And offer our praises to you
Open our hearts and our minds
To your Spirit
And give us your presence
In our life today
Song “Why should the devil have all the good music”
Prayer for Gods help
Loving God
Come into our confused and troubled lives
Send your Spirit
To work in us
Realign us
So that we may know
Your Spirit in our lives
Your joy, your peace, your Shalom
The Lord’s Prayer in our own language
Reading Acts 11v1-18
The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was.6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with[a]water, but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
Our Prayers
We pray for people and situations we are concerned about including the high deaths from Covid 19, our government, the lockdown easing in schools, key workers, PPE in hospitals, care homes and everywhere, and protection for BME people, care for those who are alone and those suffering with depression and ensuring food is reaching the vulnerable.
Ending with…May we not fail them Amen
Song “Come thou Fount”
Closing Responses
This is the day that God has made
We will rejoice and be glad in it
We will not offer to God
Offerings that cost us nothing
Go in Peace
To love and serve the Lord
Amen
With thanks to © Iona Community adapted
