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.
Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel. (NIV)
What you get by dishonesty you may enjoy like the finest food, but sooner or later it will be like a mouthful of sand. (GNB)
Proverbs 20.17
Getting away with something feels so sweet, doesn’t it? As I write, no-one quite knows what’s going to happen at Christmas. At the moment we are being permitted to form a Christmas bubble with two (and only two) other households, but those rules are being discussed. As you read, you know what you did for Christmas. Did you obey the law, or did you ‘bend’ the rules to do what you wanted, and come up with excellent reasons why that was ok?
When you’re having work done, and the contractor asks if you want to pay in cash – for a discount – what do you say? What harm is there: it saves you money, and the builder gets extra – everyone’s a winner.
Except, there is more to life than money, and there is more to life than what you can get away with because no-one’s watching, or because no-one cares.
1 Thessalonians 4.7: ‘For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.’ These ‘little’ things we do and get away with – actually we don’t get away with them because they are a stain on our hearts – at some point it will need cleaning.
Isaiah 1.18: ‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.’
Psalm 51.7: Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow
Hebrews 9.14: How much more will the blood of Christ purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Come to Jesus, be made clean and pure like freshly driven snow.
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:
Kath Hastilow, Michael Ackroyd, Pauline Sawle
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: Marriages & Family Life
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.