Worship at Home
Worship for the week beginning 28 August 2022
To listen to the sermon and a hymn dial
01604 266000.
Sunday 28 August
Rev Francis M’Itiiri has prepared this week’s message.
This short act of worship is for use from home. Please use this service whenever you like during the week.
Pause to settle yourself in God’s presence, knowing that other people are sharing in worship with you.
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© ROOTS for Churches Ltd www.rootsontheweb.com. Reproduced with permission.
Prayer of Approach:
‘For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another’. (Psalm75:6-7).Let us Pray:
Loving and compassionate God, we thank you for inviting us at your table from separate locations, gathered around by the Love of your son. With eagerness, we joyfully join in worship to your holy Name.
Amen.
STF 633-My soul finds rest (Psalm 62)
My soul finds rest in God alone,
My rock and my salvation;
A fortress strong against my foes,
And I will not be shaken.
Though lips may bless, and hearts may curse,
And lies like arrows pierce me,
I’ll fix my heart on righteousness,
I’ll look to Him who hears me.
O praise Him, hallelujah,
My delight and my reward;
Everlasting, never failing,
My Redeemer, my God.
My soul finds rest in God alone
Amid the world’s temptations;
When evil seeks to take a hold
I’ll cling to my salvation.
Though riches come and riches go,
Don’t set your heart upon them;
The fields of hope in which I sow
Are harvested in heaven.
I’ll set my gaze on God alone
And trust in Him completely;
With every day pour out my soul
And He will prove His mercy.
Though life is but a fleeting breath,
A sigh too brief to measure,
My King has crushed the curse of death
And I am His forever.
Bible Readings
6 Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
and do not claim a place among his great men;
7 it is better for him to say to you, ‘Come up here,’
than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.
What you have seen with your eyes
8 do not bring hastily to court,
for what will you do in the end
if your neighbour puts you to shame?
9 If you take your neighbour to court,
do not betray another’s confidence,
10 or the one who hears it may shame you
and the charge against you will stand.
11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver
is a ruling rightly given.
12 Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold
is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.
Jesus at a Pharisee’s house
14 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honour at the table, he told them this parable: 8 ‘When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honour, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, “Give this person your seat.” Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, “Friend, move up to a better place.” Then you will be honoured in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
12 Then Jesus said to his host, ‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
The parable of the great banquet
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, ‘Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.’
16 Jesus replied: ‘A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, “Come, for everything is now ready.”
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Time to Reflect
To those familiar with events around the world, Kenya held their peaceful presidential elections on the 9th of August this month. The maturity in the manner that voters and election aspirants in various levels is a commendable thing in the eyes of international election peace observers. However, the two Presidential candidates are likely to end up in the Supreme Court over who legally won the elections.
Jesus, having seen people competing for places of honour, applies today’s reading of the Proverbs to serve as a background for the Gospel in today’s reading.
It appears that Jesus had these verses from Proverbs in mind when he gave that advice against being ambitious, proud, self-promoting and exalting. Jesus’ real concern is reflected in Luke 14:11, on how one should avoid public embarrassment and humiliation. Traditionally, it appeared, a person can walk into the room and determine rank simply by observing where people sit.
Can you reflect on the rewards of humility and the cost of embarrassment when deciding to push too far and too fast? How many have such experiences? Even parking your car wrongly in a space reserved for blue badges outside a supermarket or hospital.
People think the best place to be noticed is sitting next to a king or ruler or some noble person during banquets. And as such, positions of privileges have been abused by the over-ambitious corrupt people. In most instances none has a clue who the king or rulers prefers to sit with during most organised banquets. Here is where officers break ranks with their masters. At this point also smart Master of ceremonies plan their cards to have their friends strategically seated at the King’s table. For Kings, they have deep and unsearchable minds, and you’d best avoid getting demoted for doing something silly that embarrasses the Master.
Proverb 25 uses the example of the “apple of gold” and the picture of silver. The apple of the gold and picture of silver was a central concern for the former President of United States of America, Abraham Lincoln’s as he considered the ends of the American regime,
but the “picture of silver” provided the means of constitutional governance.
The Constitution was instituted to protect and advance liberty
Solomon spoke these words of encouragement knowing it would renew the weak and the powerless resolve; like water that brings refreshment to a thirsty soul in need and good news from a far to those who seem to have lost all hope. Today we all have been charged to bring the good news to those who are thirsty and in need of encouragement. That is what the table of the Lord is about. Those expected to respond to the invitation of God, have rejected it. Go into the streets, call all those regarded as unworthy to come.
Hymn: Only by grace can we enter (StF 565)
Only by grace can we enter,
Only by grace can we stand;
Not by our human endeavour,
But by the blood of the Lamb.
Into Your presence you call us,
You call us to come.
Into Your presence you draw us,
And now by your grace we come,
Now by Your grace we come.
Lord, if you mark our transgressions
Who would stand?
Thanks to Your grace we are cleansed
by the blood of the Lamb.
A time of prayer
God, thank you for the men and women who serve our country in leadership roles and for their families. Please provide our leaders with reminders each day of why they decided to dedicate their lives to public service and use that commitment and encourage them to seek to better understand the issues and concerns that confront our city and our country.
And that the Gospel of Christ compels them to respond as faithful citizens in our community. We pray that our leaders will have eyes that are free from blindness so that they might see with dignity, victims of abuse and violence, deceit, and poverty. We pray and ask Lord that that our minds and hearts that are open to hearing the voice of leaders who will bring us closer to your Kingdom.
We pray that our leaders too will pay attention to your word, live your love, in all humility and follow in the ways of your truth as they follow in the foot-steps of Jesus and his Apostles.
Loving God, may you now guide us to your Kingdom of justice and peace.Lord, you invite us to live worthy of our calling and into the sharing of the message of good news of salvation to the lost world.
May we be found faithful to your call, we ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit, who encourages us to pray:
The Lord's Prayer
Please use the version that you prefer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
And deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours
Now and for ever.
Amen.
Hymn: In Your presence by Paul Wilber
In your presence,
That’s where I am strong
In your presence
O Lord my God
In your presence
That’s where I belong
Seeking your face
Touching your grace
In the cleft of the Rock
In your presence O God
I want to go, Where the rivers cannot overflow me;
Where my feet are on the rock, I want to hide;
Where the blazing fire cannot burn me
In Your presence O God, I want to hide.
Where the flood of evil cannot reach me,
Where I’m covered by the blood,
I want to be where, the schemes of darkness
cannot touch me;
In your presence O God, you are my firm foundation;
I trust in you all day long,
I am your child, and your servant,
And you are my Strength and my song;
You’re my song, seeking your face,
Touching your grace, in the cleft of the Rock
In Your presence O God,
In Your presence
Let us share the grace together.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit remains with us now and forever.
Amen.
Service prepared by Rev Francis M’Itiiri
Webpage: Paul Deakin