​​​​​​​​​​​
 

... and now let us pray for God's family, the World, and ourselves, giving thanks for God's goodness.

​​​​​​​​​​​​

​Let us pray aloud, and together:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​​​​

Holy God, St. Matthew reminds us of the privilege of serving Christ. We know that to share the work of Christ we have to share the sacrifice of Christ. Help us when Christianity is hard, and teach us to say to ourselves that when our road is rocky, we are following in the footsteps of Jesus.

​

Longer silence for  personal reflection.

 

Everlasting God, look down with love upon our faith communities wherever they may be, be they large or small, as we struggle, day by day, to be a body worthy of Jesus’ name.

 

We pray especially for the Christian communities who face daily persecution and hardship.  Strengthen, comfort and encourage all those who suffer harassment, violence, imprisonment and even death for being followers of Jesus.

 

(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer

 

Creator God,  we live in a world becoming more secular and less religious every day, help us as Christians to stand up for Jesus against world opinion in the sure knowledge that he stands up for us before you, our Father in heaven.

 

(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer

 

Father God, at times Your Son offers us hard choices; to choose sometimes between the closest ties of earth and loyalty to him. Free us from making decisions that are for our comfort or for the approval of others. Help us to understand that good choices don’t always lead to the easiest outcomes.

 

(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer

 

Gracious God, we pray for the sick and the suffering.  For those undergoing treatments and surgery, for those convalescing and those who are recovered, that through our intercessions they may all experience a full recovery.  As we also pray for those who will not recover, we remember the words of Jesus that "Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

 

Give the song of joy to all who are now on the road to recovery and recuperation and the song of thanks to all who helped them on that road.

 

We especially raise before You now all those who have asked for our prayers from around the world … those we know in New Zealand, in Singapore, in Argentina, in France, in Australia, in the US, in Canada, in Austria, in Ukraine, in China, in Germany, in the Czech Republic, and any others we now name aloud, or in the silence of our hearts, and those who are known only by You.

 

(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer

 

Merciful God, through the death of Your Son Jesus Christ you have freed us from the grip of the tomb. We pray for those who have departed this life and ask you, through your loving kindness, to have mercy on their souls and uphold and sustain those bereaved by their passing.

 

We especially raise before you at this time our recently departed brothers Richard (Australia), Lee Boon (Singapore), and Beatrice (USA).

 

We pray for all the faithful departed, may they now rest in eternal peace as they most surely have risen in glory.

 

(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer

 

Faithful God in the week that lies before us, may we reflect your love in our families, our faith community and our wider community and in doing so, show everyone we meet that we are followers of Christ with a true desire to draw them into our Christian faith.

​

(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer

 

Forth in the peace of Christ we go; Christ to the world with joy we bring; Christ in our minds, Christ on our lips, Christ in our hearts, the world’s true King.

 

Merciful father: accept these prayers for the sake of Your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.  AMEN.