Lift high the banner of these games
Lift high the banner of these games
by Andrew Pratt
Lift high the banner of these games in this Olympic year, that as we forge relationships, respect might cast out fear. Whatever name or creed we bear, we share a common birth, our skill and our ability is drawn from all the earth. Verses 2-3 follow Please use with full acknowledg…
Let all creation dance and sing
Let all creation dance and sing
by Andrew Pratt
Let all creation dance and sing, praises through all creation ring: alleluia, alleluia! Here in this present time and place, sing of God's mercy, love and grace: alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Verses 2-3 follow Tune: LASST UNS ERFREUEN Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © …
Not in lofty words or wisdom
Not in lofty words or wisdom
by Andrew Pratt
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany Year A 1 Corinthians 2: 1 – 16 Hymn: Not in lofty words or wisdom Not in lofty words or wisdom but in simple words and speech we will talk of love and gospel free to all and free to each... Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London,…
Much brighter than a thousand suns
Much brighter than a thousand suns
by Andrew Pratt
Much brighter than a thousand suns, the source of life, eternal grace; light of the cosmos and this world now shining from a saviour's face. Upon the mountain’s towering height they saw transfiguration's light. This man, this Jesus, they had known, who called them once by Galilee…
Not conscious of our end or our beginning
Not conscious of our end or our beginning
by Andrew Pratt
Not conscious of our end or our beginning, we cannot know the purpose of our lives, yet God preceded all our breathing, living, beyond our human span, our God survives. Confounded by a love we cannot fathom, enfolded in a love which from our birth: God held, will hold, through al…
No peace for the Master, the people would follow
No peace for the Master, the people would follow
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: No peace for the Master, the people would follow Proper 13 year A Matthew 14: 13 – 21 No peace for the Master, the people would follow, for he had compassion for those who were lost, then when he had healed them, and answered their questions, he saw they were hungry, yet fo…
No magic, but a simple need
No magic, but a simple need
by Andrew Pratt
No magic, but a simple need was met when Jesus joined a feast, a wedding was well underway until the wine ran low, then ceased. While Jesus never looked for fame his mother called him to her side to ask that he would help them out, assuming grace would now provide. He wasn't such…
Mountain-top, imagination?
Mountain-top, imagination?
by Andrew Pratt
Mountain-top, imagination? Time for meeting face to face? Peter, James and John were praying, now they stand confused by grace. Shining in this mystic moment stands the one they know as friend, now exalted God incarnate, this they strain to comprehend. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: HYF…
No turning back, God's path can lead us forward
No turning back, God's path can lead us forward
by Andrew Pratt
No turning back, God's path can lead us forward, this is the time of challenge, time for choice, to set our sights on all that lies before us, to wallow in the past or to rejoice. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: INTERCESSOR Metre:11.10.11.10 Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 11/6/2013 S…
O God you give us all we need
O God you give us all we need
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: O God you give us all we need Second Sunday of Easter Psalm 16; John 20: 19 – 31 O God you give us all we need, our future is within your grace, though death has spun our lives around you bring us hope, you show your face. You are our refuge, shelter, strength, the ground o…
Once born as the Christ-child, and living among us
Once born as the Christ-child, and living among us
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: Once born as the Christ-child, and living among us Third Sunday of Easter 1 Peter 17 - 23 Once born as the Christ-child, and living among us, at one with humanity, sharing our pain. betrayed in self-giving, poured out for our living, in thought word and action, God making l…
O what did it mean to the ones who first heard it
O what did it mean to the ones who first heard it
by Andrew Pratt
O what did it mean to the ones who first heard it? A Wonderful Counsellor? God? Prince of Peace? Or was it a riddle? Divine intervention, a hope in their horror, a way to release? So was there assurance, the darkness illumined, to those knowing shadows the promise of light?... Ve…
O shepherd of Israel, you hold in your hand
O shepherd of Israel, you hold in your hand
by Andrew Pratt
O shepherd of Israel, you hold in your hand, the nations, the people, from each far flung land. Your grace is sufficient, to meet every need, you reach beyond nationhood, language and creed. You brought restoration when all once seemed lost, you poured out your life love, not cou…
O what can we do when the God that we worship
O what can we do when the God that we worship
by Andrew Pratt
O what can we do when the God that we worship then fails to respond to each plea and each prayer? All Logic will say either, we are deluded, or God is just absent, our God is not there. Then is it the formula, words that we utter, that fail to arouse one that we would call God? T…
Often those abusing others
Often those abusing others
by Andrew Pratt
Often those abusing others never wish to own the truth, our possession of another always renders us uncouth. So the 'owners' of a woman, finding she was cured of pain, saw their source of wealth receding never to return again. Charging Paul with gross disturbance, challenging the…
Once a prophet pictured Israel