Let's worship the Lord
"I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came over me;
I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“Lord, save me!â€
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
6 The Lord protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you."
Prayer prompts
This week we have heard and read of the conclusion of Sarah Everard's killer's trial and have witnessed general outpourings of anger, grief and shame across the social and public media across the U.K.
- Lord in your mercy hear our prayers for the family and friends of Sarah Everard who have been so deeply traumatised by once more confronting the traumas raised by her case.
Grant rest and peace to them this day we pray, and begin in them the process of finding their closure and what passes for their recovery.
- Hear Lord our prayers, we ask, for those whose own traumas personal have been raised by the trial and the widespread coverage it has received.
- We pray Lord for those in our land who live this night with fear for their safety either in their own homes or outside them. We ask for fresh but justified confidence in our forces of law and order and that you would limit and contain the dark forces of violence that are loose in our land.
- We pray for our Police, and for their leaders in particular. We pray that there will be a strengthening of morale, a fresh new ethos of respect and public service that revitalises the ethos of our forces of law and order and a renewed determination across the police forces of our land to serve with even higher standards of professionalism and integrity than before.
- We pray for a moral and spiritual reformation and renewal of the men and the boys of our land, that the boys and men of our land would gain a fresh and different ethos, prizing the strength that brings restraint, enables gentleness and drives integrity of thought, of word and of conduct. In particular we pray that you will bring down the forces of evil that drive the exploitative and violent pornography that is implicated in so many of the crimes of violence against women that characterise the accounts of the activities of the men who feature in trials for violence against our women.
- And we pray for the work of God to change the hearts of men and women, making our streets interlaces of safety and security once more.
We pray this all for Jesus' sake.
AMEN.
John 9:13–41 (Listen)
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
(ESV)
Here's the Bible Exposition on the Studiocam
Click the picture below for 'the Offering'
Let's pray
"The Lord remembers us and will bless us:
He will bless his people Israel,
he will bless the house of Aaron,
13 he will bless those who fear the Lord—
small and great alike.
14 May the Lord cause you to flourish,
both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth."
Psalm 115:12-15
Go with us Lord into the coming week,
meet us in our need and be all we stand in need of,
and may our resting openly on your grace
and your providences towards your people
bring you Glory in the world all around us.
We pray for Jesus' sake.
AMEN!