Liturgy

The following liturgy seeks to acknowledge the breadth of our current realities, not denying our feelings or situations, yet not allowing us to indulge our  selves at the expense of God’s ultimate reality. It incorporates several  CCDers perceptions of God, in light of their weeks prior to a text message consultation, and then uses the compound names of God to lead us back to Him. It is also available as a word file from the downloads section or by clicking here: ccd liturgy may 2009…

Charis

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Lord, in the ups and downs of life,

Even in the eye of the storm

Sometimes all we can do is stop.

And look up.

Help us acknowledge, serve and worship You,

With everything we’ve got,

Even if that feels like very little.

For You are the God Most High

And You are entirely worthy of our hearts

And souls

And minds

And strength

Lord, we stand in awe of Your greatness and majesty.

In the face of Infinity, we are but specks of dust.

You are the Creator God

Who spoke the universe into existence

And with one breath created us.

Created me.

Because You chose to.

Lord, we also stand here with our hearts on our sleeves.

Some of us are confused, saddened and disappointed by life.

Help us search for You in the midst,

Help us find You in the midst.

For You are the Healer God.

You promise freedom, favour, and fullness of life

For those You love

Which is us

Lord, it can be so hard to be part of a broken world

Where relationships are so imperfect.

We can feel lonely,

Disconnected from others

And You can feel so distant

Watching over us from afar.

But You are God with us, Immanuel.

Thank goodness You’re out there

But You are not only out there

Lord, some of us feel weary

Because life is hard

Days are long

And joy seems like a fading memory from long ago.

But You are the God of shalom

Tonight we will lie down and sleep in peace and wholeness

For You alone, O Lord, make us feel secure

Lord, we see so much of Your faithfulness in our lives

Even when we are faithless

You still show up

And create beauty out of the mess we have produced.

For You are the Shepherd God

Who protects, guides, feeds, and rescues

No matter how often we go astray.

You are faithful to Your promises.

And you are not content with the ninety-nine,

But also search for the lost one

Lord, You are the God of the supermarket,

The payslip, and the credit card.

We may buy the food for our tables

But you make the crops grow

The sun shine

And the rain fall

Without You nothing would have its being.

For You are the Provider God

You are rooting for us

You sustain us

You give us everything we need, and so much more.

Lord, we often feel so unworthy of Your love.

We say we love the light,

But darkness dominates the things we seek.

We have tasted Your goodness

And want more,

But our flesh is weak and frail.

But You are the Purifying God.

Because of Your great mercy

We are once more whiter than snow.

Because of Your death we can experience life.

Because of Your Spirit we can know hope.

Lord, we long to know the fullness of Your love

To understand what it means to be Your children

Adored by the heavenly Daddy.

For You are the Perfect Father

Loving, Patient, Encouraging, Supporting,

But not letting us off with sloppy living.

For You see who we are becoming

Lord, you say ‘blessed are those who are persecuted’

But we often prefer the God of Comfort part.

We love the resurrection

And ignore the cross.

But You are the God of the armies of angels and heaven

You lead us into battle against the forces of death, darkness and oppression:

A battle which has been won,

is being won,

and is yet to be won.

Lord, we see so much pain around us

And in us

And because of us.

So many are poor, hurting, hungry, lonely, despairing.

And we look once again to Jesus and see that…

You are the God of Justice

Who came to make all things right.

You will not tolerate oppression of any form.

You drove out demons

Healed the sick

Loved the poor

Forgave the sinner

And call us to do the same in Your name.

You have given us purpose and reason to be.

Lord, help us obey Your call today and forever.