I lift my eyes up to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2
It is very easy in the current situation when there is so much doubt and uncertainty to allow the situation to drag us down with worry and fear. As Christians we are encouraged to lift our eyes off the problems of the world and to focus them instead on the Lord, the almighty, the maker of heaven and earth. Nothing is impossible for Him; He is far more powerful than any virus. Although we might not be able to meet together at the moment for worship the most important thing that we can do is to pray. I’m sure the majority of you do this regularly every day but in addition to our regular pattern, I thought it would be good if as many of us as possible could stop wherever we are for 15 minutes at 12 noon each day. I hope that we might draw some strength and maintain a sense of fellowship from knowing that other members of the church family will be praying at the same time. (See suggested guideline below)
The Archbishop of Canterbury along with other church leaders has called for a national day of prayer on Sunday and that we all light a candle and place it in a window at 7pm. Please do use this day to cry out to God for forgiveness for our pride and mercy that he will soon deliver us from this crisis. There are some resources to help you do this if you would like them on the Church Of England Website. A few other things.
The Archbishops have encouraged us to try to keep the church open whenever it is safe to do so for personal prayer. We will try and have the churches open when we can. If you are passing do pop in. I will be working from home so please feel free to call me at any time and keep me posted with any specific requests for prayer. If you need any practical help with shopping etc. then please do not hesitate to contact me, I am more than happy to help or try to find someone who can. Please remember to keep an eye on the latest news from the Church of England via the website and I will also be posting things from time to time. If there are other Church members, who have not been receiving the notice sheet via email, it would be good to add them to the list, so that we can keep in contact with as many of us possible. I’m looking at the possibility of sending messages via Facebook so watch this space. If you were attending the blessing course Bob has sent a link out so that we can continue with this at home. If you did not receive this email from Bob then please let me know.
Suggested pattern for daily prayer.
Read a psalm (starting Psalm 1 on Thursday 19th March).
Listen to a worship song on the internet or cd. Tomorrow my suggestion is will your anchor hold in the storms of life.
Pray for the Government to make wise decisions at this difficult time
Pray for those in the NHS who are in the front line of the battle against this awful disease. If you have a church address list pray for 2 people from that list.
Finish by praying The Lord’s Prayer.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you And be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his face towards you and give you his peace. Rev. David Stevenson
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