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:
Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6.9 (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.
Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house. (NIV)
Don’t build your house and establish a home until your fields are ready, and you are sure that you can earn a living. (GNB)
Proverbs 24.27
It’s hard sometimes when we are forced to wait to get things ready before starting something – especially if you’re the sort of person who just wants to get on with it!
Three years ago when Mandy started as Mission Apprentice, we wanted to open a Place of Welcome. It’s something that had come up in a lot of my pastoral visiting, and we both felt it was the right thing to be her main project for that first year.
The problem was, we didn’t have a way of serving food and drink hygienically, or washing up easily afterwards, or storing the extra things we’d need to run a Place of Welcome properly. So we needed to install a kitchenette. That required making plans, designing the unit, applying for permission, and then raising the funds, before we could arrange for the installation to take place. And we had to do all that before we could open the Place of Welcome.
In many ways it was an intensely frustrating time because we wanted to get on with it – but we had to do those things first. And then, when we were able to launch eight months later, with a proper kitchenette, it was simply fantastic.
The wisdom of this Proverb says: don’t rush in, and don’t skip important steps just to ‘get on with it’. Is that a lesson you need to hear?
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:
Robert Birbeck, Helen Thompson, Ann Birbeck
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: TCHA Tenants & Staff, Starfish
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.