Intimations
– You may want to use some of the Engage Worship resources for daily worship during this week
– The Messy Church At Home information is now available on our church website www.broughtybaptist.org
– The Baptist Union of Scotland will be continuing the Prayer Livestream at 7.00pm on Sunday 4th October, 2020. This will be another significant time of national prayer for our family of churches. The link will be available closer to the time on the Baptist Union facebook page.
– JAM Kids’ focus: The Virtual Sunday School. Here is the video for Sunday 13th September Virtual Sunday School session on the story of Jesus walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33)
There will also be a Virtual Holiday club coming up. Find out more in this video:
– JAM young adults Ignite Live have a separate programme at 11:15am. Please contact Gary Torbet – garytorbet@btinternet.com for more details.
Call to worship
Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name;
Psalm 105: 1-4
make known among the nations what He has done.
2 Sing to Him, sing praise to Him;
tell of all His wonderful acts.
3 Glory in His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Look to the Lord and His strength;
seek His face always.
We are grateful to Alan McRobbie for selecting the songs for worship for this service.
Our opening song of praise and worship is: We Want to See Jesus Lifted High
Opening prayer:
Once more we are privileged to come into Your holy presence and to do so with joy at our freedom of access into Your presence in the wonderful name of Your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, through whose sacrifice on the cross our sins were forgiven and our welcome into Your family by faith was made possible. Thank you too for the blessed Holy Spirit who first opened our spiritual eyes to see our need of Jesus and helped us to respond to His gracious invitation to trust Him with our whole lives.
We come this morning with thankfulness for all our blessings. Psalm 105 verse 1 has reminded us to Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Thank You that each child of God has a testimony of Your kindness to us and Your amazing love. Thank you for enabling each one of us to come through the challenges of last week but also we are appreciative of all the good things we can enjoy. Help us in our time together today to honour and glorify You, for Jesus’ sake, Amen.
Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:
‘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 lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'”
For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever Amen.
All Age Talk Alan McRobbie
Video
I’d like to share with you some of the important reasons for being a Christian in God’s church.
Church is the gathering of God’s people. It’s not the building, nor is it the teaching of the Bible or the music because it’s possible to have these things without actually being around other Christians.
Today we can watch YouTube clips, podcasts and other ways of hearing God’s Word and listening to Christian songs, but this is not being a part of God’s church.
Now, some boys, girls and young people may come along to church because their parents say that they should go and there may come at time as you grow a little older when you say “I just don’t want to go to church anymore”, you stop getting involved or even stop going. There may also be times when some adults drift away from church for different reasons.
When we don’t become an active part of church we miss out on God’s people.
One of the reasons church is vital is that meeting together is one of the main ways in which God encourages us in our faith in Him.
We’ve been designed by God to not only need him to grow us as Christians but also designed to need other Christians to help us keep going in following Jesus. We need each other to grow in love for God and for one another and to live in a way that pleases God that flows from our faith, our trust in Jesus Christ.
Jesus says in Matthew that we can’t serve him without serving his people. If we fail to serve his people, we fail to serve Jesus. If we are not amongst God’s people, then we can’t love and care for God’s people.
If we choose not to be amongst God’s people, we will lack the encouragement God has for us to help us grow and we will be failing to help others grow as Christians too.
And not only this, the life and love of God’s people together will have a huge impact on the people outside of the church. People out with the church will see this love and it will be very powerful at drawing them to Jesus too. Not being a part of God’s church means you miss out on leading people to Jesus.
Your church needs you, and you need your church.
Imagine a wood burning stove. Through God’s work in and through the church, the church is like a burning fire in the stove. It’s burning brightly. Growing stronger and brighter fuelling the flame. If we start to drift away from being part of church, we stop attending, we stop loving and caring for the church, we stop serving the church, we stop being involved in the church, we stop praying for the church, we stop giving our money to the church, we may slowly stop growing as a Christian and like an ember taken out of the fire we may eventually go out.
