Tag: Bible

Daily Devotions for Sunday 13th September, 2020

Morning
Look Upward and Pray to hear and receive from the Living God

Reading : PSALM 119 verse 94

Meditation : take time and consider these words this Sunday morning.
What stays with you?
What encourages and challenges you today?

And then pray in response to the LORD our God

O LORD our God,
Good and majestic One,
Creator God,
Great and so worthy of praise.
We bow before You on this Sunday morning.
We lay our lives before You.
O fill us with your Spirit afresh
For of ourselves we get it so wrong
Today and every day.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Midday
Pray the Prayer for the Month as your own Midday Prayer

In Joshua we see Israel in the wilderness and the lesson that fullness of your will in us is through Jesus and not the law.
Lord, just as your people Israel experienced swollen rivers and walled cities, so do we today with viruses and sickness, people lost in darkness, man’s inhumanity to man, poverty and hardship close to home. Equip us in your strength to overcome. Bring us into your fullness; deliverance, healing and abundant living; and plant in us the fruit of your Spirit. Help us face the future with courage and keep us fixed on your Word.
Lord, your people had to wait faithfully and patiently to enter the promised land; they suffered loss when Moses, their leader, was taken from them but you met them in their loss and provided for them a new leader to take them through. When we become impatient in waiting for you to act we need to remember that you operate on a whole different level to our understanding. Please help us to trust and feel your presence with us as we wait on you.
Thank you for your promise that you will never leave us alone.
Amen

Evening
Reading : read these words again from Psalm 119.94
Reflect on what is said here in this one verse and then Pray in response to God

O LORD, our Great Creator God,
hear our evening prayers we ask
As we thank you for what we read
As we look back over our Sunday
As we look ahead to the week coming
As we name before you those we are concerned about.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Daily Devotions for Saturday 12th September, 2020

Morning
Look Upward and Pray to hear and receive from God, the Holy Spirit

Reading : PSALM 119 verse 92

Meditation : take time to consider these verse this morning.
What does it mean for you?
What is God saying to you today from His Word?

And then Pray in response to what you read – to this God of ours.

In Jesus’ name
Amen.

Midday
Pray the Lord’s Prayer as your midday prayer

Our Father, who art 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 sins
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory.
Now and for ever
Amen

Evening
Reading : read Psalm 119.92 again
Reflect on this God, your God, our God…. and then turn to Him in your evening Prayer

LORD God, our God, receive our sacrifice of praise
For who You are!
For all you have done for us!
And as we give it all back to you
May you continue to reach and save people
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done across our world
In our families, in our community, in our city.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Daily Devotions for Friday 11th September, 2020

Morning
Look Upward and Pray to hear and receive from Jesus

Reading : JOSHUA 13 verses 1-7

Meditation : consider these words this morning.
The Land still to be Taken.
What do they mean for you in your life?
Is there somewhere God wants to bring under His Kingdom rule?

And then Pray in response – as God leads you
Pray with confidence to our God – asking His help even today

Amen – we pray together.

Midday
Pray God’s blessing on the land and people of Burundi
Father God, hear our prayers, have mercy and bless them real good we ask.

Evening
Reading : read this passage again from JOSHUA 13
Reflect on the words you have just read and pray in response

Lord Jesus, hear our evening prayers as we respond to these words
And bring a blessing to those in need of a victory this evening we ask.
Amen.

Daily Devotions for Thursday 10th September, 2020

Morning
Look Upward and Pray to hear and receive from Father God

Reading : JOSHUA chapter 12

Meditation : take time and carefully consider these words.
Kings defeated by Moses and Joshua.
You may consider this a strange part of the Bible but as you pause ….
what has God conquered in your life? Who or what is on your list?

Then pray in response to the LORD as your day starts
Giving thanks to Him for battles fought and victories won

Pray your own words this morning to the LORD our God……..

In Jesus’ name. Amen and Amen.

Midday
Pray God’s blessing on the land and people of Bolivia
Lord, hear our prayers and bless each and all real good we ask.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in that land.

Evening
Reading : read these particular verses again from JOSHUA 12
Reflect on the words written here – and what God is saying to you now.
Pray in response to this God who gives victory over the enemy.

O LORD, hear our evening prayers as this day closes
As we return our thanks to You.
As we humbly confess our sins
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Daily Devotions for Wednesday 9th September, 2020

Morning
Look Upward and Pray to hear and receive from Jesus

Reading : JOSHUA chapter 7

Meditation : consider these particular words this morning.
Achan’s sin.
What words and images stay with you?
What is God saying to you today as your day starts?
Is there a response God is asking of you?

And then pray in response – to this God of ours
Looking again at verses 20 and 26 as you turn to prayer

O LORD our God,
Hear us
Forgive us
Clean us
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Midday
Pray God’s blessing on the land and people of Bangladesh at this time
LORD, hear our prayers and bless them real good we ask.

Evening
Reading : read these set verses again from JOSHUA 7
Humbly reflect on what you read and then pray in response – for yourself and
for others you have met during this day

LORD God, Father God, hear our many different prayers
As we receive your forgiveness again
As we name others we are concerned about at this time
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sharing God’s Word – a short course

‘Sharing God’s Word – what can we learn from the early church in Acts?’ Led by Jared Hay

This short course is intended to complement the Sunday studies in the Gospels on ‘Sharing God’s Word,’ and the aim is to try to understand how the Early Church shared the Good News in their cultural context. That means investigating the context in which they lived, what they said and did, who said it and did it, and what intentional strategies they adopted to make sure the message was disseminated as widely as possible.

The course will run on Zoom over four Thursday evenings (7.30 – 9pm) spaced out to allow Link groups to meet between sessions to discuss what they’ve learned and how it might be applied in our cultural context. Some discussion questions are provided to help facilitate exploring and applying what has been learned. Members of the congregation are encouraged to join both the course and also a Link group for the follow-up discussion. Please do contact Caroline Barlee, John or Jared if you need help finding a group to join.

15 October – The world they lived in – honour and shame, money, sex and power in the First Century.
What are the major things that shape our cultures today?
How have they influenced the Church’s relationship with others?

29 October – The Word they shared – what was the message the Early Church took to the world?
What actions accompanied the message?
Does the word and action we share reflect the breadth of the activity of the early church?
Are there special emphases that might be useful to highlight when sharing with different groups and cultures?

12 November – The people who shared the Word – who were they and what were they like?
What qualities are needed to share the good news?

26 November – The strategies they used to share the Word – big pictures and jig-saw pieces.
Thinking of our context, what strategies might we adopt for sharing the good news, and how would we need to change to fulfil them?