WELCOME: –

CALL TO WORSHIP: –

When we think about things that give us pleasure, 
We are thankful for God’s gracious provision  
He gives us a harvest each year of all that we need; 
We are thankful for God’s gracious provision  
When we bring before God the fruits of our lives
We are thankful for God’s gracious provision  

Let us pray together

Creator God, you make us and shape us; 
you provide for all our needs 
and you guide our paths. 
Help us to live our best lives for you, 
bringing your peace to our world. 
May we be like Jesus  
in how we live alongside others 
and so draw nearer to you.
Amen.

As we sing “I Will Sing The Wondrous Story” we join with those from St Georges Church Shrewsbury.

A psalm giving grateful praise.  (from Psalm 100)

I shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
I worship the Lord with gladness;

And my heart overflows with joyful songs.
 I know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made me and I am his

I am part of His family, and He cares for me

As the shepherd cares for the sheep of his pasture.

I live my life in His presence with thanksgiving and praise;
I give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
 his faithfulness continues through all generations.

INTRODUCTION

In our Bible readings today we learn that true wisdom comes from paying attention to God’s guidance.

Today we find Solomon as a young leader looking to God for wisdom in order to fulfil his destiny as king. Do we look to God’s guidance in order to fulfil our destiny?

James in his letter points out that good deeds resulting from wisdom and understanding are carried out in humility. Do we ensure that our confidence in God’s grace and mercy does not lead us to boasting in our achievements?

And Jesus points out to his closest companions that pride and boasting have no place for the true wisdom comes from implicit trust, as does the child he takes in his arms, in His wisdom and guidance. Are we willing as children of God to welcome others?

Remember…

  “Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all.” 

                                         God, may we be great in your eyes by being humble. 
                                             Help us to be wise by following your Word. 
                                             May we be blessed by being a blessing 
                                             and by choosing you.  
                                             Amen

We sing:    ‘CHRIST BE OUR LIGHT‘ (Altogether OK 313)

This song expresses the strong desire for such a closeness with Christ that His Grace that enables us to live out lives in Him as we trust Him to show us the way.

The song was written with a leader in mind to sing the verses with the congregation joining in singing the chorus.

© Bernadette Farrell 1993.

We continue in prayer

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

God of mercy and forgiveness,  
we confess that we have sinned against you in thought,  
word and deed.  
We have been envious and selfish, boastful and false,  
quarrelsome and violent.  
We have hurt others and ourselves and dishonoured you. 

 Forgive us, O God, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Restore to us the joy of your salvation and renew a right spirit within us.  
Amen. 

ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS

God of grace and love, we thank you for your forgiveness,  
freely given through the cross of Christ.  
We thank you that you do not reject us in our weakness,  
but welcome us in your mercy.  

Just as Jesus said to the woman who anointed His feet with oil, “Your sins are forgiven…. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Jesus likewise says to each one of us “Your sins are forgiven…your faith has saved you: go in peace.” 

Thanks be to God.

REFLECTION:

We listen to this hymn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVDROXwOWnQ&t=72s 

BIBLE READINGS

1 KINGS 3:5-15

⁵ At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

⁶ Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

⁷ “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. ⁹ So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

¹⁰ The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. ¹¹ So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, ¹² I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. ¹³ Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honour—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. ¹⁴ And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” ¹⁵ Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream.

James 3:13-18 and 3:7-8a;

¹³ Are there any of you who are wise and understanding? You are to prove it by your good life, by your good deeds performed with humility and wisdom. ¹⁴ But if in your heart you are jealous, bitter, and selfish, don’t sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom. ¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic. ¹⁶ Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemaker’s plant in peace.

⁷ So then, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you. ⁸ Come near to God, and he will come near to you.

RESPONSE

Your word, O God, is a lamp to our feet

A light to our path

Mark 9.33 -37

Who Is the Greatest?

³³ They came to Capernaum, and after going indoors Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?”

³⁴ But they would not answer him, because on the road they had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest. ³⁵ Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all.” ³⁶ Then he took a child and had him stand in front of them. He put his arms around him and said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever welcomes in my name one of these children, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not only me but also the one who sent me.”

RESPONSE

May your word live in us

And bear much fruit to your glory

MESSAGE

There have been many voices telling the same message to different generations.

That same message is applicable to us even today. As summed up in Proverbs 3 verses 5 and 6 that we must

 “Trust in the LORD with all our hearts; and lean not on our own understanding. In all our ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct our paths.”

 We were always meant to walk with God as did Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden.

We were always meant to look to the Lord for wisdom for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9)

We were always meant to follow his instructions for “His word is a light that shows us the way.” (Psalm 119) Psalm 27 also says The Lord is our light our salvation; We have nothing to be afraid of as He is the strength of our lives.

Remember that Eli told Samuel to be ready to listen. “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’

But, did we listen? Well? No, not when we had other ideas.

