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:

By his power God raised Jesus from the dead,
and he will raise us also.

1 Corinthians 6.14 (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 21.27

One of the most misleading attitudes Christians can have is ‘the ends justify the means’ – i.e. it doesn’t matter what you do or how you do it, if the outcome is good.

In fact the complete opposite of that is the way God calls us to leave. In the New Testament the word ‘telos‘ is used often, to describe the ‘end’ or ‘goal’ of life and creation. It conveys ‘completeness’ and ‘perfection’ – in other words a ‘perfect end’.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I rarely see things actually finish and complete, and never see them ‘perfect’!

Thankfully, where things end up is up to God. He is ultimately shaping and guiding and sustaining the world – even if sometimes that guiding is clouded by our pain or things we don’t understand.

Our part is the journey: the means, not the ends. How will we travel? Will we walk along God’s path, alongside Jesus, in his strength, following his example? Or will we walk our own way (i.e. like the ‘wicked people’ in Proverbs)? Will we focus on God and on his concerns, or will be wrapped up in our own lives?

That’s what this Proverb means. How we travel – our motives and our intentions – are what’s most important, because they either betray or give meaning to what we do.

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:

Geoff & Jan Wyatt, Janet Hine, Pat Ackroyd

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: Readers (Ray & Sue)

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.