Deanery reflection 23-01-24

Lord, open our lips to bless you

And our mouths shall declare

your praise.

Blessed are you, gracious God;

We will give you glory and praise

forever!

The LORD is my portion, says my soul,

Therefore I will put my hope in him.

A moment of quiet

Almighty God,

In view of your great mercy,

We lay our lives down as a morning sacrifice for you.

Choosing to die to self,

We ask you to pour your mighty

resurrection power through us,

That Jesus may be revealed

and your kingdom come in power,

Changing us and redeeming the world.

Amen.

Song: God of this city

You’re the God of this city

You’re the King of these people

You’re the Lord of this nation

You are

You’re the light in this darkness

You’re the hope to the hopeless

You’re the peace to the restless

You are

There is no one like our God

There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this city

Greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this city

You’re the God of this city

You’re the King of these people

You’re the Lord of this nation

You are

You’re the light in this darkness

You’re the hope to the hopeless

You’re the peace to the restless

You are

There is no one like our God

There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this city

Greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this city

Greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done here

There is no one like our God

There is no one like you, God

For greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this city

Greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done

We believe, we believe in you, God

Greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this city

For greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done here

Greater things still to be done here

Songwriters: Peter Kernaghan, Richard Bleakley, Peter Comfort, Aaron Jordan Boyd, Ian Phillip

A reading from 1 Corinthians 12:12-27a (1 verse each)

¹² Christ is like a single body, which has many parts;

     it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts.

¹³ In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free,

     have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit,

     and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink.

¹⁴ For the body itself is not made up of only one part, but of many parts.

¹⁵ If the foot were to say,

    “Because I am not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,”

    that would not keep it from being a part of the body.

¹⁶ And if the ear were to say,

     “Because I am not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,”

     that would not keep it from being a part of the body.

¹⁷ If the whole body were just an eye, how could it hear?

    And if it were only an ear, how could it smell?

¹⁸ As it is, however,

    God put every different part in the body just as he wanted it to be.

¹⁹ There would not be a body if it were all only one part!

²⁰ As it is, there are many parts but one body.

²¹ So then, the eye cannot say to the hand,

     “I don’t need you!”

     Nor can the head say to the feet,

     “Well, I don’t need you!”

²² On the contrary,

     we cannot do without the parts of the body that seem to be weaker;

²³ and those parts that we think aren’t worth very much are the ones which we

     treat with greater care;

     while the parts of the body which don’t look very nice are treated with special modesty,

²⁴ which the more beautiful parts do not need.

    God himself has put the body together in such a way as to give greater honour

    to those parts that need it.

²⁵ And so there is no division in the body,

     but all its different parts have the same concern for one another.

²⁶ If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it;

     if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness.

²⁷ All of you are Christ’s body, and each one is a part of it.

Perhaps there was one line which stood out to you. In this space let’s reiterate that line and offer it to the group in prayer.

Quiet prayer for St Helens

Now taking the map, as we listen to the song again, let’s ask the Holy Spirit where He is asking us to focus our attention. Is there a space, a demographic, an area of need or something else.

Atfer a few minutes of seeking the Lord’s face use the post-it’s to write and add to the map.

Open prayer for St Helens

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.

Loving Father,

By your grace we long to see more people knowing Jesus,

And more justice in your world.

Help us to live as your disciples in the power of the Spirit and to work to your praise and glory.

Amen

Let us bless the Lord

Thanks be to God