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Call to Worship
Holy God,
we have gathered in your presence today
acknowledging that we need you in different ways.
Some of us need strength
because we feel powerless.
Some of us need hope,
because we are feel like giving up.
Some of us need love
because we are feeling alone.
We trust that you will provide for us,
whether through words or music,
or in a quiet moment of reflection.
You are here,
you are with us.
Amen.
From: https://carolpenner.typepad.com/leadinginworship/prayers-call-to-worship/
Prayer of Confession
God of Mercy and Grace, Universal Healer, in this time, we cry to you. We open our hearts to receive you, to find comfort in you. You call us in such a time to be bold, to be brave.
Forgive
us Lord, for we have been afraid.
Forgive
us Lord, when our fear has led us to cower from your call to action.
Forgive
us when we haven’t taken the sort of caution that serves and protects our
neighbours.
Forgive
us when we have made light of the suffering of others.
Forgive us when we
have not lived as your disciples.
People of God, take heart! You are forgiven,
you are loved —God will not leave us alone in this time
Transform us by your Spirit and your Word into a faithfulness which
never falters. Bring us into Your peace, joining saints and angels of all ages.
In the Trinity we pray. Amen.
From: http://austinmustardseed.org/blog/2020/03/09/a-prayer-of-confession-during-covid-19/
Bible Reading: Genesis 17:1-9 – 15-17
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty;[a] walk before me, and be blameless. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be Abram,[b] but your name shall be Abraham;[c] for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring[d] after you. 8 And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God.”
15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call
her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover I
will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to
nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
God’s Nature
And yet despite all this, despite him believing in
God’s word (Gen 15:6), nothing happened. And its is because of that that
Abraham decided to take matters into his own hand and have a child through his
slave-girl Hagar. After all, God had only said that Abraham would be the father
of this promised child, but he hadn’t specified that Sarah would be the mother.
Nevertheless, he fathered Ishmael through Hagar the slave-girl when he was 86
years old (Gen 16:15). Therefore, when his age is mentioned in chapter 17, it
is very significant: “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to …him” (v.1). This suggests that for
thirteen years, there was no word from the Lord. That’s a long time. The promise
had been made, a son was born, but things didn’t turn out how Abraham thought
they would – and to top it all, God was silent. Does that sound familiar? We
sometime feel close to God, we experience his presence, we believe in his plans
and purpose for our lives – and then we start to become impatient when things
don’t happen in the way we expect them to. We become disillusioned, we decide
to do our own thing, and God is silent. We are left waiting and waiting. Like
Abraham.
And
then God breaks into Abraham’s disillusionment, the waiting is ended and God is
control again. The sun has broken through the could in all is dazzling
splendour. We see this is the encounter described at the start of the chapter.
God ‘appeared’ to Abraham as the all-powerful one. That is the meaning
of the Hebrew word “El Shaddai”: “I am God Almighty (El Shaddai); Remember,
for thirteen years Abraham must have been feeling helpless and hopeless,
wondering what had become of the promises God had made to him, promises that he
believed in but which appeared to come to nothing. God is -all powerful; he is
in control. Next, God says: “walk before me, and be blameless.” This command flows out of the self-description of God. Because of
who he is, it demands an appropriate behavioural response – live in a manner that
is worthy of who God is. How does our behaviour reflect what we believe of God?
Or more concerningly, how does the way we live our life not reflect the
God whom we believe. Being in relationship with the all-powerful God demands a
response on our part – to live in a way that is acceptable to God.