We continue in worship as we sing: You Forgive Me
Prayers for others
Dear Lord,
We give thanks for the changing seasons and as summer gives way to autumn, we pray for the ripening of a spiritual harvest for God’s kingdom as well as the harvest being grown in fields across the land. We pray for people across Scotland who may have recently attended an online church service or attended an introductory course in the Christian faith that have had no previous faith connection. We hope and pray that they will come to the place of trusting You as their Lord and Saviour.
We pray also for those people who have lost their jobs at this time and are looking for work. We pray that they will find new employment quickly. We pray for the governments and public health officials at this time who are grappling with the challenges of rising numbers of cases of the covid-19 virus in different parts of the United Kingdom. We ask that You would grant them wisdom to make the right choices at this time.
We pray too for young people from our own church and others around the country who are heading off to university for the first time. We pray that they will settle in to university life quickly despite the challenges of the current pandemic, and that they will keep on with their faith in Christ in the midst of the many temptations which student life can bring.
In our Baptist Union of Scotland we also remember to pray for:
Lighthouse Central, Prestonpans – We pray for this church community as they look to meet online and in much smaller groups in this season. We pray for wisdom and creativity for the church at this time as they seek to be effective witnesses for Jesus in Prestonpans.
Linwood BC – We give thanks for the use of technology and social media that has enabled them to keep in touch with all their members, and friends during this time and for God’s faithfulness. We pray for wisdom as they seek to move forwards following the easing of lockdown and know the best way to serve their community and members, in particular those with no access to the internet.
Lochgilphead BC – We give thanks that their church family continues to keep each other encouraged and connected through phone calls, social media, and limited garden visits. God has shown Himself to be faithful to them in these times. We pray for wisdom for the leadership team as they navigate taking the correct route and time in resuming Sunday worship services in the church premises.
We now pray for other people with particular needs that are connected to our own congregation: In particular, Lord, we rejoice with Fiona McC and her family as they welcome a new grand-daughter Amelia, a sister to Luca, and pray for wisdom and strength for their parents Alison and Craig as they care for them.
We are thankful to God for the office-bearers appointed at our Church AGM last week and pray God’s blessing on Henry Gray as he serves as Church Secretary, Francois de Villiers as he serves as treasurer and Robert Beattie as he serves as Church Chairman.
We remember Peter P as he moves to new accommodation this coming week. We continue to pray for those known to us undergoing medical treatments in hospital and pray for strength for those still waiting to receive operations or other medical treatment at this time.
In addition, we bring our own needs to You at this time …, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Amen.
Bible reading Matthew 18:21-35
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ 22 Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 ‘Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 ‘At this the servant fell on his knees before him. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay back everything.” 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.
28 ‘But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. “Pay back what you owe me!” he demanded. 29 ‘His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.” 30 ‘But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 ‘Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 ‘This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’
Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing: Before the Throne of God Above
The Message
Matthew 5:7 How should I relate to other people?
Introduction
It has been quite horrifying to see the behaviour of a wide range of people in the street protests in a number of American cities in recent months. From politicians across the political spectrum uttering inflammatory messages or twitter posts; to the ease with which some US police officers shoot civilians dead or members of the public take the law into their own hands and behave in ways we find disturbing.
It was typified recently by the story of the 17 year-old American Kyle Rittenhouse who drove twenty miles from a neighbouring US State with a large powerful gun and took it upon himself to assist in the ‘protecting of property’ in Wisconsin and in so doing killing other people on the street with little regard to the sacredness of life. What was particularly alarming was how many of his fellow citizens found his illegal actions in some way commendable (The Washington Post, 27 August 2020 & other US news media). These actions seemto be so contrary to the teaching of Jesus.
He said: Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy (Matthew 5:7). Words are always spoken and heard in a particular social context. In our context of twenty-first century Britain this beatitude seems to be so easy to understand and obvious as a principle for living. If I want people to be kind to me then I ought to be kind to other people as well. If I choose to be harsh and critical of others consistently when they make mistakes then when I fail what could I expect but the same in return.
