Our church building may be closed, but God’s eyes are open and his ears are attentive to our prayers (2 Chronicles 7.15).

Welcome back to the daily proverb!

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Opening

Speak these words out loud:

The Spirit of God has made us;
the breath of the Almighty gives us life.

from Job 33.4

Today’s Proverb

Read the proverb through three or four times, slowly. Pause in-between, maybe write it out by hand – savour the words, let them speak deeply to you.

Proverbs 12.28

It’s not very trendy to say that there are two ways to live: one leads to life, the other leads to death. The modern church likes to talk almost exclusively about ‘love’ (whatever that means) and ignore everything the Bible says about, well, pretty much anything else.

The Good News today spells out what the proverb implies. There is a way that leads to life – the ‘way of righteousness’ – and therefore there is a way that doesn’t.

What is the ‘way of righteousness’? This is one of those bits of the Bible that is often misunderstood. The way of righteousness is best seen as a partnership – a partnership between us and God.

Think of it like this. For your 17th birthday your parents give you a car and some lessons. Does that mean you can drive? No! (Although if you are a boy you may have thought that at 17…) You have received everything you need from your parents, but you still need to learn how to drive!

God offers us the gift of life (‘righteousness’) – a second chance, wiped clean of all the sin and wrongdoing and mistakes and bad decisions and hurtful things. Being a Christian means being a person who receives that gift of a fresh start gratefully, and learns what it means to follow Jesus.

This is why the Bible often calls it the ‘way’ of righteousness: it is something we have to walk along, with others, following Jesus together.

Is that something you want to try? It isn’t easy but it’s the way we were made to live!

Prayers

Pray for Five – pray for your five friends / family from Thy Kingdom Come.

Our daily prayer sheet includes the names of everyone for whom we have a signed church family directory form – and local parishes and senior church leaders. Today we are praying for:

Kath Hastilow, Michael Ackroyd, Pauline Sawle

Father, please bless them with your peace, and a deep awareness of your presence with them, every day and in every way.

Please pray for our leaders and healthcare workers, and all those working to keep us safe, well, and fed. Please pray that people would unselfishly put others before themselves, and buy only what they need.

Church Family Prayer

Come Holy Spirit,
and make us one in heart and action,
so that we can serve God faithfully:
abounding in love,
maturing in holiness,
and seeking out the lost.
Help us grow as disciples of Jesus –
in commitment, in depth, and in number –
that we may be a blessing to Amington;
to the glory and praise of God the Father.
Amen.

The 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.

Closing Prayer

Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labour in vain.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus
the only way to the Father.

Psalm 127.1, Hebrews 12.2 & John 14.6

May Christ our Saviour give us peace.
Amen.