Call to Worship Based on Psalm 103:1-5

 

Bless the Lord, my soul.
With all my being I bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul,
and forget none of his benefits.
He pardons all my wrongdoing
and heals all my ills.
He rescues me from death’s pit
and crowns me with love and compassion.
He satisfies me with all good in the prime of life,
and my youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
Bless the Lord, my soul.
With all my being I bless his holy name.

 

Scripture Reading – Proverbs 27:1 CEB

 

 

Song – “How Can I Keep From Singing” by Audrey Assad

 

Scripture Reading – Psalm 35:5 CEB

 

 

Intercessory Prayer of the People Adapted from Iain MacDonald

 

Ever faithful Lord,
Ever giving Son,
Ever present Spirit,
For the many gifts you grant us
and the opportunity to enjoy these things;
For your daily provision
and for the constant signs of your healing love;
For the hope amidst despair
and the light which always shines;
For all these things,
‘thank you’ is just so inadequate
but it’s all we have:
… to show our gratitude in word, in thought and in action.

 

So thank you, Lord
and may our thanks move beyond words
to transform us into thankful folk,
faithful folk,
seeing folk,
folk who see need and see the need to act,
folk who love to live and live to love,
folk who serve you by serving others.

 

Help us to be amongst those
who include the excluded
and bring in those who are marginalized,
that when the opportunities come our way
to be healers of division and hurt,
to be peacemakers
and restorers,
we won’t be found wanting.

 

Loving, personal Father,
We bring before you those people and issues that are closest to us
and that occupy our minds at this time …
(personal and local intercessions could follow)

 

Mighty, wonderful Father,
we bring before you people and issues from around our world,
including those we’ll never know personally
but who remain our sisters and brothers in you …
(national and global intercessions could follow)

 

Transforming, healing Father,
help us to make the light shine in dark places,
to make peace known in violent places,
and to bring hope to despondent places.
Our prayers, spoken and silent
are brought to you now
in the name of your Son, Jesus,
the healer, includer and redeemer,
forever
Amen.

 

Scripture Reading – James 4:13-17 CEB

 

13 Pay attention, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such-and-such a town. We will stay there a year, buying and selling, and making a profit.” 14 You don’t really know about tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for only a short while before it vanishes. 15 Here’s what you ought to say: “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast and brag, and all such boasting is evil. 17 It is a sin when someone knows the right thing to do and doesn’t do it.

Video Sermon

 

Prayer For Humility Adapted from Daniel A. Lord, SJ

 

Lord, I have knowingly and I have ignorantly come against your will and your ways. I have spoken words of total surrender to you, and yet I have been so ready to protect myself from godly advice and godly change. I have been so ready to defend myself against humility.
Open my eyes to the blessings of humility. Let me not see humility as the world sees it, but in its beauty and fullness of joy.
Lord,
Let me have too deep a sense of humor to be proud.
Let me know my absurdity before I act absurdly.
Let me realize that when I am humble I am most human,
most truthful, and most worthy of your serious consideration.
Let my dependence on you be rooted in trust, knowing that when things don’t go my way, they often go yours. Though my life be like a vapor, life in your tender care is exactly where I belong.
Amen.

 

Song – “Nothing to Fear” By Porter’s Gate

 

Benediction

 

May the Lord dispel all notions of fear, and whiffs of arrogance, all pretense and presumption, and instead empower you to live a life rich in humility and total dependence on Jesus.

 

Questions for Reflection

 

Where or when are you most dependent on God in your life? What scenarios are you most likely to turn to God?

 

What areas of your life are you least dependent on God? Is it your work, finances, neighbors, leisure time, relationships? Why?

 

Verse 17 talks about the sin of omission. We often focus on all the things we’ve done wrong that we are aware of. Can you recall the last time you knew you were supposed to behave in a specific way, and refused to do so? Can you recall the last time you blatantly disregarded what God was calling you to do?

 

What has God been teaching you this season? How has God been good, faithful, and true to you, even when his will didn’t align with your will?