We begin our prayers this evening with the Lenten prayer that forms part of our Lent study materials
and that we are using as the Prayer of the Week in our Sunday morning services throughout Lent:

Lenten Prayer

God who calls us on our journey, as we remember Jesus’ time in the wilderness,
help us to cast aside those things that get in the way of hearing your word.
Help us to seek you in the places of bounteous beauty and of barren bleakness.
Help us to seek you in the faces of friends and in the smiles of strangers.
Help our devotion to be made real in the actions of our lives.
When we have looked deep into our own hearts and struggled with who we are,
send angels to minister to us and draw us out from our own wilderness
to fulfil our calling to serve you.
In Christ’s name.

Amen

Psalm 19

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
² Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
³ They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
⁴ Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
⁵ It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
⁹ The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
¹¹ By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
¹² But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
¹³ Keep your servant also from wilful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 22: 23–31 NIV®

A reading from Peter’s first letter

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For in Scripture it says:

‘See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.’

⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,’

⁸ and,

‘A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.’

They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2: 4–10

Dear Lord, we thank you that as we take our exercise out of doors,
we can enjoy the beauty of the natural world about us,
the beauty that declares your glory, a book without words
in which we may read of your bountiful goodness to all your creatures.
We wonder at the ever-changing pictures we may see in the clouds by day
and the beauty of the moon and stars at night,
all illustrating the marvellous work of your creation.

We thank you, too, that throughout all ages you have given you people instruction
on how to follow the paths of righteousness.
Just as you led the children of Israel through the wilderness for forty years to reach the promised land,
you continue to lead your people safely through the perils that may beset us.
We ask that you will strengthen our faith and give us the confidence to follow your guidance always.
Too often we choose to deceive ourselves by ignoring our own shortcomings.
May we use this time of Lent to examine ourselves and our motives clearly and honestly,
so that we can, with a new heart, place our confidence in you,
recognising that you do not expect us to do anything that is beyond our capabilities,
so long as we have the resolve and perseverance to test these capabilities to the limit.

Merciful God, we thank you for choosing us as your royal priesthood,
and pray that we may carry out the duties of your priesthood faithfully,
truly praising you for giving us your Son the be the light of the world.
May we ever walk in that wonderful light, and shun all the powers of darkness.

We pray that we may be gradually coming out of the bleakness of the pandemic,
and that the progress that is being made may continue, so that all may resume more normal lives.
We thank you for the efforts that have been made by many people to develop and deliver
the vaccines upon which our hope of real progress is dependant.
We ask your blessing, care and protection for all the workers in health services throughout the world:
doctors, nurses, scientists, pathologists, pharmacists, technicians, porters, caterers and many more.
Help us to find ways to express our appreciation of their dedication.

We pray for your Church here in Milton Keynes and throughout the world.
Help us to learn from our experiences in these difficult times how to carry out your mission
to our neighbours in more effective ways.

Now, as we prepare ourselves for another night, and set aside the concerns of the day,
we pray that these words and the meditation of our hearts may be pleasing in your sight,
O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.

Amen

So, we close our time of prayer by saying the Grace to one another,
whether we be together or far apart:

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with us all, evermore.

Amen