(All our songs this morning are from Singing the Faith (StF) numbers will be given where available)
Welcome to our Sunday Service, today shared on paper across our circuit and with the congregation at Thackley Methodist Church led by Roy Lorrain-Smith one of our Circuit Local Preachers.
Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links
Song – StF 86 – Praise the Lord! Ye heavens adore him
Introduction: What should we do when we face problems, as we all do from time to time? Today’s Bible passages give us guidance which is as relevant now as when it was written. They help us to develop our faith, and also worship God.
The Psalm begins with reassurance for David and his readers: God’s in charge, and all will be well, whatever the threat. And that is still a promise for believers to hang onto in times of worry. (1-3)
And then comes a longing for closeness to the Lord, for in him is life, and from him comes guidance for our lives, as well as protection. This too is something to remind ourselves regularly (4-6).
Then comes a longer section of prayer, for God’s closeness and protection does not mean we’ll never have problems. He promises to help, but we have to show our faith by asking him for it (7-12).
Finally, two verses following the prayer in which David is reassured: He is able to say with confidence that he will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And he passes on to us the advice: Wait for the Lord (13-14). Wait for him to act; for his help; for his guidance, and his leading.
Waiting may take courage as we see threats, and time is running out, but we can take confidence: he hears our prayers and cares for us, her and hereafter, whatever may happen. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Prayer
Lord God, you are unsearchably great. Great in power, for nothing is impossible with you; and great in compassion, for you care for all of us as your children. So, Lord, in our difficulties help us to take heart from your encouraging promises, and wait for you.
And when we bring our requests to you in prayer, as we do now, may we also praise you for the answers you promise, whenever they may come [… ie, add your own prayers].
This we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Song – StF 706 – Longing for light, we wait in darkness
Here is tragedy! And a lesson for us. The Israelites had long been pleading to God for freedom from foreign oppression, and now God had come to help – in the person of Jesus. But he didn’t seem to be offering what they were longing for: they wanted to be free from the Romans, but he was offering a far more fundamental liberation: freedom from the devil’s grip, his lies and his violent ways; freedom to live in the peace of God. But this wasn’t what they expected, so they rejected him.
So often Jesus would have gathered them under his protection, just as promised in the Psalm (27:5). But they refused. And so he saw that disaster would follow – as it did in AD70, when the Romans put down a rebellion, sacked the city and flattened the temple.
And when we pray for help, we may have to wait for it, and it may well come in ways we don’t expect. So we have to be alert (tuned in to God) to recognise his help, however unexpected, and accept it.
What Jesus offers is still the basic freedom we need in our day. So many of our problems, whether inner personal, or between neighbours or nations, or even environmental, are caused by our bad behaviour. Selfishness, going our own way, out for ourselves, never mind God. It sounds like freedom to begin with, but that’s a lie, for it leads to the very problems we dislike and want solving. And Jesus came to set us free from that lie.
We must see that we can’t cope on our own. We do need God: his presence and his guidance. And Jesus came to lead us back to him. He calls us to see the error of our ways, and offers us forgiveness. And then calls us to follow him as Lord, doing what he says, for he alone knows how we should live, and what we should do. And when we do he sends us his Holy Spirit to be with(in) us always: teaching, guiding, and helping us, within the framework of the Bible.
This is how he is tackling our problems and those of the world, of which he is the Saviour.
Prayer
Dear Lord and Father of mankind, please forgive our folly of ignoring you and thinking we can cope in our lives without you.
We create sorts of problems when we stray from your ways, rejecting your guiding rules in the Bible.
Please, Lord, help us seek and accept your healing hand in our lives: •grant us the vision to see that your ways are always right;
•help us to see the good sense of following your words;
•and give us the faith to believe you will guard us in the going. […]
Help us to withstand temptations, and stand up to the devil. May we instead draw close you you, day by day and breath by breath, reassured by your promise that as we do you draw close to us.
May Jesus always be our Lord, for you sent him to save the world and give us a new life of liberty in you. In his name we ask all this. Amen.
Song – StF 354 – Jesus is the name we honour
Here is a warning to those who ignore Jesus and pamper themselves (their god is their belly … minds set on earthly things). Instead, we are called to stand firm in the Lord.
Stay firm in our faith, trusting that the Lord is in charge; that he knows the way we should go, and what we should do – and praise him for the future.
Be firm with ourselves in adopting his values (his likes and dislikes), trusting that his words are true guides – and obey them, as in the way we should live (See, eg, Col 3:1-17).
Alone and with others pray steadfastly for guidance and help – and be always alert for his answers (when, how and where).
Stay loyally in the fellowship he has called to be part of, even, or especially, when that is hard – and work for its good.
Song – StF 351 – In Christ alone my hope is found
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we bring to you the needs of others:
- For those tempted to indulge themselves and ignore you –
guard them safely and give them strength to resist […] - For those ignoring your rules of behaviour and conduct – help them read and respond to your Bible as your inspired word […]
- For those who are ill, sick, or ailing, troubled in mind or spirit,
or worried and anxious – please heal them; solve their problems; and give them the strength to endure meanwhile […]. - And give us compassion too. Make us good friends and listeners, willing also to lend a practical hand when needed […]
- Fill us all with your Holy Spirit’s fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. […]
- Please bless the fellowship you have called us into, and help us fit happily into it, working for its good, by your Holy Spirit.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
Dedication of offerings (offer to the Lord all the ways you contribute to his work, and your whole life)
Song – StF 660 – Called by Christ to be disciples
The Grace
As you reflect on your life with Jesus, his past blessings, present guidance, and future hopes, remember that we all stand under God’s mercy and grace. Say the following words as you think of your fellow Christians.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all
(2 Corinthians 13:14).
