Author: admin

Monday 8th September 2025

“Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. 23 I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. 24 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. 28 “And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land. 30 I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines. 31 Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did. 32 But remember, says the Sovereign Lord, I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!” Ezekiel 36:22-32

Sovereign Lord,

What a wonderful picture of a people returning to their homelands and receiving a new start with clean hearts and spirits and a desire to live godly lives. And Ezekiel was painting pictures with his words showing one day they could be fully cleansed. In reality the priests would sprinkle water mixed with the ashes of a red heifer on the people to (Numbers 19:17) restore ceremonial cleanliness. But they could never be wholly holy. And the leper after 7 days of no sign of the disease would have to wash his clothes and body so he could be pronounced clean of disease but not sin. (Leviticus 14;90)

But You Lord give them a clear sound warning. They are not children who are sorry and repentant and willing to be good . . . rather they have been caught and dragged before You, their God. Jeremiah tells us in 44:15-17 that the women tell him they will do whatever they want and burn incense to the queen of heaven. And the men knowing they were doing it!

You, God are not going to help them because they deserve it on the contrary they feel no shame. You are defending the honour of Your holy name (v22). Every time we break bread and drink. Everytime we see running water, everytime we breathe, everytime we awake to a new day. We remember we deserve nothing from You God but in Jesus You sprinkled our hearts clean making them tender and responsive. You washed us thoroughly inside and out. You filled us with Your Spirit so we would desire to live according to Your holy decrees. So we can honour Your Holy Name.

In Jesus name we pray, Aemn

Worship Monday 8th September 2025

A thousand generations falling down in worship
To sing the song of ages to the Lamb
And all who’ve gone before us and all who will believe
Will sing the song of ages to the Lamb

Your name is the highest
Your name is the greatest
Your name stands above them all
All thrones and dominions
All powers and positions
Your name stands above them all

And the angels cry holy
All creation cries holy
You are lifted high, holy
Holy forever

If you’ve been forgiven and if you’ve been redeemed
Sing the song forever to the Lamb
If you walk in freedom and if you bear His name
Sing the song forever to the Lamb
We’ll sing the song forever and amen

And the angels cry holy
All creation cries holy
You are lifted high, holy
Holy forever

Hear Your people sing holy
To the King of kings, holy
You will always be holy
Holy forever

Your name is the highest
Your name is the greatest
Your name stands above them all
All thrones and dominions
All powers and positions
Your name stands above them all

Jesus
Your name is the highest
Your name is the greatest
Your name stands above them all (oh, stands above)
All thrones and dominions
All powers and positions
Your name stands above them all

And the angels cry holy
All creation cries holy
You are lifted high, holy
Holy forever (we cry holy, holy, holy)

Hear Your people sing holy
To the King of kings , holy
You will always be holy
Holy forever

You will always be holy
Holy forever

Lyrics: Jason David Ingram, Brian Johnson, Chris Tomlin, Phil Wickham, Jenn Johnson

Sunday 7th September 2025

“Then this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? 3 You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. 4 You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost.” Ezekiel 34:1-4 NLT

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. 12 I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. 13 I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. 14 Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak.”
Ezekiel 34:11-16 NLT

Sovereign Lord,

Good Shepherd! You did and You do today still faithfully search and find Your sheep. Many years before this David, a shepherd in his youth, wrote Psalm 23. He also likened You to his shepherd.

Sheep are sensible and also willfully silly, so people who keep them tell me. They seem willingly come to the rattle of a bucket in winter when they hear the Shepherd calling. But if there’s a fence down or something to get tangled up in they seem to be drawn to it. Thank You that through Jesus You call to us to follow, safe in Your sovereign care (John 11:14-18) Thank You for calling us, me.

We need You to Shepherd us. We need You to show us when we should not blindly follow leaders but test what they say. As Ezekiel did, he tested what the other prophets and leaders were saying and knew it was not from You. We need You to show us danger and lead us not into temptation as Jesus taught us to pray (Matthew 6:13). To feed us our daily bread as Jesus also taught us to pray (Matthew 6:11). Feed our spirit as well as our bodies. Thank You that Ezekiel saw that You were not just a righteous God but a caring, nurturing, loving faithful God. You who would recover Your people and did he also see see You God doing it in the future for all nations? We do not have enough thank you’s to offer for loving your sheep . . .

