Words by David Hollows
Our Constant God
I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell aloud of your marvellous works and deeds. I will rejoice in you and be in high spirits; I will sing praise to your name, O Lord. (Psalm 9 verses 1 and 2)
A prayer; O Lord my God, most merciful, most present, most constant, never old and always new, ever in action yet ever quiet, creating, upholding and perfecting all, we bring you our gifts of praise and worship. Have mercy upon us that we may come into your presence and praise your holy name.
Amen
Praise time; you may wish to spend as much time as you choose in singing your songs and hymns of praise to our God and perhaps use CDs or YouTube to assist you. you may wish to include the following: I will sing the wondrous story (Mission Praise 315)
Prayer time; as you continue in a time of worship, please now bring to God your prayers of praise and thanksgiving for all that you have received from Him this past week. You may wish to use this prayer;
You are holy. The only God and your actions are wonderful. You are strong and great. You are the almighty God, the King of heaven and earth. You are good, living and true. You are love and wisdom, humility and endurance. You are rest and peace, joy and gladness, just and gentle. You are our protector, our guardian and defender. You are courage, a haven of hope and consolation. You are faithful and constant. You are our eternal life, our wonderful lord and merciful Saviour. Praise be to you, our God.
Amen.
Photo by Hanny Naibaho via Unsplash
The Bible story; The Prodigal Son - Luke chapter 15 verses 11 to 32
Key idea; and the father said,
‘Son, you are always with me and all that is mine is yours’ (Luke chapter 15 verse 31)
You go into your usual supermarket or shopping facility to discover that all the shelves have been moved around and everything is not in the place where you expect it to be. What is your reaction? Melt-down, a walk-out, total exasperation or acceptance and resignation, that this shopping trip is going to last much longer than anticipated. You decide to visit a place you have not been to in decades and upon arrival everything has changed beyond recognition. What is your response?
Many of us are creatures of habit and for many of us, the idea of change is difficult as we have to manage and alter our preconceptions and then our disappointments. Some of us take change in our stride, others run at change with all the excitement that change can offer. If there is one constant about life, it is that it changes; the fluctuation in the value of our currency, the roller-coaster ride of our stocks and shares and the changes brought by IT.
The Bible points us clearly to the one constant of life; that God never changes and He tells us this Himself;
For I am the Lord, I do not change.
(Malachi chapter 3 verse 6a)
In Hebrews chapter 13 verse 8 we are told that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
And the constancy of God is from the creation of the earth to the end times. In the Exodus story we are told that God accompanied His people from the moment they left Egypt to cross the Red Sea and then during the desert wilderness years; The Lord went before them in the day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light that they might travel by day and night. The pillar of cloud and fire did not depart from before the people. (Exodus chapter 13 verses 21 and 22)
God is a constant for His people. Paul tells us; For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. He never withdraws them when once they are given and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom he sends His call. (Romans chapter 11 verse 29)
In the story of the Prodigal Son, if Jesus intends us to understand that the character of the Prodigal’s father is representative of the character of God, then what do we learn? Does Jesus intend us to fully understand that our God is: always hopeful for the return of all prodigals, is constantly on the look-out or the lost, forgiving and generous by nature, accepting and merciful, considerate and loving? For these and others are characteristics demonstrated by the Prodigal’s father, who restores his errant son to his rightful place in the family.
The personality of our God is one of constancy; His love never ends, His mercy never fails, His grace is abundant and His forgiveness is always available. He hears our prayers, He protects and guides, He enjoys to hear our praises and our worship, He welcomes the quality time that we spend with Him in conversation and silence and He is blessed by our relationship with Him. He is always with us; in the good times and the bad, when we know He is there or we have moved away from Him. The key question is; are you constant with God?
A prayer of response;
Eternal God, you hold in love all who know you and praise you, and those who do not. You are a friend to all who own your name and those who ignore you. You are always at work in full view of our wondering eyes and where we are blind to your actions. We, who know your love, your friendship and your service to us, we commit ourselves afresh to a constant relationship with you. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen
Prayer time; in the time you now have, please bring to God your payers for those you know in need and those you learn of in the media. You may wish to include this prayer; God of love, whose compassion never fails; we pray for the people and nations where there are troubles and distress, for those in prison and for the captives, for the bereaved and the refugees, for the helpless and lonely, the despondent and weary, for those in war zones and displaced people’s camps. Lord, we pray that you will draw near to each and bring your blessing; for the sake of Jesus we ask this.
Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
Praise time; please now spend as much time as you wish singing your songs of praise to God. You may wish to include the following hymn: Through all the changing scenes of life (Mission Praise 702)
A Blessing;
Lord, we offer you ourselves this day for the work you want accomplished, for the people you want us to meet, for the word you want to be uttered, for the silences to be kept. For the places you want us to enter, for the new ways you want to be pioneered. Go with us along the way, Lord, and enable us to realise your presence at all times and in all places, our loving and constant God. Amen.
Extra; if you have access to YouTube; either on-line or TV, you may like to try the following new worship songs;
Thank you for sharing your worship with us
God bless you