Yet this kind of thinking was so uncommon in the Graeco-Roman world in which Jesus preached this message and in which Paul and the other familiar New Testament figures grew up. Aristotle (in his Nicomachean Ethics 8.11.6) one of the greatest thinkers of the ancient world BC may have had some excellent insights on certain subjects but he was certainly a man of his age in his understanding of this subject. ‘The slave’, he wrote’, ‘is no different from a living tool, and what consideration can a tool receive?’
In the context in which he was writing, he was thinking of a slave who had been dispatched by his master to be torn apart by savage lampreys, a jawless fish that gradually rips the flesh off their victims over days or a few weeks, a hideous death. The crime committed to merit such a punishment? Accidently smashing a drinking goblet; the disproportionate nature of such a punishment which horrifies us would have been perceived very differently by most people in the ancient world. Until Constantine became the first Christian Roman Emperor in the early 4th century AD, there had been a free reign on all forms of cruelty such as disposing of unwanted babies with the other ‘garbage’ by the roadside.
The sick and disabled, together with elderly people, like animals in a similar condition, could be disposed of so why should slaves expect to be treated any better when they were only possessions, having lost their status as humans when they were enslaved.
What is actually more shocking can be contained in personal letters between ordinary couples in the Roman Empire, from the New Testament era. For example in 1BC Hilarion wrote a letter to his wife Alis in Italy. He is working away from home in Alexandria, Egypt. It is an affectionate letter declaring his love for her and hoping all goes well in the remaining months of the pregnancy with respect to the child they have conceived together. He is promising to send some money to her when he gets paid and wishes her ‘good luck’ with the birth but adds: ‘if it is a boy let it live; if it is a girl, throw it out’ (W. Barclay, The Plain Man looks at the Beatitudes, p. 65).
Actually this view is very similar to some of the more extreme public spokespeople for the pro-choice movement who advocate terminations at any stage prior to birth or in a few cases recommend parents being able to choose whether the child is retained or terminated after delivery. The world around us has not changed too much when strong moral foundations are lacking. In Israel of course much stronger moral boundaries were in place at the time Jesus spoke these words, but His message was a more profound and challenging call to exercise this quality in the daily lives of His followers.
1. Our model for mercy: God the Father
There are very few completely original ideas or practices. All of us are deeply indebted to other people whose instruction, guidance and conduct have influenced us in a variety of ways. All of us require boundaries or frameworks in which to construct our lives in relationship with other people. A society without moral boundaries or an agreed ethical framework for governing our daily lives would become closer to a hell on earth rather than a foretaste of heaven! We all want a degree of freedom but it is far from absolute if any country is to function in a civilized manner. Without the acceptance of the rules of the Highway Code, driving a car on the public highway would be a highly dangerous activity, as opposed to the relatively safe form of transport used by many of us throughout the week.
This call to be merciful is grounded in the character of God. In II Corinthians 1:3 Paul writes: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion [mercies] and the God of all comfort. The Greek word used here [oiktirmos] is plural in form and in essence is describing one of the essential characteristics of God. It is a term describing the settled disposition of someone towards others. We are all aware of some individuals who are particularly known for being loving and kind-hearted towards other people. It is natural to gravitate towards someone who treats us in this way.
By contrast, someone who, temperamentally, is always ‘as prickly as a hedgehog’ and disinterested in what is happening in other people’s lives will attract a very different response from most people! However, what we need to grasp is that this attribute of God is an ongoing attitude towards us. It is interesting that this word is one chosen by Paul in Colossians 3:12 where he was encouraging these fairly new believers in western Turkey to live in a way that is pleasing to God. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
God the Father has shown this characteristic in His relationship with His people over the centuries as Jeremiah admitted in Lamentations 3:22: Because of the Lord’s great love [mercies] we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. In that context the Jewish nation was under judgement because of its sinfulness and all its leading figures were either dead or taken into exile in Babylon and its capital city Jerusalem was in ruins. Yet the prophet was convinced that without the Lord’s care for them as His people things could have been even more difficult. It is the same characteristic of God’s character picked up by the Israelites who had returned to the land in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.
