Living a life aware of the character of God.
Today is traditionally called “Low Sunday”, but there is nothing Low about it. Easter is a demonstration of God’s promises.
The grave clothes were empty, the tomb was empty, and until these were discovered, the promises must have seemed empty to the disciples.
God’s promises stand.
In the Second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 20 says , “All the promises of God find their Yes in [Christ].” In Christ Jesus you are being sanctified and made holy.
Song:
Thine is the glory.
Prayers:
Lord, we exalt you, we praise you for your greatness; we are in awe of you. We give you our thanksgiving and praise.
Father we are sorry that we disobey you and fall short of your ideal for us.
Forgive us, you have shown us your way, but we have turned away.
For the sake of Jesus who died for us, forgive us.
Lord, we need your goodness and loving-kindness in this bewildering world.
We give thanks that we are redeemed by Jesus Christ.
We praise you not only with our lips but with our lives.
We pray for those areas of the world where it is difficult to be a Christian.
In particular, at this time we remember the people of the Ukraine, where there have been many lives lost as a result of the needless, horrific attack. We pray that the Christians in Ukraine will persevere in their faith, speak out and offer hope.
We pray for leaders of countries; guide them as they make decisions, that they may make decisions in accordance with your will.
We thank you for Queen Elizabeth and for her demonstration of faith, we pray that her faith may influence others.
We pray for all who gather in God’s name, everywhere. May they be sustained and comforted in their faith.
Amen.
Song:
Fill Thou my life O Lord my God
Fill Thou My Life (Horatius Bonar) - YouTube
Reading: Exodus, chapter 23 verses 1 to 13
Song:
Break Thou, the bread of life
Hymn 806 - Break Thou the Bread of Life - YouTube
Laws of Justice and Mercy.
In the book of Genesis, we have accounts of God addressing individuals; in Exodus, God is addressing his chosen people.
The way we live our lives can be very telling. People watch how we eat, live, and exercise (or not.) Our daily lives and behaviour betray something of how we think.
In Exodus, chapter 20, God gave the ten commandments; in the subsequent chapters, they are expanded in practical ways.
Standards are laid down so that people could show the world that God is unique, by the way they lived.
The message is that the Lord in the God of Justice and compassion. The instruction is to live a life that points to Him. There is a recurrent theme of the need to look after the needy.
The need to be unbiased in our dealings.
God’s compassion is shown for other humans, including enemies; and for the environment. The donkey is used as an example because it would have been a familiar sight to the hearers. There are echoes here of “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you” and “If your enemy is hungry, feed him” from the new testament.
The hearers are told to care for foreigners, and reminded that they, in their turn, were foreigners in Egypt.
The environment needs caring for as well, leave the land fallow every 7 years, so that the needy might be fed. This is not to say that the needy should only be fed every seven years! But that they should not have to wait, just go and get what they need.
The sabbath was to be a time of refreshment, for all, the servants, the animals should all be shown that compassion.
The other nations would have looked at the people of Israel and seen the compassion; they would see a land where the poor, the servants, the land and the animals were looked after. They would have seen something of the nature of God.
God wanted people to copy his characteristics, and have no other Gods before him. But the people of Israel disobeyed and worshipped others; evidence of this is found in a number of places, particularly the prophets, such as Amos and Ezekiel.
The writer wanted the reader to understand God’s justice and compassion, and the need to live a life of justice and compassion.
We are God’s people by faith in Jesus Christ, and we need to live a life of Justice and Compassion so that we can point others to God.
We need to ask whether there are ways in which we can do this better.
What does a church which practices God’s Love and compassion look like?
In the modern world many of our electronic devices need to be reset periodically. God provides us with an opportunity to do a reset on our lives.
Ask God to do a reset. Then we will know that a church that practices God’s love and compassion looks like
Song:
Take my life and let it be
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