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 speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words. (NIV)
Don’t try to talk sense to a fool; he can’t appreciate it. (GNB)
Proverbs 23.9
The Good News softens this one a little.. the NIV suggests not speaking to fools at all!
I wonder if, as I do, you have people in your life who drive you mad?! People who, no matter what you say, or how good and wise your advice is, do their own thing / ignore you / get in a mess – and sometimes you end up having to pick up the pieces?
It’s more understandably when we offer unsolicited advice – if they didn’t ask for my opinion, they’re entitled to ignore me when I offer it anyway! But what’s really annoying is when people ask for advice… and then ignore it completely and do what they were going to do anyway.
This is another of those Proverbs where the line is tricky. We want to be helpful friends, we want to be loving neighbours, offering advice and warnings and encouragements – but we also need to be wise about when to share and when to shut up.
The way we do this is by paying attention – noticing how the person is responding to us in the moment, and then what they do afterwards. If there is a consistent pattern of ignoring, I respectfully suggest following the advice in this Proverb!
We also do this by paying attention to ourselves – and making sure we aren’t the ones ignoring wise and helpful advice from our friends and family.
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.