In words taken from prayers of confession of their personal and national past failings in Nehemiah 9:16-20, this conviction is clearly seen.
‘But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands. 17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles You performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore You did not desert them, 18 even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, “This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,” or when they committed awful blasphemies.
19 ‘Because of Your great compassion You did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. 20 You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths, and You gave them water for their thirst.
God did not treat them as their conduct merited, but showed amazing love and mercy to them. God in each generation is compassionate to His people treating us better than we deserve. Each time we sincerely seek His mercy and forgiveness He responds to our request and grants us our petition. Our heavenly Father has modeled for us a pattern for us to follow in our relationships with one another.
This is why in the pattern of prayer Jesus taught His followers we pray: And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matthew 6:12). Notice the crucial word here ‘as’; if we are not compassionate to our brothers and sisters then we are saying Lord hold me accountable by not forgiving me when I seek your mercy and grace. Do we need to ask ourselves: Lord is there anyone whose past failings I am not willing to forgive and forget and bury in the past, but which you want me to let go of today? Help me to follow Your example and demonstrate a likeness to Your heart of compassion to me towards other people, especially towards…?
2. Our example practicing mercy: Jesus
Our own conduct is modelled on the conduct of Jesus.
(a) In His life and ministry One of the terms in the New Testament particularly associated with the Lord Jesus was His compassion for needy people. In a summary statement drawn up by Matthew to describe the motivation for Jesus’ ministry in Matthew 9:35-36, he wrote: Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and illness. 36 When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
This is a different Greek word (splagchnizomai) that is used of the emotions. We speak of someone ‘wearing their heart on their sleeve’, that is they cannot hide their feelings; in addition, you can see it in their facial expressions and visual responses to your conversations with them. When Jesus saw needy people He could not avoid feeling an emotional response of deep concern for their plight. Matthew indicates that this was Jesus’ normal or regular attitudes to the large crowds that gathered to hear Him speak or perform some mighty miracles. It was also directed towards individuals.
On one occasion when passing through the tiny village of Nain, Jesus and His followers encountered a funeral procession. It was a widow whose husband had died some time previously, but her adult son had taken care of here. However, he had now died also and her plight was serious as she had no visible means of support. In a society without any welfare provision this might mean the difference between life and death.
In Luke 7:13 we have the recorded response of Jesus to this needy individual. When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her [He felt compassion for her] and He said, ‘Don’t cry.’ In this context Jesus will perform one of His most amazing miracles in raising the deceased man from the dead.
We may never experience personally such an amazing answer to our prayers –in terms of physical resurrections from the dead, though I trust we will see many spiritual resurrections of people coming to faith in Jesus through our witness –hopefully even in this coming year! Yet the model of the settled disposition of the Father towards us and the ongoing emotional approach of our Lord and Saviour towards needy people around Him give us a clear indication of how He wishes us to treat our fellow human beings.
(b)In His death on the cross There are many religions in the world today inviting us to follow different pathways to God, in common inviting us to ‘do’ something to earn our salvation. In contrast the Christian Gospel at its heart contains a different message it invites a response to something that has been ‘done’ for us, in the person of Jesus Christ. It was an example to demonstrate to the world that God’s way of working is so different from that of sinful humanity.
The mercy of God in Christ to us demonstrated at the cross that sin was not avoided or evaded; God was not pretending not to notice our predicament, but fulfilling simultaneously His requirement for justice to address the problem of sin and His desire to love sinners who needed the gift of salvation. Sinful humanity recoils from the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross, because it neither takes seriously the problem of human sinfulness nor proposes any acceptable way of atoning for it. The followers of Jesus tried to deflect Him from fulfilling the calling given to Him by God the Father.
