Shipley Church Self-Service

Sunday 25th October 2020

Thought for the Week – Thou shalt love the Lord thy God

Jesus was asked by one of the Pharisees, “what is the greatest commandment in Jewish Law?” For the answer we have only to look in the service book of the Eucharist we use every Sunday. The first and greatest commandment is to, “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it, love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22:34-40)

We are very familiar with these phrases, but what does it mean to love God and love your neighbour? These two commandments form the core of the Christian religion. But do we live according to their teaching? Paul explains that we are to love one another with “brotherly love” (Romans 12:10) which is not so much brother-like as a special relationship of unity with fellow members of God’s family. Neither meticulous observance of the Ten Commandments nor rigorous attention to the rigmarole of Jewish law in the books of Moses attains anything without keeping the first and greatest commandment of all, to truly love God.

In her Christmas broadcasts to the nation, the Queen is often remarkably open about her Christian faith as the inspiration for her life. “Jesus’s simple and powerful message, to love God and our neighbour in ways that treat others as we would like them to treat us, gives spirituality a practical purpose”, she has often said. 

Hymn for Today

My song is love unknown,

My Saviour’s love to me,

Love to the loveless shown,

That they might lovely be.

O who am I, that for my sake

My Lord should take frail flesh and die?

Prayers

We pray: Lord, it is our chief complaint that our love is weak and faint; yet we love thee and adore – oh, for grace to love thee more! William Cowper

Note: The Gospel and Readings for today can be downloaded from the top right hand corner of this page.