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Sunday 9th August 2026

“How lonely sits the city that was full of people!
How like a widow is she,
Who was great among the nations!
The princess among the provinces
Has become a slave!
²She weeps bitterly in the night,
Her tears are on her cheeks;
Among all her lovers
She has none to comfort her.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies.” Lamentations:1-2 NKJV

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
²³They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
²⁴“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!”” Lamentations 3:22-24 NKJV

God of Comfort,

Leviticus was written by someone left in Judah after Jerusalem fell. It is a heartfelt lamentation (a passionate expression of deep grief, sorrow, or regret). Possibly by Jeremiah. And if we could read it in the Hebrew of the Bible we would see the added beauty of its poetry. Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 use an acrostic structure each verses begins with sequential letter of the 22-letter Hebrew alphabet. I am told!

There is everything to mourn for and complain about. Much weeping. A hard read. A man under God’s judgement with no way out (Lamentations 3:1-18). Even the essential of life, their water and wood, they had to pay for (Lamentations 5:4).

Then in the middle is a little beam of light. Like a lighthouse shining in a black storm bringing a glimmer of hope. Not everything is lost. I chose to pause from reading there for today. Sometimes we need to pour out our human feelings to You. Empty ourselves and then look and wait as the writer does (Lamentations 3:25-30). And there is a glimmer of light. And all the time history was working towards Your Son coming as their Light of the world, and ours. We join with the writer of Lamentations by declaring that Your mercy and compassion fails not and are new every morning – every hour – every minute – every millisecond. We are rescued.

In Jesus name we pray,Amen.

Worship Sunday 9th August 2026
Choice of thoughtful or cheerful?

In my wrestling and in my doubts
In my failures You won’t walk out
Your great love will lead me through
You are the peace in my troubled sea, woah
You are the peace in my troubled sea, yeah

In the silence, You won’t let go
In the questions, Your truth will hold
Your great love will lead me through
You are the peace in my troubled sea, woah
You are the peace in my troubled sea, yeah

My lighthousе, my lighthouse
Shining in the darkness, I will follow You
My lighthousе, my lighthouse
I will trust the promise
You will carry me safe to shore
Safe to shore – Safe to shore – Safe to shore

I won’t fear what tomorrow brings
With each morning I’ll rise and sing
My God’s love will lead me through
You are the peace in my troubled sea, woah
You are the peace in my troubled sea, yeah

Chorus

Fire before us, You’re the brightest
You will lead us through the storms x 3

Chorus

Lyrics: Gareth Gilkeson and Chris Llewellyn of Rend Collective

Saturday 8th August 2026

“Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. ²So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁴Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city. ” 2 Kings 25:1-4 NKJV

“Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. ¹⁸And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. ¹⁹Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. ” 2 Chronicles 36:17-19 NKJV

Jehovah,

‘I am who I am’. What You foretold through Jeremiah and Ezekiel, if Your people did not change their ways do happen. Warnings, warnings, warnings. Sometimes we need to be told twice and still don’t listen and we learn the hard way and don’t do it again. Unless we are foolish, unwise or think we can get away with it forever? The writer of Kings tells us about the human hardship Your people suffered and the Chronicler gives us the details of the spiritual defeat. Now they have nothing to put their trust in. Looks bleak and tomorrow we move on to read Lamentations. Not a joyful book.

I wonder how many then uttered prayers. As many with no faith do when it seems hopeless. There are times we have to make the best of it.It is not always sin that brings trouble and stress. Think of those flooded out last winter, burned out this summer or bereaved by the heatwave. Sometimes empathy is the best we can offer – and prayer.

At these times, God, all we can do is cling to You, wait and hope. Give our defeat, anger and confusion to You. I rejoice for those who have not gone through such times. Thank You that Your light is always there even in the darkness. And today is a good day to be alive. You are not just a God of sunny days so we can face the future.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Saturday 8th August 2026
A traditional hymn – love this version.

Through the love of God our Saviour,
all will be well.
Free and changeless is his favour,
all, all is well.
Precious is the blood that healed us,
perfect is the grace that sealed us,
strong the hand stretched forth to shield us,
all must be well.

Though we pass through tribulation,
all will be well.
Ours is such a full salvation,
all, all is well.
Happy, still in God confiding,
fruitful, if in Christ abiding,
holy, through the Spirit’s guiding,
all must be well.

We expect a bright tomorrow,
all will be well.
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
‘All, all is well.’
On our Father’s love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
in our living, in our dying,
all must be well.

Lyrics: Mary Peters

Friday 7th August 2026

“Then the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, “Arise, go out into the plain, and there I shall talk with you.” ²³So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. ²⁴Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. ²⁵And you, O son of man, surely they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them. ²⁶I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and not be one to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house. ²⁷But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.” Ezekiel 3:22-27 NKJV

Lord God,

Part of me wishes my prayer time was as vivid as Ezekiel’s and the other part of me is a little terrified. What I do see is a man open to whatever You are saying and however. Willing to do exactly what You say and however bizarre it may seem! Obedient.

I love the book of Ezekiel it is full of action and explanation. You say go and he goes. You floor him with the extravagance of Your glory and then lift him up. You show him that You will make him unable to speak for a season and then You, God tell him the unrelenting message that He must repeat when You allow it.

It would be wonderful to have such clear instructions but then I am not Ezekiel or a prophet and honestly Lord, I am not that obedient. But I do not want to miss the opportunities You give me to serve. So I pray You will enable me to be the best I can be in Your service. And that along the way give me glimpses of Your glory through Your Son.

In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Worship Friday 7th August 2026
I love Third day, their worship is gritty and inspired by scripture. (Exodus 33:18 Moses request).

I caught a glimpse of Your splendour
In the corner of my eye
The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen
And it was like a flash of lightning
Reflected off the sky
And I know I’ll never be the same

[Chorus]
Show me Your glory
Send down Your presence
I want to see Your face
Show me Your glory
Majesty shines about You
I can’t go on without You, Lord

When I climb down the mountain
And get back to my life
I won’t settle for ordinary things
I’m gonna follow You forever
And for all of my days
I won’t rest ’til I see You again

Show me Your glory
(Show me Your glory)
Send down Your presence
I want to see Your fa-a-ace
Show me Your glory
(Show me Your glory)
Majesty shines about You
I can’t go on without You, Lord

Lyrics: Mark Lee, Marc Byrd, and Third Day