O God be a tower of strength to all who trust
in you; empower us to work for your freedom and peace; through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Amen
With all your church we pray for all who are
longing and yearning for freedom.
Lord, look in mercy on all who are struggling
in life.
Strengthen all who are being persecuted for
their faith.
Guide us as we seek to grow in our faith, that
we may be led by the Spirit to become children of God.
Good and
gracious God, grant us a glimpse of your glory.
Lord, forgive us when we destroy and mar your
world,
we pray for areas where forests are being
destroyed, the soil eroded, the water polluted.
Guide by your Spirit all who groan for a
better world and all who seek to restore and renew the earth.
Good and
gracious God, grant us a glimpse of your glory.
We come with our own inner longings and hopes,
that your glory may be revealed in our homes
and in our lives,
that we may know that we are children of God
and treat each other with respect.
Good and
gracious God grant us a glimpse of your glory.
We pray for all who are struggling with
illness and disability, and we hold before you all who are known to us at this
time.
We ask for your healing and loving Spirit to
embrace and sustain them.
Protect and enfold them in your love.
Good and
gracious God grant us a glimpse of your glory.
Our Bible
readings for this week:
Genesis
28: 10-19a
Jacob’s
Dream
Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward
Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the
sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head
and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on
the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were
ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am
the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which
you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be
like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the
east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall
be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep
you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave
you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob woke from his sleep
and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” And he was
afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house
of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 19th July 2020 3 So Jacob rose early
in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it
up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel;
Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43
The Parable of the Weeds
He put before them another parable:
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his
field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the
wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the
weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds
come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him,
‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in
gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of
them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the
reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but
gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” Then he left the crowds and went into the
house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of
the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the
Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the
kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed
them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are
angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be
at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will
collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will
throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their
Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
Collect
Creator God, you made us all in your image:
may we discern you in all that we see and
serve you in all that we do,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of
God.
Blessing
The glory of God the creator, be ours,
the glory of Christ the redeemer be ours,
the glory of the life-giving Spirit be ours,
May the glory of God, Father, Son
and Holy Spirit, be with us and those we love,
always.
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment