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.
The wealth of the wise is their crown, but the folly of fools yields folly. (NIV)
Wise people are rewarded with wealth, but fools are known by their foolishness. (GNB)
Proverbs 14.24
Many of you know I have a background in computers and IT. There is a little acronym I like, that you don’t hear much these days: GIGO. It stands for ‘garbage in, garbage out’. You may think computers are really clever (we call them ‘smartphones’ after all) or really really dumb; but the truth is, for all their apparent complexity they are quite simple: you get out what you put in, whether that is good quality stuff, or garbage.
Other, more traditional ways of saying the same thing might be, ‘reaping what you sow’, or ‘sow the wind: reap a whirlwind’. Or, as the NIV puts it: ‘the folly of fools yields folly’.
Friends, if we want to grow in wisdom and character, it’ll never happen unless we recognise and turn away from our foolishness. All the things we’ve been reading about: being convinced we are right, failing to recognise the good, ignoring rebukes and discipline – they keep us trapped in the vicious circle of folly, of foolish behaviour.
It isn’t easy, but God gives us his Holy Spirit, both to show us where we need to change and to give us the power we need to change. Are you willing to turn away from folly, and towards wisdom and godliness?
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:
Dennis & Dorothy Holland, Frank & Sue Joyce
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: Mission Apprentice (Mandy)
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.
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.