God’s
Goodness
It
all happened so fast! Before Abraham had the chance to even say or do anything,
God says to him: “And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will
make you exceedingly numerous” (v.3). This is a reiteration of the covenant
that was made in Gen 15:18, a reminder that God has made a promise in the past
and therefore there is no reason why he will not keep his word. Remember, we
have a promise keeping God. But it also tells us that we have a God who is
willing to pick up where we left off. God wants to be in relationship with
us. He is faithful to us even when we are not faithful to him. For Abraham,
to be reminded of the promise and the blessings of abundance that this covenant
signified must have been very reassuring. After he was feeling that he had
messed things up, taken the course of his live into his own hands, and God hadn’t
been around for a while now. What a relief for him now to hear that the covenant
still stands, the promises remain true, and God is in control. Not only that, God
wants to bless us. We know this from what God says to Abraham: “I will
make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall
come from you” (v.6). Remember, Abraham started of as foreigner in a strange
land, a nomadic wanderer but he was now going to be the source of Kings and royalty.
He was a man who was advanced in year, who had no heir, except from a child
from a slave-girl who had gone into hiding, and yet God says: “You shall be
the ancestor of a multitude of nations” (v.4a). And as if that blessing was
not enough, Abraham is reminded that the blessings would be unending: “I
will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you
throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and
to your offspring[d] after you” (v.7). There would
be land in abundance: “And I will give to you, and to your offspring after
you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a
perpetual holding” (v.8). And most importantly, the blessing of God everlasting
presence: “and I will be their God” (v.8c). What blessings: a
relationship, land, and God’s very presence – forever!! A God who can make the
impossible possible, for nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). God is
good. God is in a covenantal relationship with us, and he does for us more than
we can ever imagine!
God’s New Beginnings
Central
to this encounter is the revelation of God’s name (El Shaddai), but it also
focuses on the names of Abraham and Sarah, originally Abram and Sarai. To Abraham
God says: “No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations (v.7)
and about Sarah he says: “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her
Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a
son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of
peoples shall come from her.” (vs.15-16). A new name for both Abraham and
Sarah. In other words, a new identity, a fresh start, a beginning for them. No
longer was Abram going to be an ‘exalted father’. After all that was an ironic
name for someone who had no heirs, apart from the son of a slave woman. Now, as
he anticipated and awaited the promises of God, the birth of his own son through
his wife Sarah, he was going to become the father of a multitude of nations. For
Sarai, she was going to be re-named ‘princess’ since kings of peoples shall
come from her. This renaming, this new identity needs to be seen within the
overall context of the encounter with God. A relationship with God calls for a
new start in our lives. Both Abraham and Sarah and experienced this. In the new
testament, this truth remains the same. St. Paul says, “So if anyone is
in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see,
everything has become new!” (2 Cor 5:17).
In this story we encounter God’s nature, as the all powerful one, and this understanding shapes the way we relate and respond to God; we see God’s goodness, the blessings of God come thick and fast to those who love him; we become recipient’s of God’s new beginnings, when we are in a relationship with him, all things are new.
Thanks
be to God for his Word.
Amen
Prayers of
Intercession
I thank you Lord for the gift of your Son: for His life, His sufferings and death and for His Resurrection and Ascension, for the witness, salvation and hope He gives.
I thank you for the
gift of your Holy Spirit to those who have come to you, and especially for the
gift of that Spirit in your Church.
I rejoice in the work and witness of your Church
and pray that it may continue to strive to fulfil your work and proclaim your
Love.
I pray for the needs of the world, thinking
especially at this time of those affected by the Coronavirus, but remembering
too all who suffer including those whose plight seemingly goes unnoticed. Be
with all those suffering in any way. Especially be with……………
Be with those whose lives impact others: leaders
in government, or the workplace, health care workers, teachers, emergency
workers and all those on whom people depend. Grant them the wisdom and the
strength to know and to follow your way.
Lord, I commend all men, women and children to
your unfailing love through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen
From The Methodist church,
prayers at home, 5th July 2020
Blessing
When You say a word, may we hear You,
Lord. When You touch our hearts, may we feel You, Lord. When You lead the way,
may we follow You, Lord. When You inspire us, may we respond to You, Lord. May
all our lives be lived in response to Your calling, Lord Jesus.
and the blessing of God
Almighty, Father, Son and Holy spirit be with you this day and evermore, Amen.
Amen
From: © Paul H Ashby Derby 2011, www.prayerandbiblestudy.org
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