Sunday Focus
Trinity Sunday
Welcome to this weeks Sunday Focus, we pray you will be blessed.
Hymn - Thou Whose Almighty Word
Loving God,
Your glory fills the whole earth.
When we look at the skies, the stars, the moon,
we see Your power and beauty.
And yet, You care about us.
You care about the things that trouble us.
You care about our families and our situations.
You welcome us into Your presence,
and we are thankful to be here to worship You today.
Help us to lay aside anything that hinders us from knowing You,
and focus our minds on Jesus.
Forgive us Lord where we have failed to love You,
where we have failed to love others as You love them.
Thank You that through the death of Jesus on the cross
You have paid the price for our sins.
Thank You, Lord,
for the gift of life and this world You created.
You made us with love and gave each one of us a special place in Your world.
You never leave us alone and You are so very close to us.
We thank You Lord.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
Hear our prayer
Amen.
Song - Living Hope
Reading- Romans 5:1-5
Peace and Hope
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
‘Hope'. Humans can have hope without God, but this type of hope disappoints, as there is nothing to substantiate the hope, no firm foundation. Perhaps we ‘hope' for nice weather this summer, etc.
The hope Paul discusses, is in Christ and never puts to shame those who have. It is interwoven with the love of God the Holy Spirit, that pours into us and it is this love which motivates believers. When love is our motivating power, we have authentic hope, and an authentic faith which is alive.
Artificial love, hope and faith all crumble in times of suffering because there is no peace with God.
During the first session of the Hope Course last Tuesday we looked at Christian Hope.
A hope worth having needs to...
- be true
- deliver what it promises
- be for something that will last.
The Christian faith is all about hope: a joyful expectation for the future, based on true events in the past, which changes everything about my present.
Song - Beloved and Blessed
"What are humans that You are mindful of them,
mortals that You care for them?" (Psalm 8:4)
Loving God,
You are our maker, our redeemer and our sustainer.
You care for all living things,
and Your wisdom surpasses anything that we can understand or create ourselves.
In our making and creating,
may we be inspired by Your Spirit –
that all we make may be filled with grace and mercy,
that everything we build may be life-giving and just,
that all we offer to others, may be good and true.
God of love,
You have poured Your love into our hearts.
May we be filled to overflowing and in compassion and generosity,
share Your love with all.
Lord God, in our afflictions will You tend us, Your children,
that we may not only endure, but know life in all its fulness.
We hold before You now,
all who are hurting,
all who are afraid,
all who have had their dignity torn and infringed,
all who have no access to the means they need to live safely and without persecution.
God of peace,
You have poured Your peace into our hearts.
May we be filled to overflowing and in compassion and generosity,
share Your peace with all.
that we may not only know peace, but be peace makers.
God of hope,
You have poured Your hope into our hearts.
May we be filled to overflowing
and in compassion and generosity, share Your hope with all.
Lord God, in all that we long for,
may we know Your Spirit guiding us –
that we may work for Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Trinity of love,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
may You be glorified in all that we say and do.
The Lord's Prayer
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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
Hymn - There is a Hope
Father of Glory,
as we go, may we rejoice in the peace and hope found in You.
Jesus, King of Glory,
may the abundance of Your blessings become fully alive in us and through us.
Spirit of Glory,
flood authentic and hopeful love into us, so that it overflows to all whom we meet.
The Blessing and joy of the Lord;
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, pour into you and all those you encounter, now and always, Amen.
some parts of todays focus taken from C of S weekly worship.