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:

Let us take up the cross and follow Jesus,
whatever the cost.

from Luke 14.27-28

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 17.18

No-one wants to be a doormat. What do you do to doormats? You walk on them, wipe your feet on them, and rarely clean them.

I had a phone call recently in which someone – not from our parish – was asking for help. Quite normal, but what she was asking was unreasonable, and totally inappropriate for me or anyone other than her close family to offer. I suggested various other options, including professional agencies and organisations much closer to home. She got very angry with me and said, ‘But being a Christian means you have to help me.’

Usually when people say something like that, what they really mean is, ‘If you don’t do or say whatever I want, you’re not a proper Christian.’

Now, Jesus commanded his followers to ‘love’ even their ‘enemies’, to ‘bless’ those who ‘persecute’ us, and to ‘treat others as we would be treated’. But he did not command us to be doormats.

There is a line between being helpful, and being taken advantage of. This proverb is a warning to stay on the right side of that line. And it isn’t easy, because the line changes and moves depending on our circumstances, how much we know or trust the person involved, what help is being requested, and so on.

I think what it comes down to is this: when someone asks for help, is your first thought usually ‘No’ – and you have to force yourself to help others; or is your first thought usually ‘Yes’ – and you end up getting far too involved? If it’s the first, you need to hear what Jesus said. If it’s the second, you need to hear the warning of this proverb.

(In case you’re concerned about the person who phoned me, I have spoken to the diocesan Safeguarding team, and it appears she has contacted many churches demanding the same thing.)

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:

John White (Kingsbury Baxterley Group)

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: Coleshill & Polesworth Deanery

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.