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:

As for God, his way is perfect: the Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.

from 2 Samuel 22.31

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 15.8

There is an episode of the TV programme Friends when Phoebe and Joey have an argument about whether there is such a thing as a ‘selfless good deed’. Joey argues that anything that makes you feel good about yourself is by definition selfish… And he has a point – sort of. It’s true that we all have mixed motives, because we all live in the grey area between sin and righteousness, swinging (sometimes wildly!) between the two. But that doesn’t mean our motives are always totally impure and selfish.

For example, meeting as a church family is (mostly!) great. Worshipping and praying together, chatting and socialisting, sharing food, even doing chores together all build us into a family.

But one of the risks of all that is that there becomes an unspoken ‘way of behaving’ – of pretending to be more holy than we actually are. The outward rituals and behaviours can stem from a desire to appear Christian, or to do things we’ve always done, instead of being a genuine response to God. These are the ‘sacrifices of the wicked’ Solomon talks about: empty demonstrations of faith.

As so often with the Bible, this teaching is not to make us feel bad, but to make us squirm and feel uncomfortable, so we do something about it.

True worship comes from being aware of how much God loves us and has done for us in Jesus; true worship begins with gratitude and ends in giving God glory. Why not ask the Holy Spirit to show you a) where your motives are selfish, and b) the depths of God’s love for you in Jesus?

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:

Peter & Jane Sheppard, John & Cathy Ward

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: Tamworth Christian Churches (TCC)

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.