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

If you would like to receive these by email, please click here.

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 14.29

It’s a classic from the Good News Bible today!

When we get angry, we lose perspective, and we stop seeing things as they are; the adrenaline starts pumping, and we’re ready for action – except when we’re angry we don’t usually make good decisions. The wise person recognises this, and trains her/himself to remain calm under pressure.

But why do we get angry? Sometimes anger is justified – after all, Jesus got (very) angry at times! His anger was always in response to injustice or hypocrisy: fully justified and rightly proportionate. It is not so with us… no matter what we may think.

Emotions are tricky things, especially the negative ones. We can’t escape pain and hurt, anger and disappointment, frustration and anxiety. Often we need to ignore them, or squash them down, just to get through the day. That’s ok – but only to a point; because when we do this, they don’t go away. At some point there will be a reckoning: they will come out, they will boil over, most often as anger.

We are wise when we recognise that in anger we make bad decisions, so it’s better to remain calm. But we are also wise when we recognise that we need to learn how to handle our negative emotions… maybe by talking them through with someone, maybe by using our creative gifts, maybe through exercise, or something else entirely.

What do you need to do to grow in wisdom in this area? If you don’t think you need to, I respectfully invite you not to be stupid (as the GNB puts it!) and be a little more humble and wise… for you are not Jesus any more than I am.

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:

Archbishops Justin and Stephen

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: Malawi & Bolivia Links

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.