A Gospel of hope

Free

You always helped

The people you met.

When you lived on earth.

You healed their pain

And eased their fear.

And helped them live their lives.

You gave them hope,

You gave them strength

And you always showed them care.

And still today

You’re here to help and share your love

And to free us from all fear.

Help us

Jesus, you knew and loved your family.

You know us too.

Jesus, you were known by your family.

Help us to know you too.

Jesus, you loved and cared for your friends.

You love us too.

Jesus, you were loved by your friends.

Help us to love you too.

Jesus, you lived and died for everyone.

Help us to live for you too.

Real

You were real.

People saw you.

People touched you.

People spoke to you.

People listened to you.

People ate with you.

You are real.

Though we can’t see you,

Though we can’t touch you,

We can speak to you,

We can listen to you,

We can trust in you.

  

Jesus

Jesus, thank you

That you lived on earth.

Jesus, thank you

That you died for me.

Jesus, thank you

That you live today.

Jesus, thank you

That you love me now.

Jesus, thank you

That I can love you too.

Jesus, thank you

That I can put my trust in you.

Promises

God made promises.

We can read about them all.

God made promises.

They show his love,

God made promises.

They give us hope.

God made promises.

He gave us Jesus.

We believe

We believe in Jesus.

We believe he lived.

We believe he died.

We believe he rose again.

We believe he brings life.

We believe he brings love.

We believe he brings hope.

We believe.

A Gospel of atonement

Sorry

I’m sorry for the things I’ve done

That have not been as they should.

I’m sorry for the things undone

When I’ve not done what I could.

I’m sorry for the things I’ve said

For words that have caused pain.

I’m sorry for the words I haven’t said

To make things right again.

I’m sorry for the thoughts I’ve had

Some unkind and bad.

I’m sorry not to think of you

And how you make me glad.

Father forgive

When we don’t show friendship,

Father forgive.

When we are greedy and want more than we need,

Father forgive.

When we think badly of others,

Father forgive.

When we think that we know better than you,

Father forgive.

Your world

Thank you for the world you’ve made;

Beautiful,

Perfect

And filled with life.

Thank you for the world you’ve made;

Fruitful,

Rich

And with enough to support all life.

Forgive us for how we treat your world;

Greed,

Thoughtlessness

And taking for ourselves.

Help us to care more for your world;

Sharing,

Giving

And putting others first.

So much

I love you

So much.

And yet,

I keep it to myself.

I love you

So much.

Help me

To share your love.

I love you

So much.

And yet,

I live as if I don’t.

I love you

So much.

Help me

To live in your love.

 Help me

Sorry, a word so easy to say

But so much harder to mean.

Help me to be sorry when I know that I should

And to try not to do things again.

I say I’ll forgive when someone’s done wrong

But often I won’t forget.

Help me to learn to really forgive

In the same way that you do it for me.

More like you

Jesus, I’m sorry for the wrong things that I do…

(you might like to think about some specific things)

Please forgive me and help me to try and be better and do the right things.

I want you to be in my life and thank you that you want to be my friend.

Thank you for everything that you have done for me.  Help me to be more like you.  Amen

A Gospel of prayer

My dad

My dad, in heaven,

You are holy and special.

May our world become more like yours.

May more and more things be done your way.

Thank you for giving us everything that we need.

Help us to forgive other people when they have done wrong,

Just like you always forgive us.

Help us not to be naughty,

Keep us away from bad people and bad places,

And from doing bad things.

All the world is yours and you can do everything,

Now and always.

Amen.

Thank you

God who made the world

And everything in it.

We say thank you.

The beauty of the earth

And the wonder of the skies.

We say thank you.

The warmth of the summer

And the sparkle and chill of the winter.

We say thank you.

For all that we have

And for all the is still to come

We say thank you.

Sorry

We’re sorry for the things we’ve said

When nicer, thoughtful, helpful words

Are what you’d have us say.

We’re sorry for the things we’ve done

When being good or helping out

Would have made a brighter day.

We’re sorry for the things we’ve thought

When love and care and positive things

Would have been your way.

We’re sorry.

Others

We thank you for what we have;

So much more than we need.

We pray for those whose need is great;

Help us to live in a world that shares.

We thank you for our health

And for those who care when we are ill.

We pray for those whose health is poor

And where care and love is hard to find.

We thank you for our homes and friends,

The warmth and comfort all around.

We pray for those whose friends are few

And home is just a square of ground.

We thank you that when we speak you hear;

That lives are changed,

And hope takes hold, instead of fear.

We can…

When we’re feeling lonely,

We can talk to you.

When we’re with our friends,

We can talk to you.

When we’re full of laughter,

We can talk to you.

When we’re sad and tears are in our eyes,

We can talk to you.

Wherever we are,

Whoever we are,

However we are,

We can talk to you. 

A Gospel of Immanuel

You know

When I am laughing,

I know that you laugh too.

When I am crying,

The tears that you cry comfort me.

When I am upset,

I know that you, too, feel hurt.

Thank you, Jesus.

When I’m feeling lonely,

I know that you knew loneliness too.

When my friends don’t support me,

I know that your friends treated you the same.

When life is fun,

I know that you enjoyed life too.

Thank you, Jesus.

