Often life throws up new challenges such as becoming a parent, facing a test or starting a new job. In such times we shall want to seek God for his wisdom and discernment, to clear away the confusion and bring his clarity and guidance. The good news is that God promises in scripture that he will give wisdom to those who ask him “because God gives generously and graciously to all”. (James 1:5, GNT)
Lord of heaven and earth, I pray that as I search for knowledge in study that I would discover divine treasure. May I be able to sift through all I read to find the gems of your kingdom.
Lord, I long not for the wisdom that leads to power or fortune but the wisdom that leads to faith and love.
Guide my pathway as I thirst for your truths.
May I drink from your word and pour out this heavenly water on others, Your water of life, faith, hope, truth and love, Into the hearts and lives of all I meet.
This Sunday (15 August), Christians across the country – and further afield – will join together in prayer and reflection at 7pm in response to the pandemic.
As with previous weeks during lockdown, 15 Christian churches and organisations across the country, including the Church of Scotland, have co-signed the letter calling for prayer.
Scottish Christians have been continuing to answer the call to pray at the same time each week, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Lord Wallace, is taking part alongside them.
“We should always be mindful for the wisdom handed down to us from past generations; much of it learned the hard way, from mistakes made and consequences suffered,” Lord Wallace said.
“So, too, we are grateful for the richness that comes to us from living alongside people of other traditions. In our day and generation we must surely allow our minds and hearts to be open so that we can risk getting to know them and learning from them.
“In this pandemic, our responsibility is to come together and offer our prayers for all the many diverse expressions of our Christian faith that enrich life, as we have done for many months now.
“As the statistics appear to move in a hopeful direction, let us not forget that behind each death there will be grieving family and friends; behind each hospitalisation there will be a suffering patient, an anxious family and a caring and skilled medical team.
“And behind each vaccination, let us recognise, with thanks, the skill of the scientists’ research and those who make distribution and vaccination possible. Let us remember, too, those in countries who still wait anxiously for vaccines to arrive. May our leaders respond imaginatively and generously to that challenge.
“A pattern has been set for us, lived out in Jesus Christ, made possible by the Spirit. May we follow in His way, and be guided by the one over-riding rule of love in all that we say and do.
“As we journey from where we have been in past months to where we will be in times to come, we are beginning to recover some of the parts of our shared life that had been lost to us for a time.
“Within shared communal settings and within the community of God’s people, one of the things that we are recovering is the experience of song and the bonding that the shared experience of singing brings to us.
“Within the community of God’s people, we are gradually beginning to recover the shared expression of worship through the singing of ‘psalms, hymns and spiritual songs’. (Ephesians 5: 20)
“In recovering that which had been lost, we rediscover a dimension of our shared experience that is integral to our worship of God. As the Spirit inspires us, we renew our thanksgiving ‘to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ’. As we do so, we share more fully in the life that God gifts to us through Christ and by the Spirit.”
We pray:
God our Father, As we journey from where we have been To where we will be, Fill us with Your Spirit That we might truly worship You And praise Your holy name. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God our Father, As we journey from where we have been To where we will be, Inspire us within the community of God’s people To lift up our hearts And to renew our praise. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God our Father, As we journey from where we have been To where we will be, Renew us as we renew our praise With Psalms and hymns And all the songs of God’s people. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God our Father, As we journey from where we have been To where we will be, Help us to recover that which has been lost And to rediscover all that unites us As those who are made in Your image. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God our Father, As we journey from where we have been To where we will be, We give thanks to You For all your gifts to us Through Christ and by Your Spirit. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
The organist entertains seeks to help keep you connected with your Church, the building, it’s surroundings and the sounds of the organ.
Tonight at 8pm
Welcome to another Virtual Church with the Maestro! This is the Episode 70th instalment of the organist entertains series which proves to be another bumper edition of your hymns and requests.
Hymns used with permission and with the following CCLI Licences Church Copyright Licence 876673; Music Reproduction Licence 876680 Church Video Licence 2258718; PPL Church Licence 1593113 CLA Church Licence 1002856; PRS for Music Church Licence 1448921 Streaming Licence 1638311
This Sunday (8 August), Christians across the country, as well as further afield, will join together in prayer and reflection at 7pm in response to the pandemic.
As with previous weeks during lockdown, 15 Christian churches and organisations across the country, including the Church of Scotland, have co-signed the letter calling for prayer.
Scottish Christians have been continuing to answer the call to pray at the same time each week, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Lord Wallace, is taking part alongside them.
“We should always be mindful for the wisdom handed down to us from past generations; much of it learned the hard way, from mistakes made and consequences suffered,” Lord Wallace said.
“So, too, we are grateful for the richness that comes to us from living alongside people of other traditions. In our day and generation we must surely allow our minds and hearts to be open so that we can risk getting to know them and learning from them.
“In this pandemic, our responsibility is to come together and offer our prayers for all the many diverse expressions of our Christian faith that enrich life, as we have done for many months now.
“As the statistics appear to move in a hopeful direction, let us not forget that behind each death there will be grieving family and friends; behind each hospitalisation there will be a suffering patient, an anxious family and a caring and skilled medical team.
“And behind each vaccination, let us recognise, with thanks, the skill of the scientists’ research and those who make distribution and vaccination possible. Let us remember, too, those in countries who still wait anxiously for vaccines to arrive. May our leaders respond imaginatively and generously to that challenge.
“A pattern has been set for us, lived out in Jesus Christ, made possible by the Spirit. May we follow in His way, and be guided by the one over-riding rule of love in all that we say and do.
“Beware of Imitations!” We are, no doubt, aware of the saying and the implication that we should steer clear of that which is a copy of the real thing. Indeed, in many cases that is wise advice as certain imitations are but a pale shadow of the real thing. On the other hand, we see how a child learns by example and by imitating the behaviour of others. If the example is a good one, the behaviour that follows as a result of imitation will likewise be good.
In the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians, we are urged to become imitators of the good. Indeed, we are urged to ‘be imitators of God’. As those who, by the grace of God, have received the gift and seal of the Holy Spirit, we are called to ‘live in love, as Christ loved us’. As we do so, we become ‘imitators of God’ by the way in which we forgive others, ‘as God in Christ has forgiven’ us. (Ephesians 4: 25-5:2)
We pray:
Gracious God, In Christ you offer to us forgiveness And you seal us by your Spirit. Grant to us that we might become True imitators of the way of love revealed in Christ And so represent you to the world. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, In Christ you offer to us forgiveness And you seal us by your Spirit. Grant us strength To put aside all that does not reflect your life And to learn the ways of kindness and forgiveness. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, In Christ you offer to us forgiveness And you seal us by your Spirit. Grant us wisdom To always build up that which is good And to bring healing in a broken and divided world. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, In Christ you offer to us forgiveness And you seal us by your Spirit. Grant us integrity To always speak the truth And to offer words that are gracious to those who hear. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, In Christ you offer to us forgiveness And you seal us by your Spirit. Grant to us that, at the last, We have become true imitators of the way of love revealed in Christ And so represented you to the world. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
BELLSHILL: CENTRAL PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND 