Song: When morning gilds the skies
Prayers:
O
God,
you
spoke your word
and
revealed your good news in Jesus, the Christ.
Fill
all creation with that word again,
so
that by proclaiming your joyful promises to all nations
and
singing of your glorious hope to all peoples,
we
may become one living body,
your
incarnate presence on the earth. Amen.
Sisters
and brothers,
let
us lift our hearts in faith
to
the one who hears all prayers
and
holds close all those in need.
Holy
God, you gather the whole universe
into
your radiant presence
and
continually reveal your Son as our Saviour.
Bring
healing to all wounds,
make
whole all that is broken,
speak
truth to all illusion,
and
shed light in every darkness,
that
all creation will see your glory and know your Christ. Amen.
Song: All over the world
All Over The World The Spirit Is Moving (youtube.com)
Reading: Psalm 139
Song: Jesus, name above all names
Jesus Name Above All Names - The Maranatha! Singers (youtube.com)
In 100 years from now, where will you be? Obviously the answer is that we will be dead! (or at least most of us will be) Will we be in heaven or hell?
At the judgement will Christ say to us “You took me and my word far too seriously?”
Monday the 24th August 2015 was a great milestone. On that day, for the first time 1 billion people logged on to Facebook. That is 1 in 7 of the world’s population! As a people, we are so connected, so plugged in; what do we need to know?
Arthur C Clarke said “We have to abandon the idea that schooling is something restricted to youth. How can it be, in a world where half the things a man knows at 20 are no longer true at 40 – and half the things he knows at 40 hadn’t been discovered when he was 20?”
What do you need to know? Do you know God? Psalm 139 tells that God knows each one of us. In intimate detail.
What is the consequence of not knowing God?
We have faculties of clever idiots in our educational establishments. We have cabinets on elected criminals in our governments. We have people who affect to show godliness without the power of God being evident.
In the U.K. there is 1 surveillance camera for every 11 people. While we are minding our own business, each day we will be picked up about 300 times by cameras minding our business.
God watches us more than this: much more.
There is a story of an old doctor who treated every ailment with an injection in the patients’ buttocks. His philosophy was that if the patient was not ill enough to face a shot, then they were not ill enough to need a doctor. He was reputed to recognise his patients by their buttocks!
Many people in our congregations can recognise others by the back of their heads.
God searches and discerns us, there is never a private moment from God. We are unmistakeable to him. This can be difficult to come to terms with. Verse 6 of our reading says “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”
A man was seen wearing a T shirt which said “I don’t need Google, my wife knows everything.” But noone knows like God.
Why do people want to run away? God wants to be our best friend.
In the toilets at church we have a sign “Wash your hands and say your prayers; ‘cause Jesus and germs are everywhere.” God seeks us, as verse 8 of our reading assures us. Even in the farthest place; we’ve all been in such places, bereavement, loneliness, grief. Even inn the darkest places, God seeks us.
On an old map of a continent, the coasts were shown in great detail. Inland, the story was different, the label simply said “Here be Giants, Here be scorpions, Here be dragons.” This label was scratched out and replaced with “Here be God”.
Whatever you face, here is God.
Wherever you face it, here is God.
All life is significant, valuable.
In Ireland, during the depression, there was a work programme, building roads. Not always building roads that were necessary, the programme started well, but soon, began to lose impetus. One worker said that roads which led to nowhere are difficult to build.
How is this in our lives? The psalm tells us that God continues to work with us.
It goes on to say how destructive sin is. It has ruined all. But, our knowledge of God makes us want to escape this, we need to run to Him, because God saves us.
Let us not forget what it means to be lost. The psalmist invites God to search him (verse 23) and invites God to lead him in the way of righteousness.
When you see sin, never say “I could never do that” There is nothing that we are not capable of doing.
Ask God to search you. Ask God to save you. The first verse of this psalm is an admission, and it ends with submission.
Do not despise the older members of your congregation. In the main they have known God longer than the young ones, and have walked with God longer that the younger.
There is no such thing as retirement for a Christian.
Search me O God.
Song: Master speak, Thy servant heareth
Master Speak! Thy Servant Heareth (youtube.com)
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