For we are His craftsmanship..
For we are God’s craftsmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do Ephesians 2:10
This morning we met in the bright morning sunshine. We began with J.P. leading us in a rousing go at Amazing Grace. Ahhhhh.. Passionate voices in the morning. What a great sound!
As we prayed into this passage about or lives of ‘good works’, ‘prepared by God, in advance’, we began to pray for all of our community as they went to work today. We prayed for C in the Schools. M in the energy industry. C in the prison system. S in a local charity. A in investment. J with off work from an injury. We prayed for all of our mothers and fathers of little ones.
Next we prayed for our Leadership Community Quiet Day on Saturday. This is an annual Quiet Day for our Pastorate Leaders and Church Council to set aside for listening to the Lord and building up as a team. We prayed for the stretching of our spiritual muscles – including those ‘little ones’ that you only stretch when you’re really working hard! We remembered Proverbs 19:21 and asked God to inspire our plans for a) church growth, b) pastorates changes and c) the invitation map.
Between prayers we had a few testimonies. One of a new family G met on the weekend who came to church once.. and then listened to 5 talks online! R told of a friend who had not attended church for a long time, but who came to St John’s for the first time and was blown away by the joy she sensed. K shared about an answer to prayer in meeting their neighbours in a new development they’ve moved into. They met around the bin lockers and ended up having a glass of wine together!
We prayed for this Sunday, Father’s Day and our study of Godly Conflict. C’mon the Peacemaking Men!!
We prayed for Syria, for Sudan, for Europe, for droughts and conflict in Chad, Niger, Mali and for the Arms Proliferation negotiations ongoing particularly with Russia and China
We finished on the Chorus ‘Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out me!’ and our prayer for each other, and for you reading now, that the ‘Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us ALL and evermore, AMEN!’
Amen?
