To love as Jesus loved


 

Opening prayer

O God,
you broke down the barriers when you crept in beside us.
In Jesus, your hands touched all, and touched us.
You opened our eyes
to see how the hands of the rich were empty,
and the hearts of the poor were full.
You took the widow’s mite and the child’s loaves
and used them to show us the Kingdom.

Here in the company of the neighbour whom we know
and the stranger in our midst,
and the self from whom we turn,
we ask to love as Jesus loved.

Make this the place and time, good Lord,
when heaven and earth become one,
and we in word and flesh
know ourselves beloved.
Amen.

 
~ from the website of Old South Church in Boston, posted on re:worship

From the blog
3 prayers for the New Year
Table grace
Germinate and grow
 

Deeply loved

 

Litany

(inspired by 1 John 4:19, John 15:12)

How deeply you have loved us, Jesus;
how willingly you stepped into our experience,
how completely you empathised with all that we endure.
Teach us to love as you have loved us.

How sacrificially you have loved us, Jesus;
how completely you gave yourself for us,
how courageously you suffered for our sakes.
Teach us to love as you have loved us.

How restoratively you have loved us, Jesus;
how generously you share your life,
how extravagantly you make yourself available to us.
Teach us to love as you have loved us.

We praise you for your love
which is given so freely and so unconditionally.
And we thank you for believing
that we could learn to offer such love
to each other.
Amen.
 

— written by John van de Laar, posted on Sacredise

From the blog
All my days and forever
In small ways
Theme: Good shepherd  [prayer sheet]
 

Loved


 
Many years ago I spent an hour or so meditating on a short phrase from God’s word to his people as recorded in Jeremiah 31:3:

“I have loved you”

 
As I reflected on my life in relation to these words I was humbled and amazed. Truly, God had loved me, and protected and guided me. Also – maybe especially – in the dark times.

Meditating on these words will do you good too, I’m sure.

From the blog
Show me the way
Theme: Good news  [prayer sheet]
Balm to heal the world
 

God so loved the world

Call to Worship

(based on John 3:16)

For God so loved the world;
the sparrows, the mountain lions,
the fish and the people.

For God so loved the world;
in success and failure,
in sickness and health,
in mediocrity and extraordinary.

For God so loved the world;
enough to become one of us,
enough to suffer along with us,
enough to offer new life for us.

For God so loved the world;
let us worship God!
 

~ written by Katherine Hawker, posted on re:worship

From the blog
3 prayers for the New Year
On the threshold of tomorrow
Looking forward looking back
 

Hope for today #24

Isaiah 56:12
‘Tomorrow will be like today, or even better.’

 
Reading this verse in context we discover the speaker is shamelessly spreading a lie. The truth is, we cannot presume tomorrow will be like today, or even better. We can, however, place our trust in the one who promises to bless those who walk in his ways.

Reflection
Jesus said, ‘If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’ (John 15:5)

QUOTE FOR TODAY
Christ the risen is how we know that it will not always be this way.
 
(Glenn Packiam, Worship and the World to Come, p.2)
 

Hope for today #23

Hebrews 13:8
‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’

 
Jesus, the shepherd of our souls (1 Peter 2:25), is unswerving in his loyalty and steadfast in his love.

Reflection
‘As our own life unfolds, Jesus is ever on the move with us as our utterly faithful leader who will not abandon us.’ (Anthony C. Thiselton)

QUOTE FOR TODAY
From the beginning, Christian hope was Christ centered: it was an expectation of a sure future secured by Christ’s death and resurrection.
 
(Glenn Packiam, Worship and the World to Come, p. 83)
 

Hope for today #22

Luke 19:9
‘Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”’

 
Jesus ‘came to seek and to save the lost’ (Luke 19:10). Also Jericho’s chief tax collector, Zacchaeus.

From his vantage point up the sycamore-fig tree, Zacchaeus catches sight of Jesus as he passes by. More importantly, Jesus catches sight of Zacchaeus and offers him a radical welcome and the saving grace that he so longs for.

Reflection
Jesus offers Zacchaeus a way out, a way back and a way forward.

QUOTE FOR TODAY
The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ have brought about a new and firm reason for hope.
 
(Glenn Packiam, Worship and the World to Come, p. 61)
 

Hope for today #21

Jeremiah 1:10
‘See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.’

 
This verse marks the day God officially appoints Jeremiah as ‘prophet to the nations’, in accordance with his holy plans for Jeremiah’s life. God will give him the words and authority to reshape the world.

Reflection
What is the significance of this day in the light of God’s holy plans for your life?

QUOTE FOR TODAY
Drawing on historical Christian affirmations of hope, the most succinct line from early Christian communities is the one which ends the Nicene Creed: “We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”
 
(Glenn Packiam, Worship and the World to Come, p. 85)
 

Hope for today #20

1 Samuel 25:32
‘David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me”.’

 
David and his men have been good to Nabal, respecting his property and keeping his shepherds safe. It is shearing time and David requests an invitation to the feast, but Nabal refuses to acknowledge David and his contribution and insults him instead. David feels his only option is to retaliate. Abigail, Nabal’s wife, steps in to make amends for her husbands’ indiscretion. David praises God and her for her wisdom and generosity. Her ministry inspires him to be a better man.

Reflection
‘God is faithful … when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.’ (1 Cor 10:13)

QUOTE FOR TODAY
[Hope] is orientated upward and forward.
 
(Glenn Packiam, Worship and the World to Come, p. 84)
 

Hope for today #19

Psalm 95:7b
‘Today, if only you would hear his voice.’

 
This is certainly a Psalm of two halves and today’s verse is the dividing line. Verses 1 to 7b is full of praise, worship and adoration for how great God is. From verse 8 to 11 the singer is taken back to the Exodus experience where the people did not always listen. Or if they did, it did not always result in obedience. Our worship needs to connect to our behaviour.

Reflection
‘So the worshipper singing this psalm is reminded to ask himself how he hears – will it be obediently? – and for whose voice he listens.’ (Derek Kidner)

QUOTE FOR TODAY
Our worship together is a way of rehearsing our hope in order to embed it deep within us.
 
(Glenn Packiam, Worship and the World to Come, p. 3)