Sunday Focus

 

12th July 2026

 

Welcome to our Sunday Focus for this week. 

 

We pray that you will be blessed.

 

 

Hymn -  Great is Thy Faithfulness

 

Song - Blessed Be Your Name

Generous God,
you give us gifts and make them grow:
though our faith is small as mustard seed,
make it grow to your glory
and the flourishing of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

  

Song  - Speak O Lord

 

Bible Reading

Isaiah 55:10-13 (NRSV)

10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
    and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 For you shall go out in joy,
    and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall burst into song,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
    for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off

 

In Church this week we will also have looked at the parable of the sower which can be found in  Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

We are also thinking about Seeds of Hope and planting the word of God into peoples lives, that whatever we sow God can use and develop and verse 11 in Isaiah 55 reminds us that the word we sew in God's name will not return empty.
God's word does something. It is not inert or purely descriptive. It is active, and it has an effect. The movement of the passage is towards joy and peace – mountains and hills breaking into song, trees clapping their hands – which might be read as an eschatological vision, but perhaps too, as something that is also available in the present reality of God's promise with us now.

 

 

Song:  You Shall go out with Joy

God who cares for all creation,
we pray for places where the balance of the natural world is fragile –
where there is too little water,
or too much,
and where lives are affected as a result.

We pray for communities facing uncertainty,
for those whose lives are marked by judgement or exclusion,
and for those seeking a new beginning.

We pray for Your Church,
that it may be a place where growth is nurtured,
and where all are welcomed with care.

We pray for the work of OM, that the seeds of God's Word that they sow around the world would grow and multiply.  We pray for the Logos Hope visit to the UK, currently in Edinburgh, that many would come on board, that people would be encouraged and would hear of the hope that can be found in you. 

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.

 

Song -  What We Sow

 

 

May the Creator God,
who has planted the seeds of all that is,
be with you.

May the Word that goes out
and does not return empty,
but brings growth in its own time and way,
be at work within you.

And may the Spirit,
who brings new life,
guide and sustain you.

And the blessing of God,
Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer,
be with you
now and always.
Amen.