Surely our ways were better and give us better outcomes. (that is for us). Perhaps we listened as did Toad in the Wind in the Willows when he was chastised severely by Badger for his reckless behaviour. After making promises to change his ways, with head bent low he walked out of the room but as soon as he came outside, with a grin on his face, it was “Poop! Poop!” a hop, skip and jump and he was back to his old ways.

When confronted about his promises the reply came, “That was in there! That was in there!”

Many times, God spoke to his people, through the leaders and prophets, warning them  to turn from their reckless, ways and many times these warnings were ignored and consequences ensued. It was a revolving door of disobedience – repentance – obedience – forgetfulness – disobedience and so on infinitum.

Time and time again, in our own strength and wisdom, we have been unable to listen and follow paths of righteousness and have not trusted our Lord, God.

God’s solution to this relentless self-sufficiency was this; “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26) This was not to be any old heart but the heart of the Spirit of God.

With the heart of God, that is the Spirit of God, within us we are able to “walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

John testified to what they  had seen and heard, so that others also may have fellowship with them and therefore fellowship with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. He writes this to make his and his friends’ joy complete. (1 John 1:7)

We were always meant to live in fellowship with God and we enjoy that fellowship with God with a heart of obedience to Him in all things. Our fellowship is a true partnership with God as Leader and Lord.

We are encouraged that Solomon’s humble request for a wise and discerning heart was granted. May we too walk in obedience keeping the Lord’s decrees and commands with a servant’s heart and become as Jesus said, a servant to all, by whom all are welcomed.

Joyous praise and worship springs from our hearts and into every aspect of our lives. And so we sing enthusiastically our anthems of praise, making our joy complete.

In all this we become the living Word of God shining light into the darkest places.

We may be the only Bible that many may ever know.

. Are we willing as children of God to welcome others?

Remember…

  “Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all.” 

God, may we be great in your eyes by being humble. 
Help us to be wise by following your Word. 
May we be blessed by being a blessing 
and by choosing you.  
Amen

Let us sing with the Huddersfield choral Society and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the congregation at The Monastery in Manchester

‘GUIDE ME O THOU GREAT REDEEMER‘

OFFERTORY

Our freewill offering will now be received

DEDICATION OF OFFERING

Almighty God,

As we come before you with our offerings, we are reminded of our constant need for you in our lives. You are our provider, our sustainer, and our strength. Without you, we are nothing. May these gifts be a symbol of our dependence on you, acknowledging that all we have comes from your hand.  Amen

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Loving Father, sometimes the world is hard to understand. There is so much happening around our globe. Many complex and difficult situations: The ongoing wars in the Middle East and eastern Europe. As we survey the world this week we ask that you give us hope. Thank you that we know the transforming power your Spirit can bring. Help us to live in the reality of that hope while we pray for the very real situations around the world.

Lord, thank you that you are in control.
Help us to put our trust in you.

Gracious God, help us to learn to see the world as you do.  The first will be last and the last first. Thank you that you remind us to pay attention to the weak and not just the strong. We pray for those in our communities who are struggling at the moment. We pray for those who are on the margins or feel disenfranchised. Help us, as your church, to notice and respond to the needs we see. We also pray for the powerful, for those who lead and govern. May they see the world as you do, may they work to bring equality and restore dignity.

Lord, thank you that you see the people our society often disregards as unimportant.
Help us to put our trust in you.

God of all, teach us how to welcome others. We are all welcome in your kingdom. Thank you that you see us and know us and that your welcome is deep and personal. During this week help us to be particularly aware of the welcome we offer others. May this church be a place of real welcome, a place where people feel they are seen and known and feel loved and secure.  Help us to work out what this looks like for us.
Lord, thank you that you are a God of welcome to all.
Help us to put our trust in you.

Heavenly Father, help us to keep learning about your kingdom. Thank you that you took time to teach your disciples. Thank you that you showed them a new way to live. Thank you that you turned the wisdom of their world upside down and showed the disciples a new way to think and behave. Help us to allow your words to transform us and to change the way we think and behave.

Lord, thank you for the wisdom we find in the Bible.
Help us to put our trust in you.

THE LORD’S PRAYER  

Our Father in Heaven,

Hallowed be your name,

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done, on Earth as it is 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 forever.  Amen.

WE SING  ‘Be thou my vision.’ 

We join in worship with the congregation at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, which in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands, England.

SENDING OUT       

God, may we be great in your eyes 
by being humble. 
Help us to be wise 
by following your Word. 
May we be blessed 
by being a blessing 
and by choosing you.  
Amen.

BENEDICTION        

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace, greet one another with holiness. And the God of love and peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9) 

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

 BENEDICTION SONG       TIS 755 ‘We shall go out with joy’ changing “you” to “we”

We shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace
The mountains and the hills shall break forth in singing

There’ll be shouts of joy and all the trees of the field

Shall clap, shall clap their hands
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands
The trees of the field shall clap their hands
The trees of the field shall clap their hands
While we go out with joy

PLAY OUT SONG                Teach Me to Dance