Worship

 

Opening Prayer

Jesus lead us to the Father by your Spirit; help us draw near. As we come with awe and gladness, help us draw near. Amen (Selected lines from STF 29)

Hymn: The God of Abraham Praise (STF 91)

Sing/ Read /pray /proclaim the words or listen to it here

https://www.methodist.org.uk/our-faith/worship/singing-the-faith-plus/hymns/the-god-of-abraham-praise-stf-91/

 

The God of Abraham praise,

who reigns enthroned above,

Ancient of everlasting Days,

and God of love.

Jehovah! Great I AM!

By earth and heaven confessed;

I bow and bless the sacred name

for ever blessed.

 

He by himself has sworn,

I on his oath depend:

I shall, on eagles' wings upborne,

to heaven ascend;

I shall behold his face,

I shall his power adore

and sing the wonders of his grace

for evermore.

 

The God who reigns on high

the great archangels sing;

and 'Holy, holy, holy,' cry,

'Almighty King,

who was and is the same,

and evermore shall be;

Jehovah, Father, great I AM,

we worship thee.'

 

Before the Saviour's face

the ransomed nations bow;

o'erwhelmed at his almighty grace,

for ever new:

he shows his prints of love,

they kindle to a flame,

and sound through all the worlds above

the slaughtered Lamb.

 

The whole triumphant host

give thanks to God on high;

'Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!'

they ever cry.

Hail, Abraham's God, and ours!

We join the heavenly throng,

and celebrate with all our powers

in endless song.

Thomas Olivers (1725-1799)

 

Let us pray together

God of all grace

We come before you to praise you, mindful that you are the God of our ancestors, the God who made and keeps your promises. In Christ you showed us love that was willing to die on a cross for us. The Holy Spirit lives in our hearts and we rejoice that she binds us together as a family of faith. For these things we rejoice.

 

We are thankful for the wonder of nature that captivates us. We are thankful for all those people we love and care about and who bring great joy to our lives.

 

Yet we know that we do not live as your children or keep your commandments. If you kept a record of our sins, we could not stand. Joyously we know that through Christ’s abundance grace we are forgiven.

Thanks be to God.
Amen

 

Readings Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16      Mark 8:31-48

 

 

Time to Reflect

Do you always manage to do something you have said you will do? Or do you sometimes like me find time runs away with you, you simply forget or that it just proves to be impossible?

In today’s Bible passages we see the opposite we see a God who is faithful and who always does what has been promised. We have already been assured of pardon for our knowing that is true because ‘if we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9)

In our Genesis reading we see the making of the Covenant with Abraham. Even Abraham’s name was changed from Abram to reflect this. We know that God’s people did not always follow God but we do know that God kept that covenant for God is faithful.

Perhaps the ultimate expression of God’s faithfulness was Christ- God incarnate- dying on the cross for us. In our gospel reading Jesus makes it clear that he must suffer and die, choosing to suffer for us out of pure obedience and love.  

Jesus offered us a challenge as to whether we are prepared to take up our cross and follow him? In Lent we traditionally think about temptation. Perhaps the ultimate temptation is not to be faithful to Christ. We know that because he was faithful to his calling we can be equipped in the power of the Holy Spirit to be faithful to our calling to follow him.

Take a time to sit quietly

A time of prayer (please add your own prayers where the ellipses are)

Loving God,

 

We pray for our world. Particularly thinking of those places we know that are on our screens on the news this week…

 

We pray for our communities and particularly those parts of our communities where hurt or division is felt…

 

We pray for those we know who are sick and suffering and ask that they know your presence…

 

We remember all who have died and their families and ask that you comfort the bereaved and hold those who have died in your eternal care…

 
Merciful God accept these prayers for the sake of your Son our saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

 

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father ……

Listen to Faithful (Lou Fellingham) https://youtu.be/h0vm5JNfJ34

or sing a verse of a hymn that comes to mind

A prayer of blessing

May we know the faithfulness of God in our lives, may we live with the assurance we are children of God and know ourselves to be loved. May we find ourselves faithful even amidst temptation.

And the blessing of God the Three in One reside with us always. Amen

Original Materials by James Blackhall

All Hymns reproduced under CCLi 1144191. 

Local Churches please insert CCCLi 3382

We are grateful to all the Ministers and Local Preachers from around the Connexion who have contributed to Worship at Home. This resource is administrated by Ministries: Vocations and Worship in the Connexional Team. We aim to continue to provide these resources until the end of August 2021.