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:

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.

Isaiah 9.2 (NIV)

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 19.21

Careful planning is a good and wise thing to do. If you wanted to build a house, you wouldn’t just go and buy a load of bricks and start putting them one on top of the other! No – you would think about what you wanted, and where you wanted it, employ an architect, draft some plans, talk to a builder about costs, get the money together, and only then would you start building the house.

However, planning is like everything else: too much of it is a bad thing. The more we start trying to map everything out in great detail, the more we start trying to force things to fit into our plan, the harder and harder it is going to be. You will only end up frustrated, because the world (sadly) doesn’t revolve around me!

As so often, the wisdom of this Proverb is about learning the right perspective, to see things God’s way rather than my way. Here it’s quite simple: ultimately there is nothing you can do to stop the will of God, so you’ll have a much less frustrating life if you seek to follow and align yourself with God, instead of ploughing on with your own plans!

What does that mean? Well there are some things God calls all of us to do: to repent of our sin and put our trust in Jesus, to love God and one another, to be witnesses of all Jesus has done, to care for God’s creation, to be a blessing to all, to be generous with all God has given us, to live holy lives worthy of our calling to be God’s children, and so on. In other words: to be a faithful disciple of Jesus.

That is God’s plan for you. There will be one or two specific things along the way, but sometimes we get so caught up in those we forget the main thing. But as some have said, the main thing is to keep the main thing the main 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:

Muriel Smith, Albert Pegg, Simon Garratt

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: Leaders of Church Groups

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.