The Nicene Creed course It is not too late to join one of the two study / fellowship groups going deeper into our sermon series on The Nicene Creed. Tuesday mornings at 10.30am every other week from 23rd June and a new fortnightly evening group on Thursday evenings at 7.30pm from 25th June. Do sign up so the host can be ready to welcome you.
Lord, we rejoice that you have called us to be your followers; and more than followers, we are your friends. But we know that with that joy comes responsibility: to take your love into our everyday lives and be witnesses for you wherever you send us. So, we think of those places now and commit them to you. First, we focus on our homes. Lord, sometimes it’s harder to be your follower at home than outside it. It’s at home that we are so often our worst selves. Forgive us for times when we are grumpy, angry, unhelpful or unkind to those we live with. Help us to share our love for you with those around us by being people of gentleness and kindness. May your Spirit enable us to be peacemakers and faithful carers to all those we live amongst, both in our homes and in our neighbourhoods… Even when it seems really hard Lord, lead us forward, lead us outward, lead us on.
Lord, we turn now to our lives outside the home. Lord Jesus, you know that these can sometimes be the hardest places to witness to you. What will our friends, colleagues or the people we meet think of us if we admit to being followers of you? Lord, give us the courage to tell just one person this week about you. We could say where we were on Sunday, offer to pray for them or just be so bubbling over with joy that we have to tell someone. We imagine ourselves in that place now and ask you to show us one person that we could encourage with the good news of your love this week. Even when it seems really hard Lord, lead us forward, lead us outward, lead us on.
Now on the wider community. May this church be a beacon of light to those who live and work nearby. Help us to be a place of welcome and security for all who enter our doors. Give us courage to be your witnesses in this neighbourhood. May this church be a place that is talked about for all the right reasons. Even when it seems really hard Lord, lead us forward, lead us outward, lead us on.
Lord, we pray for those who you have sent out to work in mission. We pray for Lindsey and Steve Poulson and all at the projects in Honduras. We pray for those who work in places of war and unrest, taking your love to those who have lost everything. Be especially close to them, we pray. And we pray for those who translate your word so that others can read the good news. Thank you for their skill and dedication. And, Lord, we pray for anyone we know who is considering work with a mission agency. Give them clarity and wisdom. Even when it seems really hard Lord, lead us forward, lead us outward, lead us on.
Lord, we pray for those who are struggling at this time and can’t see a way forward in their life. We pray for those who are sick, those who have just had a difficult diagnosis, those who are anxious or depressed, those whose lives are coming to an end. We pray for those who struggle with addiction or who live in fear. Lord, show us how to be a light to them in the darkness of their current situation. May we be people who listen, hold people’s hands, and care. Even when it seems really hard Lord, lead us forward, lead us outward, lead us on.
Lord, as we leave this place of worship today, remind us of something wonderful we have learnt about you. Send us out with a renewed desire to tell others about you, knowing that you go before us and will give us the words to say. Even when it seems really hard Lord, lead us forward, lead us outward, lead us on.
Amen.