Sing to the Lord, and praise him! Proclaim every day the good news that he has saved us (Psalm 96.2, GNB).

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Opening

Speak these words out loud:

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.

Jeremiah 17.7 (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 20.6

What a challenging – yet appropriate – Proverb to begin the New Year with. Do our actions match up with our words? Jesus told a parable about two brothers asked to work in the vineyard. One said he would, but didn’t – the other said he wouldn’t, but did. Jesus’ message is this: what we do matters more than what we say. It’s not good declaring ourselves to be faithful and loyal – while stabbing people in the back or abandoning them when things get tough.

So the question is: how can we be more faithful to God:

• in reading the Bible, listening and humbly submitting to God’s Word?
• in looking after the world God has given us?
• in our relationships with our friends, our family, our colleagues?
• in sharing our faith with others who don’t (yet) know Jesus?
• in growing as disciples, together and individually?
• in praying for and supporting one another?

Living as a Christian is both free and costly. It’s free because the entry fee has been waived, the price of removing our sin has been paid, the life has been earned and won on our behalf already – by Jesus when he died on the cross, rose again, and ascended to the Father.

It’s costly because Jesus calls for radical self-sacrifice in those would come after him. Instead of indulging our wants and desires, he calls us to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness (i.e. living God’s way). However, in giving up all that, we find our true selves, the people God made us to be: brothers and sisters in Christ, children of the same heavenly Father.

And, friends, that truly is a life worth living. Do you want it?

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:

Bruce & Judith Ackers, Tony & Janet Land

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: Reopening – Wisdom & Safety

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.