As the Church of Scotland in Bellshill we extend a warm welcome to any of our activities. People have been coming to this building to worship God for over a hundred years. While our town has journeyed through many changes over those years, the constancy of the witness of the “Church at 346 Main Street” has remained uninterrupted. The mission of any Church is to reflect through its presence, its music, its fellowship and its beauty the greatness of God, and we seek to do that here in all that we share.
We hope that everyone who enters these doors will find an encouraging, friendly group of people. While we are far from perfect, we are regularly discovering truths that are changing us individually and enriching our lives as a church community. As we worship together, learn from the Bible, and pray for one another, we are strengthened in our commitment to Jesus Christ as well as to each other. If this is your first time here, we welcome you, and invite you to share the joy that we have found.
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a] 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Kevin our minister continues his new sermon series on the Letters to the Church in the New Testament in the book of Revelation. If you are watching live then the service begins at 10.45am and is available anytime thereafter to watch at your leisure on catch-up.
If you wish, please follow the order of service below and join in with the prayers and responses. The words for each hymn will appear on the screen.
Choir O Sing a new song to the Lord
Call to worship June
Lord Jesus we come to you this morning not as individuals but as your whole people to worship you. Help us to be aware of each other as an unbroken circle stretching right round this church. May we in spirit join hands, look to you the centre of our circle and feel your love pulsing through us to reach out to our neighbours about us. Help us to worship you today not selfishly and individually, but with a deep awareness of each other.
Opening Hymn Sing to God new songs of worship
Prayer Lynne Swan
Glorious and gracious God, you are with us, and call us into your presence. We lift our hearts in response to your love; we raise our songs in praise of your goodness; we offer our adoration in response to your holiness. Summon us, voice of God with words of challenge and power calling us to courageous discipleship and urgent witness. Speak, Lord your servant is listening. Speak to us, breath of God, with forgiveness for the many occasions we have hidden behind weakness belittling your power and denying your presence. Speak, Lord your servant is listening.
Lords Prayer Betty & Jim
Reading Lyle
Hymn King of Kings Majesty
Kevin’s Message Pergamos
Prayers for Others Hugh and Nicky
Let us pray
When we hear the voices of self-doubt, telling us we are worthless, that we are weak and can do nothing and change is beyond our grasp:
God, who has made us in your image give us the power of your Spirit to learn and grow, and to work with you towards a new creation.
When the vulnerable are exploited, And the trust if the innocent betrayed. When the strong seem invincible And the weak have nowhere to turn:
God, who sides with the poor give us the power of your Spirit to resist evil and to work with you towards a new creation.
In a world crying out for peace, Where conflicts seem hardened into steel Where war and poverty uproot families and homes, And those seeking refuge are treated as criminals:
God, who made the world to be one,give us the power of your Spirit to struggle for justice, and to work with you towards a new creation.
In a church that is afraid of difference, And sets up barriers against the outside, Where people are fearful of change, Clinging to outworn ways:
God, who calls us to be your people, give us the power of your Spirit to witness for you, and to work with you towards a new creation.
AMEN
Choir I want Jesus to walk with me
Poem Jillian
Come Holy Spirit, and show us what is true. in a world of great wealth where many go hungry and fortunes are won and lost by trading in money, come, Holy Spirit, and show us what is true.
In a world of great knowledge where many die in ignorance and every piece of information has a price in the market place, come, Holy Spirit, and show us what is true.
In a world of easy communication, where words leap between continents and we expect to see a picture to illustrate each item of the news come, Holy Spirit, and show us what is true.
In a Church which speaks a thousand accents, divided over doctrine, creed and ministry, more anxious for itself than for the Gospel, come, Holy Spirit, and show us what is true.
In a Church touched by the flame of Pentecost, moved to generous sacrifice and costly love, interpreting the will of God with new insight come, Holy Spirit, and show us what is true.
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. 2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.” 4 A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. 5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death— they are like the new grass of the morning: 6 In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered.
7 We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. 10 Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 11 If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. 12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Relent, Lord! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. 16 May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor[a] of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.
1 I will sing(A) of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known(B) through all generations. 2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.(C) 3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, 4 ‘I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.’”[c](D)
5 The heavens(E) praise your wonders, Lord, your faithfulness too, in the assembly(F) of the holy ones. 6 For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord? Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?(G) 7 In the council(H) of the holy ones(I) God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him.(J) 8 Who is like you,(K) Lord God Almighty?(L) You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.(M) 10 You crushed Rahab(N) like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered(O) your enemies. 11 The heavens are yours,(P) and yours also the earth;(Q) you founded the world and all that is in it.(R) 12 You created the north and the south; Tabor(S) and Hermon(T) sing for joy(U) at your name. 13 Your arm is endowed with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.(V)
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;(W) love and faithfulness go before you.(X) 15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk(Y) in the light(Z) of your presence, Lord. 16 They rejoice in your name(AA) all day long; they celebrate your righteousness. 17 For you are their glory and strength,(AB) and by your favor you exalt our horn.[d](AC) 18 Indeed, our shield[e](AD) belongs to the Lord, our king(AE) to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said: “I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have raised up a young man from among the people. 20 I have found David(AF) my servant;(AG) with my sacred oil(AH) I have anointed(AI) him. 21 My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him.(AJ) 22 The enemy will not get the better of him;(AK) the wicked will not oppress(AL) him. 23 I will crush his foes before him(AM) and strike down his adversaries.(AN) 24 My faithful love will be with him,(AO) and through my name his horn[f] will be exalted. 25 I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers.(AP) 26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,(AQ) my God, the Rock(AR) my Savior.’(AS) 27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,(AT) the most exalted(AU) of the kings(AV) of the earth. 28 I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail.(AW) 29 I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.(AX)
30 “If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, 31 if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, 32 I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging;(AY) 33 but I will not take my love from him,(AZ) nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. 34 I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.(BA) 35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness— and I will not lie to David— 36 that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun;(BB) 37 it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.”(BC)
38 But you have rejected,(BD) you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one. 39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust.(BE) 40 You have broken through all his walls(BF) and reduced his strongholds(BG) to ruins. 41 All who pass by have plundered(BH) him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors.(BI) 42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice.(BJ) 43 Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword and have not supported him in battle.(BK) 44 You have put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground. 45 You have cut short(BL) the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame.(BM)
46 How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?(BN) 47 Remember how fleeting is my life.(BO) For what futility you have created all humanity! 48 Who can live and not see death, or who can escape the power of the grave?(BP) 49 Lord, where is your former great love, which in your faithfulness you swore to David? 50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has[g] been mocked,(BQ) how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations, 51 the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked, with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.(BR)
52 Praise be to the Lord forever! Amen and Amen.(BS)
BELLSHILL: CENTRAL PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND 