Matthew 16: 21-27 Take up your cross and follow me.
Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’
Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?
‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour.’
This is the gospel of the Lord.
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Prayers of Intercession
In today’s readings we hear of Jeremiah and pray for others like him who are marginalized and treated unjustly in the Church because of their prophetic voice.
We pray for those who suffer because they try to follow Christ, particularly Christians who are ridiculed by other Christians because they express their faith differently and may don’t fit our way of being Church.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
For Pope Francis and the Universal Church, may they continue to be inspired by the Word of God, and preach the Gospel with courage, integrity and humility especially in these times of cynicism, confusion and doubt.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
As we begin the Season of Creation, September 1st to October 4th, when the Christian family unites globally in Prayer and Action, we ask for a deeper appreciation of the beauty and diversity of all Creation. This year’s theme is “Let Justice and Peace flow”.
May we all act justly, use wisely, tread lightly and live simply so that others may simply live.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
For the world and all its peoples, that richer nations will avoid self-interest and self-serving leadership, and instead, use their power and influence to bring about social and economic justice for all.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
For our Cluster community, especially for those attending our gathering on the 9th September on our ongoing Faith Journey. May the Spirit be with us to help us build trusting relationships and ways of working collaboratively as we seek to establish new structures across our three parishes.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
For our next Alpha programme, may Your Spirit open up people’s hearts and inspire them to participate. May we see an outpouring of Your power and love in our faith community.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
For ourselves, may the Holy Spirit grant us the grace and courage to carry and embrace our own cross each day and to follow Christ especially in times of hardship, opposition and rejection.
We remember especially all those in our Cluster, who seek our prayers and those named on the Prayer Foundation List.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
For everyone in our community who has died and all who are bereaved, especially:
Una Laing, Ann Murphy, Mary Ferry, Gillian Wright and Mary Fairley (Sr Ninian's sibling).
May they rest in the deep peace of the Lord.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
We will now say together our prayer to be missionary disciples.