When I’m feeling tired,

I know that you needed sleep like me.

When I’m feeling weak,

I know that you had to deal with tough things.

When I’m needing love,

I know that you will always hold me tight.

Thank You, Jesus

Come home with me

Come to my home Jesus, come through my door.

See my house, my home – the place I live;

You’re welcome here.

Sit with me when I eat or watch TV;

Watch me as I get along, and fall out, with my family.

You’re welcome here.

Come to my home Jesus, come through my door.

Help me to be kind to my family,

And to welcome my friends

Come to my home Jesus, come through my door.

Spend time with me, and I with you.

Help me to love you more.

Like me

It’s kind of hard to understand

That you were once like me.

Small and needing care -

Flesh and bones and “sticky-up” hair.

It’s kind of hard to really know

That you were once a boy.

You learned to live and love and play

And lived your life, day by day.

It’s kind of hard to understand

The things you did and said.

Making people better, showing them how to live.

Showing them the Father by all you had to give.

It’s kind of hard to really know

Why you had to die.

To have the people turn aside

When, for each and every one, you died.

It’s kind of hard to know you’re here

Beside me every day.

That where I am and who I’ll see

You’ll always walk along with me.

With us

Immanuel, God with us –

That’s who you are.

You smiled,

You cried,

You told stories,

You stood up for what was right

Whatever the cost.

You challenged,

As you still challenge today.

You loved,

You reached out to those in need,

And still reach out today.

You forgave and forgive –

Every day.

Jesus, thank you that you are with us.

A Gospel of parousia

Born for me

Jesus, born in a dirty stable.

Noisy, smelly -

Animals standing by.

Jesus, born in a dirty stable.

Child of Mary,

Child of Joseph,

Child of God.

Jesus, born in a dirty stable.

Loved by mum,

Loved by dad,

Loved by God.

Jesus, born in a dirty stable.

Feared by Kings,

Feared by leaders,

Chosen by God.

Jesus, born in a dirty stable.

Noises all around,

But bringing peace for the world.

Jesus, born in a dirty stable.

For all,

For you,

For me.

Waiting…

Waiting for Christmas,

Trees, lights and decorations.

Oh, why won’t it come now!

Waiting for Christmas,

Parties, presents and friends.

Oh, why won’t it come now!

Waiting for Christmas,

Food, family and fun.

Oh, why won’t it come now!

Waiting for Christmas,

For love and for Jesus.

Oh, wait - he’s here now!

  

Thank You, Jesus

You came as a baby,

Thank You, Jesus.

You lived as a boy,

Thank You, Jesus.

You worked as a man,

Thank You, Jesus.

You died as my King,

Thank You, Jesus.

You are now my friend,

Thank You, Jesus

You will come again,

Thank You, Jesus

Still waiting…

The whole world was waiting -

Back then, in the past.

A new King was coming,

A new King, at last.

The whole world was waiting –

They thought that they knew

What the new King would look like,

And what he would do.

The whole world was waiting –

But they didn’t quite see

The new baby Jesus

And what he would be.

The world is still waiting –

But, let’s hope that we’ll see

That the man who is Jesus

Loves you and loves me. 

A Gospel of justice

Grateful for what I have.

That's not fair!

I want....

I Want...

I WANT...

Are words

I sometimes think or say.

But when I stop awhile

Or take the time to pray,

I know that's not the case at all.

It might be tough,

It might be hard

But it's really not unfair.

And want and need are not the same;

There are so many things I have.

So, thank you God for what I have

And all the things I do.

Help me to share, to give, to love,

And always say “thanks” to you.

There are some…

I see the news,

I hear the news,

I even look at the newspaper,

Sometimes.

But I don’t really understand

What is going on.

There are some that have

And some that don’t.

There are some that have time to learn

And some that have to work.

There are some who are loved

And some who are shown no care.

There are some that live in peace

And some who know nothing but war.

There are some that live

And some that die.

Dear God

Who knows and sees and cares for all;

May those that have nothing have some.

May those that have had no time to learn be taught.

May those who are lonely know love.

May those at war experience peace.

May those who live in fear of death see life.

Amen.

Prayer for Fair Trade

God who made the world –

Beautiful things to see,

Wonderful things to do,

Interesting place to go,

And such tasty things to eat.

God who made the world –

With more than enough to share,

With beauty for all to see,

Work for all to do,

And space for all to live.

Help us to not be greedy.

God who made the world –

We thank you for the skills people have;

Farming,

Fishing,

Making,

Mending.

God who made the world –

Thank you for those who care for others

Who are not given what they deserve

For all they grow,

Or catch,

Or make, or mend.

Help me to do all I can to make sure that their life is fair.

Micah 6:8

Father God, you made us all like you.

We are all part of your family.

So it’s not fair that some of us have so much and some so little or nothing at all.

Please open our hearts to being fair for all.

Give us the strength and courage

To be fair, kind and think of others ahead of ourselves.

Amen.

You love us all the same

Thank you that wherever we are

You love us all the same.

Thank you that whatever we have

You love us all the same.

Thank you that whatever we do

You love us all the same.

Thank you that wherever we go

You love us all the same.

Thank you that however we look

You love us all the same.

Thank you simply that

You love us all the same.