Words by David Hollows
Our Sufficient God
I will praise you and give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your mercy and loving-kindness are great, reaching to the heavens and your truth and faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.
(Psalm 57 verses 9 – 11).
A prayer,
To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins with His blood, we give you our praise. To Him who has made us a royal house to serve as the priests of our God, we praise you. To our Saviour, Redeemer and Lord, be the glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen
Photo by Vicky Sim via Unsplash
Praise time: as our great God draws close to us now as we worship Him, please sing to Him your praises. You may choose to use CDs or YouTube and you may wish to include the following hymn;
I will sing the wondrous story. (Mission Praise 315)
Prayers: please use the quiet time you now have to bring to God your prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving for all the many gifts you have received from Him recently. You may wish to include the following prayer:
You are holy and you are the only God. You are strong and great, you are almighty. You are the King of heaven and the earth, you are Lord of all. You are supreme good, living and true. You are love and grace. You are wisdom, humility and endurance. You are rest and peace. You are joy and gladness. You are justice and moderation. You are sufficient for each one of us. You are beauty and gentleness. You are our protector, guardian and defender. You are courage and hope. You are faith and our great consolation. You are eternal life and you are our God, wonderful Lord, merciful Saviour and we praise you.
Amen.
Bible readings; The Gospel of John chapter 6 verses 1 to 13 and the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians chapter 3 verses 1 to 6.
Key idea: our power and ability and sufficiency are from God.
(2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 5b)
Have you reached the stage in life when pills and potions are daily part of your lifestyle?
If so, how many do you take and what do they do for you?
As well as the medicines on prescription there is a whole range of other supplements we can take, some of these remedies are as old as the hills and handed down through the generations. There are nutritional supplements, herbal remedies and natural supplements, all of which are meant to improve our health conditions. Some ease pain both physical and psychological, others boost energy whilst others calm the brain, whilst others ensure continuation of life by keeping the heart beating or balancing blood pressure levels. A whole industry across the world provides for our medical needs.
The Bible informs us that God is our sufficiency: that God is enough and our God is all we need.
This is evidenced in the Gospel story of the feeding of the crowds with the fish and bread. The miracle of Jesus highlights the sufficiency of God who never fails. Let us consider 5 aspects of the sufficiency of God and you may be able to think of more:
Grace – The Grace of God is sufficient for all my needs: My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’(2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 9).
Power – The Power of God is sufficient to restore me: The Lord upholds all who fall and raises all who are bowed down. (Psalm 145 verse 14).
Wisdom – The Wisdom of God is sufficient to direct me: He knows the way I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job chapter 23 verse 10).
Strength – His Strength is sufficient for my weakness; He gives strength to those who are tired and more power to those who are weak. (Isaiah chapter 40 verse 29).
Salvation – The death of Jesus on the cross is sufficient for my salvation: He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him. (Hebrews chapter 7 verse 25).
We observe the sufficiency of God as He provides water, manna and quail for Moses and the people in the desert (Exodus chapters 16 and 17).
The Word of God is sufficient for Jesus in the wilderness when He is tempted (Matthew chapter 4).
When Jesus sends out the disciples in pairs on mission, they learn how to rely on God for all their needs, they learn about His sufficiency. (Mark chapter 5 verses 7 to 13) As you reflect on your life, have there been times when you have depended on the
sufficiency of God to bring you through a particular episode?
Are you able to point to those times in your faith journey when God has been all that you have needed?
If Yes, then please share these with others that they too can learn of the sufficiency of our wonderful God.
Photo by Zac Durant via Unsplash
A prayer of response;
God of all goodness, give me yourself for you are all sufficient for me. I may not ask for anything less than what allows me to worship you completely. If I were to ask for anything less then I should always be in want, for in you alone do I have all I need.
Amen
Prayers for others; please continue with confidence in the presence of God as you ask Him to bless those you know in need of His sufficiency at this time and for many across our world. You may wish to include the following prayer;
God our Father, we pray that your sufficiency will be enough for those who are hungry or are overfed, those who mourn and are in sorrow, the victims and their oppressors and for those who are in conflict situations. We pray for your sufficiency for the peacemakers, the silenced and the propagandists, for the unemployed and the overworked, for the addicted and homeless and for those who are persecuted because they have a relationship with Jesus. Great God accept this prayer in His name.
Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
Praise time; you are invited to continue in praise as you sing your favourite songs/hymns to God as He loves to hear the praise of His children. You may wish to include the following hymn;
Father I place into your hands. (Mission Praise 133)
The Blessing:
Go, and know that the Lord goes with you: let Him lead you each day into the quiet place of your heart, where He will speak with you. Know that He loves you and watches over you, that He listens to you in gentle understanding and that He is with you always, wherever you are. May the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you forever.
Amen
Extra; if you have access to YouTube either on-line or TV, please try this new worship song;
Behold the Lamb – Passion/Kristian Stanfill
Thank you for sharing your worship with us.
God bless you.
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