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| while the stars may not influence our lives in New Zealand we find ourselves knowing our place in the world when we look up and see the southern cross. It fixes us as a southern hemisphere nation, it is the symbol on our flag. For me it is part of the night sky's silent witness as the pointer point towards the cross and Christ. |
The Season of Creation finishes this sunday with an invitation to give God thanks for the cosmos, the wonders of the heavens that Psalm 19 tells us declares God's splendour. It is an invitation to look up, wonder and worship... from clouds to invisible yet so essential atmosphere layers through our solar system and its orbiting objects and out into our galaxy home and beyond... And I've used Hubble's deep feilds as a way of expressing that most distant of horizons which we have not yet learned to look beyond.
But Psalm 19 also calls us to know of God through special revelation for the psalmist the law and for us the law fufilled in Jesus Christ. So the universe witnesses to God's greatness and the law his goodness.
Once again I offer these words for people... feel free to use them or any part or line or phrase that helps you in your worship and prasie of God. feel free not to. The other two prayers in this season are flora and fauna sunday and storm sunday... follow the links.
Lord who spoke and it all came into
being
We give you thanks for the wonders
you have made.
As we’ve looked around us this month
we’ve said thank you for
The dark unseen depths and coastal
shallows of the ocean
The beauty and diversity of this
Island home of ours
Still lake and rushing river, Majestic
Mountain and sheltered valley
Wondrous plants, delicate wild
flowers to soaring forest giants
Plants that we grow and tend for food
Plants that grace and nurture the
great diversity of natural habitat
Animal life from irritating tiny insects
to grand majestic whale
Soaring birds, crawling and
slithering reptiles, crustacean and fish
Domestic animals and wild free
roaming beasts
Ourselves, each in our uniqueness made
in your image
Lord who spoke and it all came into
being
We give you thanks for the wonders
you have made.
Now we look up and outwards and we
see your splendour
Friendly white summer clouds and grim
daunting storm front
Layers of atmosphere, enabling life, protecting
and sheltering,
The silver of asteroid burn and rarely
seen streak of comet tail
The moon, reflecting light into our
darkness and ruling the tides
The sun, giving us light and warmth
anchoring us in space
The mysterious variety and splendour
of close planet neighbours
The brush stroke of our galaxy its
vastness arching across the night
Nebula cloud, quasar and pulsar,
black hole and red giant
Numerous galaxy swirls that reach us
as simple bright dots
Hubble’s deep field that marks the
extent of our seeing and knowing
Lord who spoke and it all came into
being
We give you thanks for the wonders
you have made.
We thank you for how the heavens
speak in silent witness
Seeing them we catch a glimpse of the
eternal
We become aware of how awesome is our
God
You spoke and they came into being,
you know each by name
We are aware of the seasons, time
passing and things changing
Enabling your providence and focusing
us on what you have done
we thank you that you are not silent
or distant, beyond our knowing
That you have chosen to speak through
the law and the prophets
That from beyond space and time you’re
creating word became flesh
That in Jesus it dwelt with us, and
we beheld your grace and truth
In his death and resurrection we have
become new creation
Lord who spoke and it all came into
being
We give you thanks for the wonders
you have made.
We look within and see our need for
your light and word
We are aware that often we have shut
out the witness of the night sky
We have let neon flare and street
light glare focus us only on our selves
We have shut out the radiant light of
your love and gone our own way
We have revelled in unloving dark, polluted
and exploited creations gift
Heavenly father we pray you would
forgive us and wipe the slate clean
We thank you that because of Christs
great love that we are forgiven
Fill us afresh with your Holy Spirit,
replace the night with your new day
Enable us to join our words and deeds
to the night skies silent witness
That in all we say and do, we may
point people to the true light, Jesus
Help us to love one another and care
for your creation, to your glory.
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