Morning Worship for Sunday 26 July 2020

by Peter Blount 26 July 2020

Greetings in the name of Jesus – Joy and peace to you all.

Call to Worship - This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Our opening Hymn is ‘O For A Heart To Praise My God’ – if you would like to follow the words it’s 536 in Hymns & Psalms

Prayers

Heavenly Father, in the words of the hymn we have requested that you come quickly from above, and give us a heart from sin set free.

Lord as we come into your presence this morning it is with joy, it is with excitement and it is with expectation.

Joy to meet with you – our risen, living Saviour.

Excitement to meet with others through modern media.

Expectation that through your word, you will bless each one of us this morning.

So Lord as we open our minds to you we pray that you will also cleanse our hearts and make us ready to receive your blessing and encouragement. Amen

We share together the words Jesus taught us :-

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen

Begin your prayers for others as you listen to this next song

Lord our practical prayers for others cover so many difficult and confusing situations that it’s almost impossible to put them into words.

So we pray for the church worldwide, that it will grow in love and be true to it’s calling.

For the local church, that it will be open to new and practical developments, whilst remaining routed in the scripture.

For the lost and lonely, particularly at this difficult time.

For the bereaved

For renewed strength and grace within our church and community

For the children sharing in our ‘online’ holiday club

For each other’s needs both practical and spiritual.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers and put a new song in our mouths.

Amen

Our next hymn is ‘Lord Jesus, you shall be my song’

To help us focus on our main scripture reading today, first of all read the first 6 verses of Psalm 105

1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!

² Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!

³ Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!

⁴ Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!

⁵ Remember His marvellous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,

⁶ O seed of Abraham His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!

Consider those words for a moment and then read Romans 8 v28 to 39

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Reflection

‘In all things God works for the good of those who love Him’.

In the current circumstances in which we find ourselves, with the country just beginning to emerge from four months which will totally change some people’s lives and indeed perhaps even the course of history itself, on the surface it’s difficult to reconcile those opening words.

When Paul writes, he is on his third missionary journey and he writes to the early church in Rome, outlining the practicalities of the gospel and the message of justification through faith. In its self the transforming message of Jesus was new and radical, the early church were the pioneers of growth and development. They too were first hand witnesses to the course of history being changed two thousand years ago.

In the early part of this chapter Paul has discussed ‘Life through the Spirit’ and referred to ‘Future Glory’ and here he moves on describing the new Christians, the converts to this exciting and dramatic gospel as being ‘More Than Conquerors’ clothed in the whole armour of God, they become invincible.

Do they really? What this passage told the early church, and what it still says to us, is that once an individual life is handed over completely into the arms of Jesus, the soul is fully protected from anything and everything the world may put up against it. The passage does not suggest immunity from pain, suffering, opposition and challenges through change, but it does give assurance of guidance, protection and ultimate safe passage to glory.

For us today, in our disarray and confusion we must focus our attention on the practical promises of assurance found throughout scripture that our foremost task is to embrace the simple, practical and powerful truth that God’s love will never, under any circumstances, let us go.

Our final hymn is ‘O love that wilt not let me go’

Lord Jesus – Thank you

The Blessing (I heard this guy was appreciated so here he is again)

​AMEN