Good Morning, and welcome to you all. As we come together via the different mediums of paper and media, we pray we can still feel united in our love of Christ, which we show in our shared love as a fellowship, and to those we have contact with, friends and family.
Let’s pray. O Lord, reveal Your gracious love for us in all its fullness: Receive the confession of our faith; bless us and empower us; Hear the confession of our sins, and forgive us we pray. Help us by your spirit’s power to change, and become more like you. For we praise You O Lord, for Your love for us today. Amen.
Hymn: By Faith
Thank you that we know that all things are possible in You Lord, if we call on Your name. We pray that this will be even clearer to us as we look at Joshua 3 later this morning. Amen.
Meditation: Why not try? Why not live a life of faith,
And find out if your soul is really free?
Why not see if faith will hold you up when all else fails,
And whether ‘God is love’ means more when life is tough?
Why not help the poor unstintingly, and suffer for it,
Not feel pain for doing what is wrong, bur what is right?
Why not pray when all seems irredeemably lost,
And find out if the Saviour really saves the perishing?
Why not open up your heart to feel the Spirit’s wind?
To explore the riches of the life that God has given you?
Why not take the plunge and be fulfilled in Christ;
Then die with Him, and in His time, be raised again in glory?
Before we come to Merv’s talk, lets pray that we can keep our eyes, ears, hearts and minds on Jesus. We pray Lord that You will open our whole souls to be receptive to Your word to us today. Amen:
Let us sing/say the following Chorus prayerfully to our Lord:
Turn Your eyes upon Jesus
Today we begin a short series from Joshua, following God's people as they travel into the Promised Land.
Its hard today to envisage what this was like but there must have been a great sense of awe, tinged with apprehension, as they looked at the seeming impossibility of crossing the river in full flood. Lets see how God works for them and can still work for us today in seeming impossible situations.
Lets Read: Joshua 3 v 1-17.
1. Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus
2. Being right before the Lord.
3. One God, who goes before us.
Please read or listen to sermon.
Talk Merv
Prayers: Thank You Lord, that you are with us today and everyday. Thank You that as we join together in our separate homes Your Spirit is present with us to guide us. Thank you that we have seen today, how You guide and watch over us Your people if we continue to keep our eyes on you, to trust you only, One God. Help us to keep right before You Lord, to offer our lives to You and to confess to You. Thank You, that You listen to our prayers, and forgive us, as we lay our lives before You day by day. Amen
(As you consider Gods word to us today, spend some time in quiet reflection and confession and renew your commitment to Christ.)
Sing or listen to this song as part of your reflection and confession.
Let’s continue in prayer: Hear our prayers, O God, this day, for all those situations in our lives’s that are conspiring together to prevent us from experiencing the fullness of the life that Jesus came to bring us. Hear not only our prayers for ourselves – but for those people in the world who are suffering this day because of the sin of this world – for the children of Africa who hunger, the believers in India and Asia who are persecuted, the citizens of Palestine and Pakistan – and in all the spots in this world where human hatred and greed destroys. Lord hear our prayers. Amen
Lord, when we are frightened by the waters and the Promised Land seems so far away, grant us the courage to march straight ahead in the way you have told us to go. Help us to enter into the raging river in the confidence that you are with us and that you will cause the waters to part and allow us through safe to the other side. We pray now for those we know who are still on the wrong side of the Jordan, for those we pray for in our quiet times, those we name in our hearts now…. Lord bring them into your fold, change their lives and fill them with your Spirit, you who can do the seemingly impossible bless those we have named with a knowledge of your love and may they turn to you with lives transformed into your likeness. In Jesus’ name. Amen
Bring us all O God, safe to the other side – we ask it through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour – he who entered death on our behalf and rose from the dead as the first fruits of all who have fallen asleep – he who taught us to pray to you with a holy confidence and a secure faith saying, ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial but rescue us from the evil one. For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen. Adapted from prayers of Rev J Fairchild.
HYMN Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer
As we continue in our stay alert lockdown, please keep in contact and send your prayers or prayer requests so we can share these within our services week by week. It will help us in our prayers during the week to share our prayer concerns with each other.
Closing Prayer.
Lord your hand guides in strange ways, and we do not always discern what you are doing. Help us to keep our eyes open, our ears attuned and our hearts ready to act for you, and also ready to follow one who has been anointed by You to lead. Bless us in our discipleship we pray: Amen.