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

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Opening

Speak these words out loud:

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, says:
‘In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength.’

from Isaiah 30.15

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 14.14

Justice.

What comes to mind when you hear that word? I’m afraid to admit that the word is a little tainted for me, because I’ve watched so many American cop shows where ‘justice’ usually tips over into ‘vengeance’.

‘Justice’ has two sides, as this proverb says; ‘getting what you deserve’ is both positive and negative. When we cry out for ‘justice’ for those who have been hard-done-by, oppressed, falsely accused – in those cases, ‘justice’ is positive. When someone has done something wrong, we use ‘justice’ to mean ‘punishment’ – so a key part of justice is making sure the punishment fits the crime: the worse the crime, the worse the punishment.

Obviously, we only ever deserve the positive side of justice, never the negative side…

This proverb is true, because God is the perfect Judge. He sees us as complete people – all we do, think, say, are, desire, even in secret – and so alone is able to judge everyone with complete fairness.

This is important because the truth is, most of us are a bit of mixed bag – some good, some bad – what parts of your life / character / attitude / behaviour would be ‘rewarded’ by God, and what parts would be, well, punished?

And, once you’ve done that, spend some time saying thank-you to God that through Jesus we have complete, total, and perfect forgiveness – because he takes the punishment we deserve.

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:

Young Family (Blithe, Mo, Quincy, Richard)

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

We also pray for: Church Wardens (Carol & Geoff)

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.