn’t peace and put them in a bowl (I don’t know if a bowl would work best) and pray for peace over all the situations there.
Hope this works well. I’ve attached some hand templates if you would like to use them.
This week I found a response prayer, it’s on the slide image below. The responses are in bold
