Words by David Hollows
Our Willing God
'I will song to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me.'
(Psalm 13 verse 6).
A prayer;
Lord Jesus Christ, I accept that I am a sinner and I confess my sins to you, especially those on my conscience. (PAUSE) I firmly believe that you died for me to bear away my sins. And now, according to your promise, I open my heart to you. Come in, Lord Jesus, and be my Saviour and Friend forever.
Amen.
Photo by Ravi Roshan via Unsplash
Praise time; please now use this time to praise and worship God as you sing your hymns/songs of praise. You may wish to use CDs and/or YouTube and you may wish to include the following;
Hallelujah! Sing to Jesus. (Mission Praise 207)
Prayers; please now continue in the presence of God as you offer to Him your prayers of gratitude for all the many gifts you have received from Him in the past days. You may wish to include the following prayer:
Great God, we thank you for our good life, for those who are dear to us and for all who help us. We thank you for the measure of freedom we have and the extent to which we can control our lives. We thank you for life itself which stirs within us, for the wonderful world in which we live. We thank you for the activities which fill our days, for our leisure hours and friends. We thank you most of all for the faith that is in us and for the awareness of you in our lives. Keep us, we pray, thankful and hopeful until you call us to yourself.
Amen.
Bible reading; The Gospel of Matthew chapter 21 verses 23 to 32
Key idea; then the man came to the second son and said the same thing. And the son replied; ‘I will go’ but he did not do so (Matthew chapter 21 verses 30)
Marriage in a church setting has been on the decline for many years and that the number of people being divorced or being in a partnership is increasing.
However, it is always encouraging to witness marriages lasting 40, 50, 60 years and these being celebrated.
We all know that in the marriage ceremony there are the vows which are made with the simple response; ‘I will’ which then seals the relationship, hopefully, for many years. In Matthew’s story of the man who made a request of his two sons there are many themes which have been explored and willingness is one of these.
Can you imagine if the second son is a reflection of God’s personality? Can you imagine the reaction to a request for God to bless another person if God replied in the following ways?
Not today, I am not in a good mood.
Sorry, I can’t be bothered today. You have annoyed me, so go away because I will not answer your request. What, you again!
Thankfully, we do not have a God like the belligerent first son or the second son who says one thing and does another. Instead we have a God who is more than willing to be involved in our lives.
God’s answer is, ‘I will’, if you pray and ask, ‘God, will you?’
Psalm 91 verse 15 reminds us; He shall call upon Me and I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.
Jeremiah informs us in chapter 33 verse 3, God says, ‘Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ In Hebrews chapter 13 verse 5 we have another promise from God: for God himself has said, ‘I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down. I will not relax my hold on you.’
There are many other stories in the Bible which show the extent to which God is willing to be involved; Daniel and the lions’ den (Daniel chapter 6) Daniel and his friends in the fiery furnace (Daniel chapter 3) and the Cross which proved the ultimate example of a willingness to love and redeem (Matthew chapter 27).
We have a God who is willing to hear, answer, provide, protect, guide and love – all without cost.
How are you willing to respond? Through obedience, service, worship, prayer, giving your time and talents, loving God and others?
Jesus prayed;’ Father, not my will but your will be done.’ (Luke chapter 22 verses 42)
How do you say, ‘I will’, to God?
Photo by Jakub Kriz via Unsplash
A prayer of response;
My God, I am not my own but yours. Take me for your own and help me in all things to do your holy will. My God, I give myself to you, in joy and sorrow, in sickness and in health, in success and failure, in life and in death, in time and for eternity. Make me and keep me your own, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayers for others: now please pray for those you know personally in need and for those you learn about in the media. You may wish to include the following prayer:
Great God, we pray for the members of our family, our neighbours near and far, for friends old and new and for those we find difficult. We pray for those in poverty, war and persecution. We pray for those who live with injustice and oppression, for those in sorrow and grief and for those who have no love in their lives. We ask this in the name of Jesus,
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Praise time: you are encouraged to continue to worship God with your favourite songs and hymns and you may wish to include the following;
Oh! Oh! Oh! How good is the Lord. (Mission Praise 532)
Photo by Tim Mossholder via Unsplash
The Blessing;
Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight: to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen
Extra; if you have access to YouTube either on-line or TV, please try this new worship song;
You are good – Travis Cottrell
Thank you for sharing your worship with us. God bless you
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