Songs of Praise

​Own arrangement Songs of Praise with hymns chosen by our readers and those leading our Prayers.  The version of the songs on this page are from different countries and different styles as we celebrate God's love across the world.

​Prayer of approach 
Lamb of God,
giver of life,
ultimate sacrifice:
we bow at your throne.
We draw near to worship you.
Draw near to us,
make yourself known to us today –
in all that we think, say and do.
Amen.

StF ​531 What a friend we have in Jesus

Prayers of adoration and confession assurance of forgiveness
O God, your Word became flesh and lived among us.
Thank you that you moved into our neighbourhood,
that you are present with us right now, 
dwelling in our hearts and our homes.
Holy God, you are worthy to be praised.
Holy Spirit, we worship you.
Living bread, we adore you.
Amen.

A prayer of confession 
Lord, when we are not as hospitable as you were,
forgive us, Lord, we pray.
When we drain life out of people rather than be life giving,
forgive us, Lord, we pray.
When we damage relationships rather than repair them,
forgive us, Lord, we pray.
When we seek ‘self’ first and don’t share who we are,
forgive us, Lord, we pray.
Make us whole, Lord. Make us whole today.
Amen.

Assurance of forgiveness 
Lamb of God,
you paid the ultimate price on the cross,
your body was broken and your blood shed –
and by your stripes we are healed and forgiven.
Amen.

​StF 503 Love Divine

Reading Psalm 34 v9-14

StF 440 Amazing Grace

​Reading Ephesians 5 v15-20

StF 20 Be still for the presence of the Lord

​A prayer of thanksgiving. 
Hospitable God, you always open your loving arms and welcome us. You have gone ahead of us into our communities and you are residing there, hoping that we might join you and invite others to join in too. Thank you that we are always welcome to sit and eat with you, to spend time intimately with you, to hang out together. Thank you that nothing is too much for you. You are the ultimate sacrifice: you paid the price so that we might live. We praise you, friend and Saviour.
Amen.

​StF 495 Dear Lord and Father of Mankind

​Prayers of intercession
​Lord, we come to you asking for you to fill us and feed us today. There are so many ways in which we are empty and need your nourishment.
Jesus, bread of life:
feed us and nourish us with yourself.
We pray for those who are hungry. Those experiencing physical hunger in parts of the world where there is not enough food. For those on the brink of starvation. Particularly we pray for places which come up in the news and then get forgotten – such as, the Yemen. We pray for those who have enough to feed their families until the rains fail and the crops die. We pray for all organisations seeking to give people the bread they need. We pray for people in refugee camps or homeless on our own streets. We thank you for those who feed them, maybe in soup kitchens or hostels. We bring to mind our local Foodbanks and ask you to give courage to those who need them but feel ashamed to ask for help.
Jesus, bread of life:
feed us and nourish us with yourself.
Lord Jesus, we know that your heart of compassion aches for the pain of the world. So we pray for all those who need the bread of comfort in their lives. We think of those we have heard about on the news who have faced trouble and pain this week: particularly the people of Greece as the wildfires have spread. And for the people of Afghanistan. We pray for those in our own community who are suffering from physical or mental illness, remembering in particular [...]. We ask for your comfort for those who have other difficulties: victims of abuse, those who live in unhappy homes, those who are confused and don’t know where to turn. We ask you to wrap your loving arms around all those who mourn, remembering especially [...]. And, in the stillness, we bring our own troubles, worries and sorrows to you, knowing that you care about everything that bothers us however trivial it might seem.
Jesus, bread of life:
feed us and nourish us with yourself.
We bring to mind those who are spiritually hungry. Those who are searching for something more beyond themselves but who have not yet found you. Give us the wisdom and the sensitivity to guide people to you. We pray for the young people of our land, so many of whom have never had the opportunity to meet with Jesus or anyone who loves him. We pray for all those who received exam results this week. We pray for your guidance as they seek where to go next with either their education or into the workplace. Give courage to Christians in schools, colleges, universities and workplaces that they may be a shining witness to their friends and colleagues. We pray for those Christians who are persecuted for their faith yet still remain constant, trusting that you will supply their needs.
Jesus, bread of life:
feed us and nourish us with yourself.
Lord, we thank you for this church community. We thank you for the opportunities we have to join in worship each week and be fed by your word and our worship. We pray for our leaders by name. We remember any of our community who are not currently able to attend church in person asking that they will still feel that they belong and we will do all we can to keep them involved. We pray that we will always make visitors to our church feel welcome, our priority being to help everyone who comes to church to meet with you.
Jesus, bread of life:
feed us and nourish us with yourself.
Finally, Lord, in the stillness, we bring our own personal needs to you. Help us to rejoice that you care about every detail of our lives, even the ones we think you don’t notice. We ask that you will give us food for our journeys this week. And we name in the silence, places or situations that might be hard for us. Nourish us with your presence in every situation we find ourselves, particularly those unexpected moments where we need extra help. Help us to go out from here knowing that we have met with you and have been fed by you this morning.
Jesus, bread of life:
feed us and nourish us with yourself.
Breathe your life into our lives.
Fill us with your Spirit that we may overflow with you.
Amen.

StF 51 Great is thy faithfulness

​Grace 
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and evermore. Amen.

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