9th after Trinity Readings: Jeremiah 23v23-29; Psalm 82; Hebrews11v29-12v2; Luke 12v49-56. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: In the readings today we are warned to be careful what we say about and how we represent God. In the book of the prophet Jeremiah, we hear that God has been let down by false prophets who tell lies, mislead God’s people and turn them away from God and God’s ways. God tells Jeremiah that he has seen and heard all of the misrepresentations, inventions and fabrications and is displeased. God warns Jeremiah that his word is strong like a hammer, is able to break rocks and like a burning fire. God goes on to say that the true prophet is one who has God’s word and tells God’s word to the word faithfully. I believe that prophecy is a reminder for us to be careful who we trust to lead us. Whether that be in the Church, or the state, or the workplace, or any of the organisations we may belong to. For we must be certain they are leading in the right direction, a direction in line with God’s word, something we can only be sure of if we discern the ways of God and judge whether the people who are in place to lead us are doing so in line with God’s ways. For God’s ways are so different to human ways and I believe that we see evidence of this in Luke. For as Jesus is getting ready to face the cross he is telling his disciples that he came to bring God’s fire, a fire that divides people into those who are Godly and those who are not. Something that his disciples are warned to be mindful of as they read the signs of the time they are living in. For as the psalm tells us, God is coming to judge the earth because people in power have not done what God called them to do. For they have not defended nor rescued the weak, the needy, the poor, the humble or orphans from the wicked. Instead they have walked in darkness by being unjust and showing favour to the wicked. I believe that in our time, we are to read the signs of the age we are living in and decide whether those who lead us are following God’s ways because wickedness only continues to thrive when people in power allow it to do so. In Hebrews we hear a long list of God’s faithful people and what God did for them because the faithful turned to God. However, in spite of everything that God has done down the ages, there is a very long list of those who suffered at the hands of powerful ungodly people. For bad people do bad things and good people suffer because of them. I believe that this is a call for us to open our eyes and ears to see and hear what is going on all around us, and then to follow the guidance we read in Hebrews. For the writer of Hebrews, encourages God’s people to persevere no matter what we face, so that we become just like the great crowd of witnesses who lived and died in earlier times . And, as we persevere, we are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, for Jesus died to save us and is now risen and seated at the right hand of God. Let us Pray: Almighty God, holy Father to us all, thank you for your Holy Spirit that brings light and life to your Church. Pour into our hearts the riches of your grace, as we gather at the table of your Son, Jesus. Bring forth the fruit of the spirit in our lives. Gather people from the four corners of the world to share in the eternal banquet where we share in the new world with the whole household of God. A place where you show to us the fullness of your peace. Amen Thanks for joining us today.
8th after Trinity Readings: Genesis 15v1-6; Psalm 33v12-end; Hebrews 11v1-3&8-16; Luke 12v32-40. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: In the readings today we hear the call to show that we believe and trust in God by daring to follow his call to live our lives by trusting in him and his promises. In Genesis we learn about a time early in the life of Abraham, when he was still called Abram. Abram is speaking with God and complaining that he is childless. In response God, promises that one day Abram will have not only have an heir of his own, but also will have as many descendants as the number of the stars he could see in the heavens. Abram believed what God was promising him, so God counted Abram’s faith as righteousness. If you read on in Genesis, you will hear that God fulfilled his promise by giving Abram and his wife Sarai a son named Isaac. It was because Abram believed and trusted in God that he was renamed Abraham, the forefather of the Israelites and everyone who has faith in God. In Hebrews we hear about the remembrance of Abraham. Abraham is remembered for trusting God so much that he followed God’s call to go and live in another place. Abraham is remembered for trusting God’s promise to give him a child and many descendants. Abraham is remembered for his faith and trust in God that God counted to Abraham as righteousness. The faith and trust that Abraham had in God is important because in the psalm we hear that God watches over everyone who puts their trust in him. For we have a God who pours out his loving kindness on his people by delivering their souls from death, that is by counting their faith to them as righteousness. In Luke, we hear Jesus asking his disciples to put their faith and trust in God by selling what they have without fear and giving the money they raise to support charities. For Jesus wants them to store up treasure for themselves in heaven because wherever their treasure is, is the place that their hearts will be found. Jesus then goes on to use a parable to explain that believing and trusting in God is the way we are all called to live each and every day of our lives. For we are to be just like the servants in his story. Servants who are always up and ready for the master’s return. Servants who will be blessed when the master returns, if they are up and ready when he comes. For the master will return and can do so at any time. Let us Pray: Almighty Lord, everlasting God, strengthen us for your service. Guide us so we can dedicate our hearts, souls, minds and bodies to the task of following the ways set out in your commandments. Protect and defend us from the deceit and noise of this world. Under your protection, we ask you to set us free to sing your praise and glory, with honesty; and to live lives refreshed with the fullness of your life. Amen Thanks for joining us today.
