Resources ~ Prayer & worship
Prayer and worship are both vital parts of the time leading towards 2010 and the conference itself. We invite you to join in prayer with all those who look with faith and hope towards the centenary.
Edinburgh 1910 Hymns
The feature of the 1910 World Missionary Conference which would be most remembered was its inner spiritual engine - the worship and prayer which lay at its heart. The hymns which were sung at the Assembly Hall in June 1910 might inspire you for chosing material in 2010. A list of 1910 hymns can be downloaded here.
SCOT 2010 Prayer Card
The SCOT team invites you to use this prayer card in worship, in prayer groups or at home. Please click here to download the prayer card, print it off, cut it out and fold it. For further information please email contact (at) scot2010.org.uk.
2010.global Prayer
Our 2010.global project invites Christians all over the world to celebrate God's call to mission. For further information, please follow this link. Edinburgh 2010 offers this prayer for all to use, as a global and united expression of thankfulness to God.
God of Grace
Your love flows in abundance through your world.
You have come close, touched our pain,
And fired our hearts with hope.
As now we give you thanks,
And celebrate your mission
To reconcile, heal and transform,
Fill us with your irrepressible Spriti of love
Made known among us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2010
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2010 takes up the Edinburgh 2010 strapline: Witnessing to Christ Today. Material for this event is prepared annually by Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. This year the initial work was done by Christians in Scotland.
The material can be downloaded from the World Council of Churches website here.
July 2009
Take time to listen to the Word of God...
'God loved the world so much
that he gave his only Son,
that everyone who has faith in him
may not die but have eternal life.
It was not to judge the world
that God sent his Son into the world,
but that through him the world might be saved.'
(John 3:16)
... to ponder that Word, the source of mission, and to pray.
Almighty and Most Holy Trinity,
We give you thanks for the powerful love which sent Jesus into the world.
Clear the darkness from our hearts and minds, fill us with that power of love,
Make us ready to be sent, in his name and for his mission, everyday.
Amen
August 2009
Take time to listen to the Word of God.
'They set off privately by boat for a lonely place.
But many saw them leave
and recognised them and came round by land,
hurrying from all the towns towards the place,
and arrived there first.
When Jesus came ashore, he saw a great crowd,
and his heart went out to them,
because they were like sheep without a shepherd,
and he had much to teach them.'
Mark 6:32-34
To ponder that Word and to pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, teach us to see as you see. Inspire us with your own Spirit of compassion and love. May our hearts too go out to the many who today seek safety, healing, assurance and purpose in life. Call us again as your disciples to learn together your way of mission. Enable us to reverence and encourage all those who live with faith in your presence and celebrate your glory. Together we will praise you.
Amen
September 2009
Take time to listen to the Word of God.
'When anyone is united to Christ, there is a new world; the old order has gone, and a new order has already begun. From first to last this has been the work of God. God has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and he has enlisted us in this service of reconciliation....he has entrusted us with the message of reconciliation. We come therefore as Christ's ambassadors.'
2 Corinthians 5:17-20
Ponder that Word ... reconciliation ... Christ's ambassadors ...
and let us pray:
God of mercies, we give you thanks and praise that you have indeed called us to serve as bearers of the message of reconciliation. Enable us to be true ambassadors, loyal to Christ Jesus your Son, faithful to his truth, bearers of his gospel. We give you thanks for the many men and women who have accepted this mission with courage and humility. May we learn together from their witness. In your mercy, hear our prayer.
Amen
October 2009
Take time to listen to the Word of God.
Thomas said to Jesus "Lord we do not know where you are going,
so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered "I am the way and
the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you knew me you would know my Father as well.
I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counsellor to be
with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him,
because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him …
John 14:5-7, 16-17
Take time to ponder that Word and to pray.
Let us pray in particular this month for those who share in the Study Process around the world, and for the men and women chosen as delegates to the 2010 Conference.
Lord Jesus Christ, teacher and guide, we trust in your promise. Hear our prayer for those who gather to search for your way. Ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit of Truth to fill their minds and hearts. Grant them the grace to welcome that gift with humble faith and to allow that truth to lead them together into your mission in the world. Hear our prayer, o Lord.
Amen
November 2009
Take time to listen to the Word of God.
Be generous to your servant and I shall live,
and shall keep your words.
Open my eyes and I shall fix my gaze
on the wonders of your law.
Traveller though I am on the earth,
do not hide your commandments from me.
My heart is pining away with longing
at all times for your judgements.
You have rebuked the arrogant
who stray from your commandments.
Set me free from taunts and contempt
because I observe your instructions.
Psalm 119:17-22
Ponder that Word, and pray.
Let us pray particularly this month for all young people who look for truth and justice; that they may find help and encouragement for a life lived in the presence of God, and that adults who claim to be Christian may offer them genuine leadership and care.
Almighty God, lover of all who inhabit our earth, grant that we may recognise your Spirit at work in every time and place where mercy and justice are sought and shared. Call us and gift us to be makers of peace and to bring healing where there is pain and hurt. Inspire in us a longing for your reign to come in our hearts and in our living. Let us be true disciples of Christ the teacher and true apostles, sent in his name. Fill the minds and hearts of young men and women with the desire to know you and to serve you in their brothers and sisters, especially those in poverty and need. Hear our prayer, o Lord of all.
Amen
December 2009
Take time to listen to the Word of God.
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Luke 2:15-19
Take time to ponder that Word and to pray.
Father of Mercies, draw us once more this December to contemplate the Child in the manger – your Son, born of Mary, God become man, God here for us. Teach us how to tell this story, as the shepherds did, now, to the men and women of our time. Fill our hearts with love and concern for the children of this world, the small ones who remind us of your coming. Let your love reach out through your people, especially to children in need or oppressed. And remind us always that unless we become as children, we will never find your kingdom.
Amen
January 2010
Take time to listen to the Word of God
In the course of his preaching John the Baptist said, ‘Someone is coming after me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’
It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John. No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.’
Mark 1:7-11
Take time to ponder that Word and to pray
This month we meet across the churches in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Let us ask for the grace to see and hear one another with love and respect, as brothers and sisters of the Son of the Father.
Father in heaven, you revealed Christ as your Son by the voice that spoke over the waters of the Jordan. Grant us the grace that all who share in that sonship may follow on his way of service to humankind. Let his kingdom be shown in its beauty in all places on earth. Give us the wisdom and love to see and hear one another as brothers and sisters as we reflect on the meaning of Mission, and humbly learn to understand his way.
We make this prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen