A Call to Worship:
The grace, love, and fellowship of God
surrounds us today and always. So, come, let us journey together in the wonderful adventure
of worshipping God, the holy ‘three in one’.
Amen
StF 82 – O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the works thy hands hath made;
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Refrain:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze:
Refrain
And when I think how God, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burdens gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:
Refrain
When Christ shall come with shouts of acclamation,
To take me home, what joy will fill my heart!
Then I will bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God, how great thou art!
Refrain
Bible Readings
Isaiah 40:12-17, 27-31
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Psalm 8
For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honour.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Matthew 7:21-29
True and false disciples
21 ‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” 23 Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
The wise and foolish builders
24 ‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.’
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Psalm 31
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.
6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
as for me, I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not given me into the hands of the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.
9 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and body with grief.
10 My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,
and my bones grow weak.
11 Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbours
and an object of dread to my closest friends –
those who see me on the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.
13 For I hear many whispering,
‘Terror on every side!’
They conspire against me
and plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in you, Lord;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
15 My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.
17 Let me not be put to shame, Lord,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and be silent in the realm of the dead.
18 Let their lying lips be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly against the righteous.
19 How abundant are the good things
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,
on those who take refuge in you.
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
from accusing tongues.
21 Praise be to the Lord,
for he showed me the wonders of his love
when I was in a city under siege.
22 In my alarm I said,
‘I am cut off from your sight!’
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people!
The Lord preserves those who are true to him,
but the proud he pays back in full.
24 Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the Lord.
Prayers of adoration
On this Trinity Sunday, O God the Holy Trinity,
we worship you – even though sometimes we have doubts and fears. You are the one we adore, without whom life has no purpose.
You, O Holy Trinity, meet us and greet us, support and uphold us, provide for us and equip us, wherever we are on our journey in life. We adventure with you, into the known and unknown, but believing that you will always be with us, to the end of the age.
You are the one we adore.
Amen.
Prayers of intercession
Where there is conflict between nations and within nations; where people live in fear of the bullet and the bomb; when parents weep for children who have been killed: God of peace,
may your peace be known.
In homes filled with anger, cruelty and neglect; where there are no safe places; where poverty and addiction bring suffering and pain: God of peace,
may your peace be known.
To those whose minds are tormented by depression; to those whose hold on life is fragile;
to those whose lives are filled with stress: God of peace,
may your peace be known.
To those who are nearing the end of life; to those who love and care for them: God of peace,
may your peace be known.
May your peace be known to us, and may we be bearers of your peace in our world.
Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Please use the version that you prefer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
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.
Time to reflect:
Jesus talks to the crowd and shares a parable about a builder. In this story we often focus on the builder, yet Jesus says right at the start, the wise person who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice, is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
All through life people feel battered by the storms and the place of refuge for all of us is knowing God’s love in difficult times. In Psalm 46 David says God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
When I was at Bible College we lived in Belfast and one evening while we were sitting in our home the windows and doors began to shake before we were plunged into darkness for an hour or so. My uncle was staying with us at the time, and he was surprised at our calmness, it was nothing new to us, it meant another bomb had exploded in the city. The next morning, I went into the city centre and saw that the theatre walls were blown in and there was a burnt-out car and there was cladding and debris on the ground outside the Europa hotel. In all the buildings around, the foundations were shaken, and some walls had crumbled.
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus shares a parable about having a firm foundation. The wise builder who had built his house on a rock withstood all the storms, but the house the foolish builder built on the sand, did not survive.
I remember as a young boy building sandcastles with my grandpa and then later with our three boys putting a wall around a sandcastle trying to battle the tides. We had hours of fun; however, the incoming tide and the sweeping waves always won the battle. As the tide retreated it left a sandy beach and its golden sands, all level and smooth, as though nothing had happened previously.
Over the years I have had different jobs and one of them was working in an architectural company, working on the Cromwell Hospital in London. The foundations were so deep, we had to work with the London underground as the piles needed to be drilled safely to miss the tube network below ground.
In the church we have had an ancient hymn with a verse that says
The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is His new creation
By water and the Word:
From heav’n He came and sought her
To be His holy Bride;
With His own blood He bought her,
And for her life He died.
As we consider our faith, we can live our lives with confidence when we live according to the word of God. God wants us listen to His word and take action.
StF 707 – Make me a channel of your peace
Make me a channel of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me bring your love;
where there is injury, your pardon, Lord;
and where there’s doubt, true faith in you.
O Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved, as to love with all my soul.
Make me a channel of your peace:
where there’s despair in life let me bring hope;
Where there is darkness, only light:
and where there’s sadness, ever joy:
Refrain
Make me a channel of your peace:
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
in giving unto all that we receive,
and in dying that we’re born to eternal life.
Closing Prayer for all ages:
God of adventure, thank you that no matter where the journey may take us, you will always be by our side, giving us renewed strength, vision, and hope. Amen.
