General Chat

Lovely prayer Cynthia...any more where that came from? a daily prayer would be nice to log on to :-)

Certainly Susan.

It's something I have been thinking about, so I am grateful that you have mentioned it.


Equip me today, O God, with

The humility, which will keep me from pride and from conceit;

The graciousness and the gentleness which will make me both easy to deal with and a joy to meet.

The diligence, the perseverance, and the reliability,

which will make me a good workman;

The kindness which will give me a quick eye to see that I can do for others,

and a ready hand to do it;

The constant awareness of Your presence,

which will make me do everything as to You.

So grant that today men may see in me a glimpse of the life

of my Blessed Lord Jesus.

This I ask for Your love’s sake.

Amen.


- William Barclay.

.. :-)

Ascension Day, when Jesus ascended to Heaven.


http://archive.episcopalchurch.org/sermons_that_work_7894_ENG_HTM.htm

Grant we pray, Almighty God, that as we believe your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into heaven, so we may also with heart and mind there ascend, and with him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.



http://everydaychristianprayers.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/morning-prayer-william-barclay.html

MORNING PRAYER - William Barclay

Oh God our Father,
who commanded us to live in fellowship with one another,
keep us from everything which would make us difficult to live with today.
Help us never thoughtlessly or deliberately to speak in such a way that we would hurt another’s feelings, or wound another’s heart.
Keep us from all impatience, from all irritability,
and from a temper which is too quick.
Keep us from eyes which are focused to find fault and from a tongue which is tuned to criticize.
Keep us from being touchy,
and quick to take offence, and slow to forget it.
Help us not to be stubborn and obstinate,
and keep us from selfishness which can see nothing but its own point of view,
and which wants nothing but its own way.
Grant to us all through this day something of the grace and beauty which shone upon our Blessed Lord Jesus.
Hear this our prayer, for Your love’s sake,
Amen

Joy :-) :-)

Had forgotten - thanks very much for reminder.

So much happened between Good Friday and Ascension Day, didn't it. So much proof of miraculous events. So many eye witnesses.

And now a further 10 days and Jesus sends the Comforter in his stead to set our hearts on fire. Pentecost, White Sunday, Whitsunday and a lovely Bank Holiday :-) :-)

It has amazed me to think of these disciples, mainly working men and women close to breadline, who obeyed the command of Jesus to wait in Jerusalem for 7 weeks from Feast of Passover (Peswch) till Feast of Pentecost. What on earth did they do for money? Can you imagine us being on holiday far away and not being able to get back to our work or our loved ones for over 7 weeks :-0 What immense faith they had. And how richly rewarded :-D

Cynthia. I hope I am right about paedo baptism. But am no expert and need to find a couple of books to check my thoughts.

What I said was more or less word for word how John Wesley spoke about infant baptism in one of his 44 published sermons. He was pro-baptism and quoted the statement of faith of both his own church (C of E) and the Baptist Union (then under John Gill's leadership). He just suggested that both churches found it very easy to slip away from their statements of faith and should always return to them - that adult water baptism was an outward sign of an inward baptism of the heart, an inner work of Grace. And Wesley did admit that he was puzzled by how infant or paedo baptism worked but was convinced it was something that God honoured greatly.

O God,

my Heavenly Father,

make me more appreciative of others.

Help me never to fail to say thanks for everything that is done for me,

and never to take anything for granted,

just because it comes to me unfailingly every day.

Help me always to be ready to speak a word of praise,

whenever a word of praise is possible

and sometimes even when it is not possible.

Help me to be quick to notice things.

Help me to be quick to see

when someone is depressed and discouraged and unhappy.

Help me to be quick to see it

when someone is lonely and shy and is left out of things.

O Lord Jesus,

all through today help me to see people with Your eyes.

This I ask for Your love’s sake.

Amen.


- William Barclay

Thank you Cynthia.

Emma

Thank You Cynthia



A beautiful rendition of What a friend we have in Jesus

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cuybnOavOL4&feature=fvwrel

I watched it whilst having my breakfast Susan...........lovely indeed. It's a hymn which takes me back to my 'free church' days - it isn't often sung these days unfortunately, but I just love the words. Thank you. :-)




O Lord, my God, give me strength and wisdom to live this day as I ought.

Give me

Strength to conquer every temptation which will come to me;
Strength to do every task which is assigned to me;
Strength to shoulder every responsibility which is laid upon me.

Give me

Wisdom to know when to speak, and when to keep silent;
Wisdom to know when to act, and when to refrain from action;
Wisdom to know when to speak my mind, and when to hold my peace.

So bring me to the end of this day in goodness, in happiness and contentment;

Through Jesus Christ my Lord,

Amen.

- William Barclay.



Cx :-)

Am really looking forward to tomorrow. Am mentoring a young man currently who is training to be a local preacher. And he really inspires me.

Tomorrow we are jointly leading a service in my home chapel. And he is giving the sermon and has shown me what he will be saying and I am really looking forward to it. It will be fresh and I think all my chapel fellow members will be delighted tomorrow. It will certainly keep me fully awake and give me lots of food for thought. Just pray with me that his word will be blessed, please.

Btw, have really enjoyed prayers and video this week. What a truly inspirational thread this is becoming.

To me it's a lovely way to start a day.
First thread I go to when I come on to GR.

Emma :-)

Amen


I put this on another thread but just in case it wasn't seen by this threads members..........

How Great thou art by Carrie Underwood who apparently won America's got Talent......and in this case...yes they have......her voice and this rendition of the Hymn goes right to the soul and brings tears to one's eyes......

Please do watch it. I am betting that you will all be inspired :-)


http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=pLLMzr3PFgk&feature=related

That was lovely Susan......the audience looked entranced. Great hymns like that really do inspire and lift your spirits. Thank you. :-)



Hello Emma and welcome Bids...... :-)

O God, we thank you for all those in whose words and
in whose writings your truth has come to us.

For the historians, the psalmists and the prophets,
who wrote the Old Testament;
For those who wrote the Gospels and the Letters
of the New Testament.

For all who in every generation
have taught and explained and expounded and
preached the word of Scripture:
We thank you, O God.

Grant, O God, that no false teaching may ever have
any power to deceive us
or to seduce us from the truth.

Grant, O God, that we may never listen to any
teaching which would encourage us to think
sin less serious, vice more attractive.

Grant, O God, that we may never listen to any
teaching which would dethrone
Jesus Christ from the topmost place;

Grant, O God, that we may never listen to any
teaching which for its own purposes perverts the truth.

O God, our Father, establish us immovably in the truth.
Give us minds which can see at once
the difference between the true and the false.

Make us able to test everything,
and to hold fast to that which is good.

Give us such a love of truth,
that no false thing may ever be able to lure us from it.

So grant that all our lives we may know, and love,
and live the truth; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.


Cx :-)

Amen.

Emma

Cynthia. What a powerful prayer!!! Was that Barclay? :-)

I really honed in on: "Grant, O God, that we may never listen to any
teaching which would encourage us to think
sin less serious, vice more attractive."

Yes, sorry......William Barclay again. He has such a way with words I find. :-)



Are there more Sundays than there used to be? They seem to come round pretty quickly.....


Reasonable congregation this morning with a good number in the creche. They have started to come into the service a little earlier than usual in an aid to help them to get used to what is going on.


After the main service, there were 7 baptisms - 2 adults and 5 infants............we needed traffic lights!


Our poor vicar will be exhausted by tonight having had services at 9 am and 11 am. Seven baptisms and then off to the cathedral for a special Queen's Scout award ceremony and back home for the annual Archdeacon's Visitation service.

This is a service where all Churchwardens and sidespeople (those who give out books and take the collection etc.) make solemn statements in front of the Archdeacon to undertake their duties properly. I've never been to one but I understand there are certain legalities to be fulfilled.


The vicar's wife went home early to make sure that he did, at least, have one meal today.



A good morning with happy people. :-)

All these baptisms, Cynthia. :-D That famous Robert Robinson hymn must be sung quite frequently: "Come thou font of every blessing" ;-)

I loved our service today and so did all of us oldies. The young man came with his guitar and modern songs and some of us (me particularly) are very very traditional. Any hymn written after 1750 with no thee and thou and praiseth in it is modern to me.

Yet we all sang our hearts out and it was so lovely to see him and his wife (newly married) leading our worship.

One "song" I had never heard before was "Will you come and follow me"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8lOfMjtxdE

The line in it that really caught me was "Will you kiss the leper clean, and do such as this unseen". That is so powerful, I think. :-) :-)

I know that hymn John.....quite a 'jaunty' tune and very fast. :-D

For Susan with numbers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTcQshpC8ZU
What a Friend we Have in Jesus by Ella Fitzgerald



For Cynthia: http://archive.org/details/bookofeverydaypr008788mbp
A Book Of Everyday Prayers (1959)
Author: William Barclay
http://archive.org/stream/bookofeverydaypr008788mbp#page/n7/mode/2up

One of my favourite books: Every Day With William Barclay.