In Jesus name we pray.

Worship Sunday th September 2025

The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want
He makes me lie in pastures green
He leads me by the still, still waters
His goodness restores my soul

And I will trust in You alone
And I will trust in You alone
For Your endless mercy follows me
Your goodness will lead me home

He guides my ways in righteousness
And He anoints my head with oil
And my cup, it overflows with joy
I feast on His pure delights

Chorus

And though I walk the darkest path
I will not fear the evil one
For You are with me, and Your rod and staff
Are the comfort I need to know

Chorus

Chorus

For Your endless mercy follows me
Your goodness will lead me home

Lyrics:  Francis Rous
New chorus and tune: Stuart Townend and Aaron Keyes

Saturday 6th September 2025

“Are you rejoicing in the land of Uz, O people of Edom? But you, too, must drink from the cup of the Lord’s anger. You, too, will be stripped naked in your drunkenness.” Lamentations 4:21 NLT

“The Lord says to Edom, “I will cut you down to size among the nations; you will be greatly despised. You have been deceived by your own pride Because you live in a rock fortress and make your home high in the mountains.‘Who can ever reach us way up here? you ask boastfully.4 But even if you soar as high as eagles and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you crashing down,” says the Lord.” Obadiah 1:2-4 NLT

“Because of the violence you did to your close relatives in Israel, you will be filled with shame and destroyed forever. When they were invaded, you stood aloof, refusing to help them. Foreign invaders carried off their wealth and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem, but you acted like one of Israel’s enemies. You should not have gloated then they exiled your relatives to distant lands.You should not have rejoiced when the people of Judah suffered such misfortune.” Obadiah 1:10-12 NLT

God of all nations,

Edom. That was the land that Esau settled in. So they were related to those in Jerusalem. Isaac and Rebecca had 2 sons Esau and Jacob. Esau settled in Edom and Jacob we followed the story of his ancestors to this point. They do not escape Your judgement. The were not only neighbours but relations. They did nothing to help. Perhaps they thought it was nothing to do with them or they gloated a bit at Israel getting taken down a peg or two or three . . .

Jesus had to tell the story of the good samaritan to the Jews in his day. Because they hated the Samaritans and like wise the Samaritans hated the Jews. But they were distant relations and in neighbouring territories. It takes a brave person or a good Samaritan to go the extra mile and do good to someone not of their close family. But You God tell us no matter how safe we feel we are and how much we may not want to get involved, doing nothing when we see a neighbour in need is not acceptable to You. But we cannot help everyone all the time – show us where and when and what and how to do the best . . .

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Saturday 6th September 2025

Oh, I have days I lose the fight
Try my best but just don’t get it right
Where I talk a talk that I don’t walk
And miss the moments right before my eyes

Somebody with a hurt that I could have helped
Somebody with a hand that I could have held
When I just can’t see past myself
Lord, help me be
A little more like mercy, a little more like grace
A little more like kindness, goodness, love, and faith
A little more like patience, a little more like peace
A little more like Jesus, a little less like me

Yeah, there’s no denying I have changed
‘Cause I’ve been saved from who I used to be
But even at my best, I must confess
I still need help to see the way You see

Somebody with a hurt that I could have helped
Somebody with a hand that I could have held
When I just can’t see past myself
Lord, help me be
A little more like mercy, a little more like grace
A little more like kindness, goodness, love, and faith
A little more like patience, a little more like peace
A little more like Jesus, a little less like me

Oh, I wanna feed the beggar on the street
Learn to be Your hands and feet
Freely give what I receive
Lord, help me be
I want put You first above all else
Love my neighbor as myself
In the moments no one sees
Lord, help me be

A little more like mercy, a little more like grace
A little more like kindness, goodness, love, and faith
A little more like patience, a little more like peace
A little more like Jesus, oh, a little less like me

A little more of living everything I preach
A little more like Jesus, a little less like me
Oh, a little less like me

Lyrics: Zach Williams, Hank Bentley, Mia Fields