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:

Jesus said, ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.’

Acts 1.8 (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 22.28

It may (not) surprise you that the concept of ‘ownership’ is very different in the Bible to what we understand today. For us, ‘ownership’ means rights of use and disposal, i.e. I can do what I like with it. However in the Bible ‘ownership’ is rather different – in fact it doesn’t really exist in anything like the same way, and is more like ‘stewardship’.

The key truth comes in Psalm 24.1: ‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it’ (also quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 10).

For example, in the Year of Jubilee (every 50th year) any land that had been bought or sold automatically reverted to the original owner. Why? Because the land isn’t ‘theirs’, it is on loan to them from God. The Law makes it clear that when someone ‘purchases’ the land, they aren’t buying the land itself, but the crops produced by the land. So the price had to change based on the number of years left until the next Jubilee:

When the years are many, you are to increase the price, and when the years are few, you are to decrease the price, because what is really being sold to you is the number of crops.

Leviticus 25.16 (NIV)

This is part of the background to this Proverb (the other part is being honest and not cheating!). For, when we truly understand that all we have is on loan to us from God, does that not change our attitude towards it? Instead of being greedy, should we not be generous, as God has been generous to us?

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:

Bibbey Family (Craig, Jonathan, Shaunnagha)

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: Home Groups (meeting virtually)

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.