Author: Robin.Kyd

God of the wilderness, your Spirit leads us to face the truth, unprotected and exposed:
in our times of trial help us to resist the worship of empty power
so that we may find our true food in Jesus Christ, the broken bread.
Grant us, Almighty God, that through this yearly observance of Lent we may enter more deeply
into the mystery of Christ and draw upon its power in the conduct of our lives.
Amen

Holy God, mighty and immortal,
you are beyond our knowing, yet we see your glory in the face of Jesus Christ,
whose compassion illuminates the world.
Transform us into the likeness of the love of Christ,
who renewed our humanity so that we may share in his divinity,
the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who live and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.
Amen

God of righteousness, we adore you for the depth of your wisdom.
You see the light in us and in others that we fail to recognise,
for you are the source of that light, and you seek to nurture it, no matter what we have done.
God of love and light, we adore you.
Amen

Ever present God, you called us to be in relationship with one another
and promised to dwell wherever two or three are gathered.
In our community, we are many different people;
we come from many different places, have many different cultures.
Open our hearts that we may be bold in finding
the riches of inclusion and the treasures of diversity among us.
We pray in faith.
Amen

As we draw near to you, God, today, we praise your holy name
for allowing your Kingdom to break through into our lives.
We thank you for the things that are ordinary to you, God, but extraordinary to us
and we thank you for calling us to be part of your story–
ordinary people, caught in the extraordinary story of your wonderful plan for our salvation.
We give praise in Jesus’ name.
Amen

Lord God and Father,
we remember before you all those who bear the inner and outer scars of the Holocaust and of subsequent acts of genocide.
Let them not be overwhelmed by the horrors that engulfed them.
Be close to them.
Help them to see that you suffer with those who suffer,
and that no wickedness can ever extinguish your infinite love.
Restrain those who are filled with hatred and use violence to pursue their ends.
Change their hearts.
May remembrance make us alert to the reality of evil and its deceptive allure.
Help us to recognise our own capacity for evil, and allow your Spirit to purge it from our beings.
Help us to stand up against evil and oppression, even if that means we have to suffer ourselves.
Enable us to defend those who are not strong enough to defend themselves,
and to be ready to bring the light of your truth into the dark areas of human experience.
Deepen our respect for everything you have made,
and help us to share in securing the maximum good of every person who is alive in your world.
We ask this in the Name of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for our sins, carries our sorrows,
heals our wounds, and is risen for our freedom.
Amen