7th after Trinity Readings: Ecclesiastes 1v2&12-14 and 2v18-23; Psalm 49v1-12; Colossians 3v1-11; Luke 12v13-21. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: In the readings today we are challenged to consider our lives and prompted to take action to avoid living pointless lives and to live lives with purpose. In the book Ecclesiastes, we hear all sorts of pessimistic thoughts about the way we humans live. We hear how pointless it is to pursue all of the things we spend so much time chasing after. For it is so easy to set our sights on gaining wealth, possessions and an expensive lifestyle. However, as the writer tells us, in the end all of the effort we put into getting and gathering proves to be futile, empty and meaningless. For whatever we gather and gain will one day belong to someone else. I believe that this reading is a clear warning that all of this pursuit of things is all quite pointless. This reading also offers us a challenge to question what we spend our lives doing and to avoid all that is empty and meaningless. For surely there must be something that gives point and purpose to our limited lives here on earth! The pessimistic message of Ecclesiastes is echoed in the psalm. For it reminds us that there is nothing that we can give to pay God the ransom required to redeem our souls. A message that applies to all people: the rich and the poor, those low and high born, the foolish and the wise. For one day every person will die and only those with redeemed souls will go on to live forever. The psalm is a warning to us telling us that our souls need to be rescued. It also tells us quite clearly that there is nothing that we can do or give to redeem our souls. I believe that this plain and clear message is a challenge to look to God who is the only one who can rescue our souls. For, if we do, we will not only be looking beyond ourselves but also finding real meaning and purpose for our lives. In Luke, we hear Jesus teaching the same message heard in Ecclesiastes and the psalm. For his parable shows us that we are wasting our lives if our only concern is to selfishly gather an abundance of what we need and want for ourselves. For, as the parable makes plain, no matter how hard we work in life, one day everything we have striven so hard to gather and possess will have to be given up on the day that we die. I believe that this parable is a warning to avoid being self-interested and greedy. For, as Jesus tells us, we are to store up treasure for ourselves in heaven. In Colossians we hear an echo of Jesus’ teaching. For Paul says we are called to set our minds on things of heaven and to put to death all earthly things. Paul says this because we have a new life in Jesus and have been clothed with a new self. I believe that this teaching points us to the place where we can find the inspiration we need to find better ways of living. For, if we look to heaven, we can learn about Godly ways of living. Then, if we live our lives following Godly ways of living, then our lives will have purpose and meaning, I believe that this is what Jesus was telling us about when he taught that we are to store up treasure for ourselves in heaven. So today, we are called to open our eyes and see our lives as God sees them. We are called to open our minds and take stock of how we have lived our lives so far. We are called to ask God to help us understand how we are using our lives. For it is only in doing all of this that we can adjust our lives by avoiding the temptation to run after a pointless life and choose to live with Godly purpose; and, in so doing, find ourselves redeemed by God and given a place in heaven. Let us Pray: Lord of all power and might, whose son is the source of life; make us perfect in his love so we may share in his glory. Graft into our hearts the love of God and increase in us true worship, for the sake of Jesus who died for us. Amen Thanks for joining us today.
6th after Trinity Readings: Genesis 18v20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2v6-19; Luke 11v1-13. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: In the readings today we learn much about prayer. In Genesis we hear that God spoke to Abraham about what he was going to do because of the evil done by the people who lived in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Being a kind and caring man, Abraham was unhappy that God might destroy innocent people who might still live in those cities, so he challenged, questioned and argued with God. We know that God heard what Abraham had to say because God promised that he would not destroy those cities, even if only 10 good people were to be found there. Sadly, later scriptures tell us that these cities were destroyed, which tells us that God did not find even 10 innocent people living in them. What we learn from this encounter between God and Abraham is that God does listen to our prayers. God is also willing to hear what we have to say, even when God knows much better than we do. For God cares about what we think and what we want, even when we are mistaken or in error. In the psalm we hear a song of praise and thanksgiving for all that the Lord has done. For we have a Lord who is praised by the rulers and leaders of the earth for being faithful and loving by answering prayers and strengthening our souls. For we have a Lord who watches over the fearful. A Lord who walks with us in times of trouble. A Lord who protects and saves us from our enemies. A Lord who has plans for those he saves. What we learn from this is that down the ages many people have learnt about God’s interventions in the lives of prayerful people. For God hears what we ask, and God draws close to us when we pray, and God does what is best for us in answer to our prayers. In Colossians we hear that we are to live lives rooted and built up by our faith in Jesus. For God has made us alive through Jesus. For through Jesus’ death on the cross our sins have been forgiven and we have been raised to a new life in Jesus, through Baptism. For Jesus has set aside the old laws and nailed them to the cross. So now there is nothing and no-one who can condemn us and nothing that can disqualify us from belonging to Christ. What we learn from this is that God wants to save us so much that everything we need to be saved has been done for us by Jesus, no matter who we are or what we have done. In Luke we hear the disciples asking Jesus to teach them how to pray. In reply, Jesus gave the prayer we call “The Lord’s Prayer”. A prayer that focuses first on giving glory to God, then praying for God kingdom to come, before asking God to meet our needs for food, forgiveness and protection from evil. Jesus also taught that his father hears our prayers and answers them by giving us what we really need as well before reminding us that what we really should be asking for is the gift of the Holy Spirit. What we learn from this is that the Lord’s prayer embodies what all who follow Jesus should be praying for. Jesus’ guidance also teaches us that God’s replies to our prayers will always be the best answer for us, no matter what we think of God’s reply. From these readings we learn that like Abraham we can argue with God in our prayers. We also learn from the psalm that God will always answer our prayers with what is truly best for us. Then in Luke, we learn what God encourages us to pray for the Holy Spirit and in Colossians we learn that no matter what we think of God’s replies to our prayers that God’s love for us is so great that Jesus died for us. Let us Pray: Merciful and ever loving God, we thank you for all the good things you give to us. We ask you to lead us in the pilgrimage of life. We ask you to refresh and sustain us with your living water for our onward journey. We pray you will pour into us such love for you that we love you beyond all things. All this we ask in the name of your son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen Thanks for joining us today.
