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.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. (NIV)
Be wise enough not to wear yourself out trying to get rich. Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle. (GNB)
Proverbs 23.4-5
The irony of Proverbs like this is that today, in this country, we are all far richer than the vast majority of people who have ever lived. We live like ladies and lords compared to the people in Solomon’s kingdom, who scraped a living off the land – and sometimes off other people’s land (like Ruth).
So, in a sense, we’ve already fallen into the trap of wealth, because we already have it. We already have so much. And yet we want more. A couple of weeks ago my Facebook feed was full of the Birmingham Mail showing pictures of the huge queues outside a new shop on Ventura.
Someone challenged me recently to think about clothes. If I’m honest, I probably have enough clothes right now to last me for years. Some will wear out, but if I stopped buying new clothes now, it would be years before I actually ran out. I’m not fat, but my waist is 25% bigger than it was when I was 18. Last year I couldn’t do the buttons up on my cassock for a funeral – now that was a wake-up call!
We can’t help being lucky enough to be born in one of the richest countries in the world. But we can help our attitude to what we have, and how we use what we have. Is this something you ever think about?
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:
Wayne, Claire & Jude Pinner-Rosenbach
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: Church Musicians
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.