Worship

Sing or say the words of this traditional hymn in worship to God.

1 God of grace and God of glory,
On your people pour your power;
Crown thine ancient church’s story;
Bring her bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
For the facing of this hour.

2 Lo the hosts of evil round us
Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways!
Fears and doubts too long have bound us,
Free our hearts to work and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
For the living of these days.

3 Heal Thy children’s warring madness;
Bend our pride to Thy control;
Shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
Rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal.

4 Save us from weak resignation
to the evils we deplore.
Let the search for Thy salvation
be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
serving Thee whom we adore,

Sermon on the Mat: Gaining Wisdom

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do his commandments. His praise endures forever. Psalm 111 v 10

When we talk of the fear of the Lord here, we are not thinking of cringing in a corner, frightened that we might be zapped at any time if we do something wrong. Rather, we’re describing an obedient response of wonder and awe before the Most High God. He doesn’t want us cowering at the thought of him but rejoicing at all that he does for us, glorying in his power and grace. He calls for our respect and a sense of reverence when we think of him or want to approach him.

It is by lifting our eyes to God that we are lifted beyond the troubles of this world to the One who has the answers – even if they’re not all revealed to us yet!

When we look to God and think of all that he has done for us we begin to appreciate that he has our best interests at heart. At the moment we may not like the experiences we are passing through but it is through the hard times that God teaches us. He teaches us to rely on him rather than trying to rely on our own resources. He teaches us patience when we have to wait for a response to our prayers. He teaches us humility when things don’t go our way. In the longer term he teaches us peace when we learn to trust his judgement.

It is by reading God’s word that we learn his ways, which are not the same as the world’s. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord in Isaiah 55 v 8.

The world would have us think that happiness comes from things, riches and wealth. It is reported that somebody asked the 5 richest people, all multi-millionaires, how much wealth they would be satisfied with. The figure that each one gave was about twice what they already have – wealth doesn’t satisfy!

The world would have us think that power would give us happiness but those who have power find that there is always somebody more powerful than them in some aspects of life and they become frustrated that they can’t always get their way (like a certain ex-president of the USA).

Wisdom will come when we honour God; when we trust God’s judgement and when we learn God’s ways.

Prayer

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr

Challenge

A couple of weeks ago John shared one of his poems. Psalm 111 quoted above is an acrostic poem, as is Psalm 112 and others as well. Each verse or phrase starts with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Why don’t you read these and try writing an acrostic poem or alphabetical list of God’s attributes or the things he has done for us. Mine started:

Alleluia!
Blessed is the Name of the Lord.
Come and join us to worship him.

Please pray:

• For the church worldwide that it may provide leadership and purpose as people wonder where     everything is going.
  For our national leaders that they may work for the good of all.
  ·       For ourselves that we may strive to do right, maintain our courage and trust God to guide us.