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:

‘Where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.’

from Matthew 6.21 (Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount)

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 18.5

Have you thought any more about your attitude to justice? By which I mean, not the courts of law, but the wider justice (and injustice) brought about by your behaviour, lifestyle, purchasing habits, and so on?

This is something Jess and I talk frequently about. It has impacted the cars we’ve bought, our holidays, even the food we eat and the clothes we buy. She and I have a long way to go on this challenging issue – but we all have a responsibility to think about the impact our lifestyles have, on the environment and on people around the world.

The first thing is to educate ourselves about the impact our choices have. There are plenty of resources out there. The good news is there are some things that can have a big impact:

• Try eating vegetarian, even if only for a couple of days a week (that’s all I can manage at the moment!)
• Switch to a renewable electricity supplier
• Buy less, drive less, travel overseas less

This is not about being ‘lefty liberals’ or socialists – it’s about justice. Because we live in one of the richest nations on the planet, the choices we make have far-reaching consequences around that planet.

One person can’t make much difference – but lots of people acting together – now they really can make a difference.

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:

Robert Birbeck, Helen Thompson, Ann Birbeck

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: TCHA Tenants & Staff, Starfish

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.