Reading: Psalm 84
Song: How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds (Tune: St Peter - 6vv) [with lyrics for congregations] - YouTube
Reading: Paul’s letter to the Colossians, chapter 3: verses 1 to 17
Song: O Lord my God
O Lord my God; How great thou art StF 82 (with lyrics for congregations) - YouTube
Prayers:
O Lord, we acknowledge your greatness. We see your hand in your creation, and you in your son. So many things point us to yo0u, and reveal your glory. These things make is say “how lovely is your dwelling place.
But we know that sometimes we do not look for you, and then we do not find you. We feel cut off and isolated from you, and from each other.
Lord, we confess our guilt, and bring our need of forgiveness before you. We are grateful that the way has been provided for our forgiveness, the death of Jesus on the cross. Lord, grow us the fruit of your spirit
For many people this is a difficult time; we pray for those who are ill, or struggling with life. We pray that we will not keep the Good News to ourselves, that we will be your witnesses. May we provide hope to the hopeless.
Where people are beset by financial problems, may they come to see that their security comes from you, and not from financial security.
We pray for governments, asking for wisdom for this who make decisions, that public life may be full of godly wisdom.
In Jesus’ name
Amen.
Song: Jesus is Lord
Jesus is Lord! Creation's voice proclaims it - YouTube
In the northern hemisphere, summer has just begun. June the 21st was the summer solstice, the longest day. (of course, if you are reading this in the southern hemisphere, it is the start or winter, and it was the winter solstice, the shortest day). For many people it is a time when plans are made for travel. Some will be going to the seaside, others will be intending to visit somewhere more exotic. For the infirm, summer is often a time of some relief, as the warm weather eases pain in their joints.
Some people are less fortunate, they are not able to make any such plans; perhaps the cost of living crisis means that they cannot afford to make plans to travel; perhaps they are affected by relationship difficulties; or possibly there is illness in their family which means that all such plans are on hold for now, but there will be a need to plan for other aspects of life.
If you are approaching the onset of winter, you will also need to make plans, but perhaps different ones!
Whenever we make plans we need to cover a number of eventualities, particularly where, why and how we are intending to execute the plan.
Paul urges us above all else to “ set your hearts on things above,” and “ Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” and of course, we need to know the same three things; Where we are going, why we are going and how we are going.
The object of our journey is “Things Above” and verse 1 makes it clear that this is where Christ is. When we embark on a journey, many modern travellers use Google maps, or a satnav. But enter “Above” into Google maps, and it is unlikely that it would come up with a physical location that is helpful in this quest.
If it is not a physical place, then what is our destination? Simply, “above” is where Christ is ruling.
Verse 2 tells us that is the opposite of earthly things. The letter is to a group of people who have believed the lie that you need something other than Jesus. If we are looking for “things above”, we are not looking for earthly things, which are for earthly needs. Rather, we are looking for what is not seen, what is behind the things. This will lead us to the heavenly home, if we trust is Christ, it is with Him.
Paul tells us that we have been “Raised with Christ” and then. From verse 3 onwards, he uses a flowing logical argument to explain what this means. There has been a change in us. The earthly nature has gone, It has been replaced with the “above” nature. This being so, then we should live like it. We don’t “do” in order to become changed and win the approval of Jesus, rather, we have become something different, so that we can “do” differently. We are not trying to achieve anything, this has already been achieved by Christ in his death and resurrection.
Inn order to set our hearts and minds on the things of Christ, we need to actively centre our affection and attention on the task. We can’t just passively let things happen. Our minds won’t default to these things.
Psalm 84, verses 1-2 says
“How
lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
My
soul yearns, even faints,
for
the courts of the Lord;
my
heart and my flesh cry out
for
the living God.”
We need to similarly set our hearts on the thins above, it must be what drives us forward. We need to have the psalmist’s longing for the lord’s dwelling place.
In our min, our centre of vision needs to be what God wants from us. We need to live a life worthy of the Lord, and to do this we need knowledge of Him. We need to avoid distractions, such as the expectations of others, the desire to be liked, and perhaps the financial expectations of the world.
Whatever your plans for the coming season, make the “things above” your number one pursuit.
Song: When I survey the wondrous cross
When I Survey The Wondrous Cross : Choir Of Kings College, Cambridge - YouTube
