DIY Sunday Service Kit - 22/05/22 - The Sources of Confident Assurance

 This week we are looking at the big issue of confidence and assurance in our Christian life.

That is an underlying theme throughout this book that we know as 1 John, because what John is doing in this book is giving us a handle on the three things that distinguish and authenticate genuine Christian faith ... but we'll get to that later!

Welcome to the DIY SundayService Kit. I hope you find it helpful. 

Please feel free to get in touch by phone text or email: 

HoWChaplain@gmail.com and 

07748 644958.

Now let's hear from Scripture ...

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

 the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;

    night after night they reveal knowledge.

3 They have no speech, they use no words;

    no sound is heard from them.

4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,

    their words to the ends of the world."

Psalm 19:1-4

Word for the Week

Prayer Points

Patricia

• Let's pray this week for Patricia from Bogota in Columbia who worshipped with us at Ty'r Bugail. Patricia is no longer working at Victoria House in Llangadog and I received a message from her to say she was married last week in a closed country in the Middle East

Let's ask the Lord to richly bless her 

in her marriage, 

in her new home and 

in her fresh area of service and ministry.

New Ukrainian New Testament

• In March the International Bible Society released a new translation of the New Testament into Ukrainian. 
• This is the first time that the Bible has been available in Ukrainian for hundreds of years, but in the current political situation, reading the Bible in Russian would be understandably very unwelcome to Ukrainian people.
• For maximum speed and access the Ukrainian New Testament was released using an app so that people can read it on their phones, and in just a few weeks over 150,000 people had downloaded the new Ukrainian Bible to their phones.
• In response to urgent requests from partners on the ground in Finland, Poland and Ukraine, The International Bible Society is now seeking to print 500,000 hard copies of this Ukrainian New Testament and Palms amongst other Ukrainian resources.

Let's ask the Lord to use the online phone app that is already available to bring people to Himself and to support and speak clearly with His Ukrainian people under pressure.

Let's also ask Him to provide for hard copies of the New Testaments and Psalms, along with the particular other resources that are being requested for children who've seen suffering and to help adults explore their emotions alongside the Lord when they have been through a crisis or disaster situation.

The cost of living crisis

• There's been a lot in our news recently about the numbers of people who are now having to chose between eating and heating, depending on the Food Banks and struggling to make ends meet.

• Let's pray for the staff, volunteers and clients of Ammanford Foodbank, the Carmarthen Food Bank, Bocs Bwyd in Llandeilo  and the Food Bank in the Excel Centre in Carmarthen.

• As inflation picks up rapidly, let's pray for those in our land who are increasingly struggling with loans and mortgages.

• And let's continue to pray for our national leaders, for wisdom to navigate this crisis with godliness and compassion and for advisers to them who will give them insight into the needs of our people and guide them into the paths of wisdom, righteousness and truth.

Finally, let's pray for those whose mental health is also under pressure in these circumstances

Times of financial pressure lead to psychological pressure and those who are already struggling emotionally will be disproportionately affected at this time.

• Let's pray for those labouring with their mental health, that the services they require will be made available to them, and that they will be able to access these in good time.

• Let's pray for those doctors, nurses and counsellors working in the mental health sector who are often very stretched and under-resourced, that they will do their work professionally and compassionately, and that they will themselves find the resources to cope with the difficulty of their work and the resource pressures on mental health teams all over our country.

Sometimes, Lord, the traumatic things in this world get on top us and lower our own spirits.

We stand in awe of your care and compassion for all you have made and of all your great interventions to ensure that in spite of all this world devalues and destroys, we are not consumed by these things.

Please stand by all those we have mentioned in our prayers, be their ever present help and provider and turn many (particularly those in particular need in our world) through the Gospel to the God Who is our rescuer and deliverer.

We ask for Jesus sake.

AMEN.

It's sermon time ... click the pic to hear

 'The Sources of Confident Assurance' - 1 John 3:19-24

(The transcript is on the link at the top of the podcast page).

The studiocam for this sermon is here 

Now here's a hymn to conclude with that both 

feeds up and all the while

feeds on 

    our confidence in God

Let's pray

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

(Hebrews 4:14-16)

Lord send us out into your world, into times such as this in which you have called us to live and serve you, in the full confidence and assurance that your Spirit brings.

Teach us your ways, embolden us in your truth, equip us by the power of your Holy Spirit and inspire us with the joy of your service.

We pray for Jesus' sake and Glory.

AMEN.

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