Choose life?

This day, as are all days, loving God,
is the day to worship you.
This time, as are all times, loving God,
is the time to give you praise.
This moment, as are all moments, loving God,
is the moment to turn to you in faith.
from The Word in the World p.5

StF 18 Be still and know that I am God

Prayers (from The Word in the World pp.15 & 26)
Praise be to you, our God,
maker of heaven and earth,
the very breath of life within us.
Praise be to you, our God,
redeemer of the world,
the very hope within us.
Praise be to you, our God,
giver of life,
flame of inspiration lighting our way,
guiding our lives.
​
Loving and gracious God,
we thank you for your many gifts to us:
for the world which you have made
to provide us with all that we need for life,
and to be our place of pilgrimage;
for the gift of one another,
the caring and sharing, the laughter and tears,
the demands and rewards of loving;
for life itself, with its opportunities,
its challenges, its moments of joy.
For all this, we thank you, generous God.

We thank you most, faithful God,
for the gifts of yourself:
your steadfast and forgiving love for your people
despite our straying hearts, our mistakes and poorly thought-through intentions;
and for sending your only Son
to share our human life with us,
to call us back to you,
to die for us upon the cross,
and to be raised again,
that we might know true and eternal life in you.

Your generosity is beyond our comprehension – fill us again with your Holy Spirit that we might respond with joy to the glory of your Name.
Amen.

​StF 51 Great is thy faithfulness

Reading Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Reading Matthew 5:21-37

Prayer of confession (adapted from Roots 2023)
Reconciling God, forgive us:
when we make wrong choices,
when our decisions are not of honesty and integrity,
when we hurt others by our words and actions,
when we judge others and think ourselves better.
Forgive us:
when relationships break down and we do not want to repair them,
when we don’t strive for peace.

Lord Jesus Christ,
thank you that in you we have new life,
We choose life today through the cross,
We are healed and restored,
We are reconciled with one another in you,
We thank you that we are forgiven
and can again live in love and peace with all.
Amen.

StF 254 Seek ye first​

Response to the Matthew reading
One of the great questions we have to ask, as we study the Bible, listen to the Word of God, and learn what it means to try to follow Jesus, is to work out what to do with the bits of this tradition that make us uncomfortable. Do we lean into the discomfort and challenge ourselves to be better, to strive for a higher standard, to be counter-cultural, or do we say ‘some of this is of its time’ and needs to be context bound? Usually it’s a bit of a mixture of the two, right?

This week’s readings give us plenty of chance to think about this issue. What do we do with all this?
Nadia Bolz-Webber, American writer and thinker, has preached on this passage from
Matthew. Here’s what she has to say:

‘Our obsession with moral absolutes comes from clinging to the letter of
the law as though it can love us and save us when really that’s what Jesus is for. What Jesus seems to be doing here is reminding us of the spirit of the law so that we know how to love one another.’

It is a question that keeps coming up in Christian history: what do we do with ‘the law’, the Old Testament, in light of Jesus’ life, death and ministry? Now that the law has been replaced by relationship, how much use is the law? We still have it, we don’t wish to disregard it all together, but perhaps we have to treat it differently. In fact, Nadia helps us to see – perhaps we treat rule-making differently entirely.

In the Narnia stories, Aslan – the Christ-figure – is put to death by the wicked White Witch, who is following the laws as she understands them: that where there has been treachery, someone must pay for it with their life. What the White Witch is unaware of though, which Aslan knows about is the ‘deep magic before the dawn of time’, which means he cannot be killed and returns to life in C.S. Lewis’ beautiful fictional recreation of the Easter story. The law is not enough to contain Aslan’s act of self sacrifice, his love, his desire to ensure that no one else suffers. Love conquers over law.

Can you think of an example where this has happened in your own life? Or a relationship that you have which could not be defined or contained by a list of rules?

Where is your relationship with God at the moment?
Is it largely defined by rules, or by love?
How do you view God and do you see the divine as interested only in ‘thou shall not’
or do you see God as inviting you to learn more about love?

Spend a few minutes in quiet reflection by yourself thinking about that.
From ​The Vine at Home is compiled and produced by twelvebaskets

​StF 504 May the mind of Christ my Saviour

​Prayers Intercession
God who comforts,
as the death toll rises following the deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria
and rescuers struggle to cope with the level of devastation, the brutal weather and the war, we can feel a sense of despair and hopelessness.
There is so much loss and grief.

We pray for everyone whose lives have been dramatically altered by this disaster.
We pray for the injured, the grieving, and for those who have lost everything.
It’s hard to see how anyone can recover from such devastation,
but we continue to pray for comfort in the present and hope in the future.

Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer

God who brings justice and peace,
tensions around the globe have again hit the news this week between the US and China.
The war of words is escalating and tensions are rising.

We pray for the politicians and those who have power.
Help them to see the consequences of their words and be driven by a desire for peace.
Help all of us see people from other nations, especially those very different to our own, as your children, as part of one humanity precious in your sight.

Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer

God who shows kindness and compassion,
the story of the missing woman, Nicola Bulley, has taken many twists and turns this week.
The desperation of her family to discover what happened is mirrored by so many families across the country who are missing members of their family.

We pray for families who are looking for someone, that they would be found safe and well and have the time and space to work through all of the complicated issues they face.
We also pray for families who have to face tragic news about people missing.
Help them to experience compassion and kindness and find the support they need in a dark time.

Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer

God of love,
with Valentine’s day on the horizon
we are thankful for the people we love and who love us.
But we are most thankful for the everlasting, never changing love of God for all of us.
Thank you for sending your son Jesus to show us what love truly looks like.

As we sit and pray today may we feel your transforming love.
When we leave here today may we be people in our communities who bring God’s love to others.
And as we go through our week may we look to open ourselves more fully to the power of your love.

Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer

God of hope, the Christian life asks us to transform our thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
Help us today to choose your path
and help us follow it even when we have to make tough choices.
Thank you that we know your way leads us into the fullness of life.
Help us to support each other on the road
and delight when we see people grow in their life of faith.

Let’s take a moment of quiet to think and pray that we would choose what is good and holy.

Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer
Amen.

Lord’s prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours. Now and for ever.
Amen

​StF 610 Best of all is God is with us

​Blessing
Loving Lord, we want to use
our strong feelings to bring change;
our words to encourage;
our gifts to heal;
our eyes to see as you see;
our hands to give help.
Lord, we choose life, we choose you.
Amen.