In the first instance, Simon Peter while acknowledging His identity questioned His mission in the famous discussion at Caesarea Philippi. Matthew 16:21-24 states:
From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to You!’ 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to Me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’ 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it.
Jesus firmly rebutted Peter’s remarks. Even in Gethsemane some disciples appeared willing to have a go at fighting to prevent Jesus’ arrest and inevitable crucifixion. What did He say in response to their actions? Matthew 26:52-54 states:
‘Put your sword back in its place,’ Jesus said to him, ‘for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?’
Even when suffering the agonies of crucifixion Jesus still had time to pray for those who viewed themselves as His enemies. In Luke 23:34 there are these remarkable words: Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. A view repeated in the preaching of the apostles in the years that followed (for example, Acts 3:17-18).
In Romans 5:8-11 the apostle Paul wrote: But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.9 Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
God’s amazing grace should be a source of wonder and amazement to us for the rest of our lives; that the Son of God would go to such lengths to save me. When we truly grasp something of the depth of His wonderful love for us it will impact significantly how we treat other people when they fail. Sin must always be dealt with, but the aim is always to offer mercy and grace with a view to reconciliation with God and other people, and not to dump great quantities of judgement on someone who has failed.
3. Our call to action to be merciful
The third word associated with this character quality in the Bible is the one chosen by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in this beatitude. This word (eleeo) is in some respects a strong one because it is not simply a statement of how we might feel about someone’s plight, but it also is used to describe the actions of someone in response to a recognized need.
There are far more situations of need that we will encounter than we can ever even think about getting involved in. In fact we can be overwhelmed by the plight of several million Syrian refugees, for example. However, if our response to an awareness of needy people was exclusively emotional and had no practical outworking then something would be wrong.
In I John 3:16-18 the aged apostle wrote: 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
James in his letter, one of the earliest New Testament writings is also extremely clear about the implications of this truth for followers of Jesus. In James 2:14-17 he wrote: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
This is not a new idea in the New Testament because it was also commended in the Old Testament era as well. Psalm 37:21 reminds us of this fact. The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously. Interestingly verse 26 of the same Psalm picks up on this theme and indicates that a family and we could say by extension a church family, that practices this quality will see it flourish in the younger members of that community, because they have seen it modeled and lived out by their elders. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing (Psalm 37:26). Our words are important, but our examples are most influential of all.
The question is what do I now need to do? In Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus illustrated this point with the parable of the unforgiving servant.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ 22 Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 ‘Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 ‘At this the servant fell on his knees before him. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay back everything.” 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go. 2 8 ‘But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. “Pay back what you owe me!” he demanded.29 ‘His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.”
30 ‘But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 ‘Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 ‘This is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’
Whose past do you need to forgive and not bring up again? One of the biggest tragedies in Evangelical Churches too often has been a failure to work through and live out the radical Gospel of grace. Jesus said: Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy (Matthew 5:7). In which context or contexts do you and I need to act in this way in the coming days? May we respond to the guiding and prompting of the Holy Spirit on this matter, for Jesus’ sake, Amen.
Our song before we come to communion is: ‘Oh to see the dawn – the power of the Cross’
The Lord’s Supper
Jesus invites all Christian who have committed their lives to follow Him to participate in this act of worship. The apostle Paul wrote these words of Scripture in I Corinthians 11:23-26 to guide our observance of Communion.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ 25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Prayer: Choose your own words of prayer to give thanks for the bread and wine that represent the costly gift of His body and blood for us.
Take the bread: Jesus said: ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.
Take the wine: Jesus said: This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’
Our closing song is: Holy Holy Holy
Closing Prayer:
Lord thank You for modelling for us the way we ought to live. Help us to honour You in our attitudes and actions this week. We want to be people of grace and humility who wish to be compassionate and caring to those in need in our communities, reflecting something of the character of Jesus. When we are finding things really hard, we ask in advance for the help of the Holy Spirit to strengthen and encourage us to do all we need to do, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Benediction: The Grace
May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God
and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore, Amen