Morning Prayer Saturday, 20 June 2020
A reading from the Book of Revelation
A new heaven and a new earth
1 Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’
5 He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’
6 He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
Revelation 21: 1–7 NIV®
One more step along the world I go,
one more step along the world I go;
from the old things to the new
keep me travelling along with you.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
keep me travelling along with you.
Round the corners of the world I turn,
more and more about the world I learn;
all the new things that I see
you’ll be looking at along with me.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
keep me travelling along with you.
Lord God, you are the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End of everything,
as we travel towards the goal you set before us, keep us steadfastly travelling along with you.
Grant us the faith to follow you closely and to dedicate our lives to your service.
Help us to make room in our hearts for your dwelling-place
and we ask that we may join with all your children to become your living temple.
For this is what is written in the First Book of Chronicles:
3 But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:
4 ‘Go and tell my servant David, “This is what the Lord says: …. 5 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling-place to another. 6 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders whom I commanded to shepherd my people, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’”
1 Chronicles 17: 3–6 NIV®
Your dwelling-place is wherever your people are.
During the lockdown, as we worship you in our own homes,
may we feel that you are always with us and in us,
just as much as ever you are when we come together to worship you
in the building that we have made to represent your presence in the heart of our city.
Help us to remember that it is more life-giving to be in your presence than to be in any particular building.
Dear Lord, you are always travelling with us,
and as we travel from the old to the new,
with all its new uncertainties and challenges,
and we may not know which way to turn,
keep us in the faith that you’ll be telling us the way.
Give to all those who are affected in any way by the current pandemic crisis and the lockdown
the ‘water without cost from the spring of the water of life’.
Calm their troubled minds; comfort them in their distress; grant them your peace.
We sum up all our prayers by saying together the prayer that you gave to your disciples in all ages:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen
As I travel through the bad and good,
keep me travelling the way I should;
where I see no way to go,
you’ll be telling me the way, I know.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
keep me travelling along with you.
Give me courage when the world is rough,
keep me loving though the world is tough;
leap and sing in all I do,
keep me travelling along with you.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
keep me travelling along with you.
You are older than the world can be,
you are younger than the life in me;
ever old and ever new,
keep me travelling along with you.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
keep me travelling along with you.
Sydney Carter (1915–2004)
CCL31580
