Call to worship
God of time and space, bigger than we can ever imagine;
awesome and mighty, and yet so close to us.
Open our eyes to all that you have for us.
Open our ears to hear your call to us.
Open our hands to receive all that you have for us.
Meet us in this place today.
Amen.
Hymn: STF 21 Born in song, God’s people have always been singing
Prayers
Almighty God, as we come before you today,
we cast aside our own ideas of you;
ideas that hide your glory behind a veil of misconceptions.
We wait instead for you to reveal yourself to us
as you truly are, allowing you to be you,
and not what we think you should be.
Lord God, we confess that we often put you in a box.
We like to think we know you,
and that we know exactly what you want from us.
We have pigeon-holed your character and packaged
your personality – you would barely recognise yourself!
We repent of this behaviour,
for your might and majesty cannot be quantified.
We beseech your forgiveness and release you
from the bonds of our ignorance,
to be what you have always been.
There are times when we think we cannot be forgiven.
Unable to forgive ourselves, we don’t believe that you will either.
But you, O Lord, are not like us, and your ways are not our ways.
Your promise of forgiveness is strong and true,
when we accept it, and let you be you.
Father, we praise you for being you –
beyond our understanding, yet made known to us
through your prophets and in your Son.
We thank you for your mysterious ways,
which are always working for our good,
leading us to grow in knowledge of you.
All praise be to you, now and forever.
Amen
Intro:
This time last year while I waited for surgery, we began watching The Crown on Netflix. I couldn’t do much else and I can honestly say I did get hooked. We were very late to the party. While on sabbatical we managed to watch the final season. It was interesting to see behind the scenes to what was being portrayed as the royal palaces and properties. I often lost the script while observing the scenery. Would you like to live in a palace with it being so elaborately decorated? What would put you off? I would definitely worry that I would break something or trip up. Our son went camping last month and decided that he would stay an extra night but needed food supplies so off we trekked one sunny gorgeous evening to Edale and there was his tiny tent alongside his friends equally tiny tent. While we stood delivering supplies, I noticed the bell tents way across the field which was more appealing that the tiny tents in front of me? Would you rather live in a royal palace or tent? Which one would allow you to ‘pack up and go’ and move around more easily?
So with those thoughts in mind, we read the passage from:
Reading 2 Samuel 7:1-14a
Hymn: STF 370 Breathe on me breath of God
Reflection:
David is now settled and in Jerusalem, and we meet him wanting to make a permanent place, a dwelling place for God as they had been on the move since they left Egypt and since David was chosen to be king. Our reading tells us that God had other plans and that building a temple was not the right time….that stayed that way until Solomon. However, God does make an everlasting covenant with David to secure the future.
David was fed up of moving about and wanting to build a temple and build his city, the city of Jerusalem, as a centre of unity and identity for the one people of Israel. David had planned a house built with costly cedar, a fragrant wood. He consulted with the prophet Nathan who plays a major role in David’s life. God makes it clear to David and Nathan that the timing of building a temple – a big extravagant building like the Royal palaces we thought about earlier was not the right time. Instead the temporary, moveable home was to be. This reminds us of the wandering people of the Old Testament and the leaders were the wandering shepherds, reminding us that David is also the shepherd King.
In the passage we see that God promises a safe place and a rest for the people and that there would be a house to come. The house of David. And a promise of successors for David for ever. And so the covenant box, the Ark of God was to remain in the tent, its temporary home.
We can get so preoccupied with our buildings, and sometimes that is right, we should be good stewards of the buildings we have, but that can prevent us from reflecting who God is, the living God who we sometimes confine within the walls of our building. God’s presence was with the people of God in the ark, but they also learned that God’s presence was living and active. How can we be sure that the plans we have do not limit the work of God? Do our hopes, plans, mission statements reflect a God who can do abundantly more that we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20)? Do our own lives reflect this too?
The people of the Old Testament were a wandering prayerful people, this week may we as we wander through our days, reflect that God is with us each and every step and give thanks for the moments that we notice this within ourselves and the life of our church. Amen
A reflective activity: exploring the seasons of our spiritual life.
You will need a piece of paper and pens.
In the Old Testament reading, God declined David’s offer of a permanent temple for him to reside in. It was not the right ‘season’ for God to give up being on the move.
Take your piece of paper and draw a circle on it and to divide it into four. Head the quarters with: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.
There is a ‘seasonality’ to our spiritual lives. We may be in a ‘spring’ period of new beginnings and shoots; we may be in a ‘summer’ period of flourishing and building; we may be in an ‘autumn’ period of reaping a harvest and bringing in an abundance; or we may be in a ‘winter’ period of resting and recuperation.
Consider where you are. Indicate on your circle which of the quarters you resonate with today. Which ‘season’ are you in now, and to write down why. You may identify with one season, but you may be in more than one season.
Take some time to prayerful reflect on which season (if any) God might be calling you to move into. Then use this prayer to end your time of reflection:
God of the past and the future;
of our present questions and our future hopes:
help us to rest in your call to us,
in whichever season we find ourselves in;
and help us to trust that you will provide for us
in the future as you have in the past.
Amen.
Song: Christ’s is the world in which we move
Prayers of Intercession
Uncontainable God, glorious, humble, eternal,
we pray the vastness of your compassion and the greatness of your love
into the lives of those on our hearts this morning…
May they all feel your presence with them
and be sustained by your Holy Spirit.
We pray for young people breaking up for the summer holidays:
for those who will have a super time and for those who will not.
We pray for those anxious about their future
and for those who are exploited.
May they all feel your presence with them
and be sustained by your Holy Spirit.
We pray for those who feel under constant attack
and especially for children in war zones:
those places in the headlines and those places that rarely make the news.
We pray for all affected by war and violence – people, animals and the earth itself.
May they all feel your presence with them
and be sustained by your Holy Spirit.
We pray for those who grieve,
and especially for those whose grief is very public.
We continue to pray for John and Amy Hunt, for the family of Jay Slater,
and for all who grieve for loved ones who have gone missing,
who live with the open wound of not knowing what has happened to them.
May they all feel your presence with them
and be sustained by your Holy Spirit.
And we pray for one another, for your Church
and for all who have no one to name them in prayer today…
May we and they all feel your presence
and be sustained by your Holy Spirit.
Amen
Hymn: STF 526 Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy
Closing prayer
God of all our days,
our beginning and our end,
help us to walk with you;
to trust you at every turning of the way;
to follow where you lead us;
and to go where you send us.
In all the ups and downs of life,
in times when we are certain about what we need to do
and in times when we doubt that you are with us,
open our ears to hear your voice;
open our eyes to see you at work,
and open our hearts to trust you in every step of our journey.
Amen.
© Roots for Churches Ltd (www.rootsforchurches.com) 2002-2024.
Reproduced with permission.
