In our own homes – let us worship Jesus, our wonderful Saviour.

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Lord, what are we to do when we’re going through a hard time? Hard times can be the breaking of us – or the making of us. We can blame You – or we can trust You. Help us to trust You – to know that You are near, even when it feels like You are far away.

We thank You, Lord, that You have blessed us. We have come to You with our sin – and You have forgiven us. We thank You, Lord, that You call us to bring Your blessing to others. We have received Your blessing. Help us to share it with others.

Often, Lord, we fail You – and we wonder why You bother with us. We thank You, Lord,that You never fail us. When we let You down, You lift us up. Help us, Lord, not to be shaped by our failure. Help us to be transformed by Your love and power. Help us to respond to Your call to “attempt great things for You and expect great things from You” (William Carey).

Lord, what are we to do when we face determined opposition from people who refuse to listen to what Your Word is saying to them? Lord, teach us to pray. Teach us to take our problems to You – and help us to leave them with You. When troubles come our way, help us to “wait upon You and renew our strength” (Isaiah 40:31).

Lord, we come to You in our weakness. We receive Your strength. In our weakness, we fail. Through Your strength, we shall triumph. When we’re stumbling along in weakness, help us to say, with ever-increasing faith, “Our God is marching on to glorious victory.”

Lord, show us our pride – and teach us to humble ourselves before You. Show us Your power and teach us to trust You to do great things in and through us.

Lord, help us not to rest content with going through the motions of religion. Beyond religion, there is redemption. Beyond ritual, there is reality. May our faith in Jesus, our Saviour, be a real faith, a living faith, a faith that changes us, a faith that brings glory to You.

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Touch our hearts, Lord, with Your love. So often, our hearts are hard. How can this hardness be broken down? You must do it. We can’t do this for ourselves. We can’t do this by ourselves. It’s Your love that changes us. It’s Your love that makes us new. Open our hearts to Your love. Fill our hearts with Your love.

Help us, Lord, to receive Your forgiveness – and to respond to Your call to holy living. You give to us Your peace. It comes to us with Your gift of forgiveness. You give to us Your power – the power to live for Your glory. May Your peace and Your power equip us for living as Your people.

Often, Lord, we feel trapped – trapped by our sin. We try to break free – but we can’t make it happen. Our sin has such a strong hold on us. We wonder, “Is there a way to freedom?” Jesus says, “Yes. There is.” He says to us, “I am the Way to freedom.” Set us free, Lord, from our self-centredness. May there be less of self and more of You in our lives.

Lord, we are surrounded by so many temptations. We cannot avoid this. There’s no getting away from it. It’s part-and-parcel of our life in this world. What are we to do when temptation comes our way? What are we to do when we feel the powerful pull of the world, drawing us away from You? Lord, help us to turn to You. Help us to renew our strength – in You.

We think, Lord, of Your redemption, and our hearts are filled with thanksgiving – and hope. We think – and we thank. we look back on all that You have done for us, and we say, “Thank You, Lord.” Give us the spirit of thanksgiving, the attitude of gratitude – and, with it, give us the confidence to face the future, knowing that it is more than our future. It is Your future for us.

Lord, You love us so much. Help us never to forget this. Help us to remember Jesus – to remember that His body was broken for us, and His blood was shed for us. Help us to feed on Jesus, and to be strong in Him. Lord, when the going gets tough, help us to remember that Your love keeps going and going and going … It is a love that never comes to an end. It’s everlasting love – the only everlasting love.

Lord, we come to You with questions. You give us victory. Sometimes, our questions are not answered. Always, You give us the strength that we need to keep on walking with You. Lord, when our life gets busy, help us to take time to pray. When we have so many things to do, help us to find time for listening to what Your Word has to say to us. If we’re too busy to pray, we’re too busy! Help us, Lord, not to be “worried and upset about many things.” Help us not to forget this: “only one thing is needed” – “listening to what Jesus is saying” to us (Luke 10:38-42).

Lord, You have done so much for us. What are we doing for You? You tell us about Your redemption. You call for our response. Our response is inspired by Your redemption. Thank You for the grace of Your redemption – “By grace you have been saved.” Give us the grace to make our response – “Saved through faith for good works” (Ephesians 2:8-10). Lord, help us to have less self-confidence and more confidence in You. Self-confidence is all about us. It has nothing to do with You. Confidence in You is so different. It comes from faith – not from pride. Help us to find our true strength. It’s not our strength. It’s Your strength.

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Lord, we thank You that Your Son, Jesus, has triumphed over Your enemy, Satan. To us, Satan can seem so strong. Help us to remember that Jesus is stronger than Satan. With Jesus as our Saviour, we shall triumph over Satan, our enemy.

Lord, help us never to think that prayer time is wasted time. Jesus prayed. Jesus received Your blessing. Jesus brought Your blessing to others. Help us to be like Jesus – praying, receiving Your blessing, bringing Your blessing to others.

Lord, there are some changes that are good changes – but not all change is good change. We live in an ever-changing world. We look at some of the changes. We wonder, “Where are these changes coming from?” Is it because so many people have stopped listening to what Your Word is saying to them? What about good change, Lord? Where does good change come from? It comes from You, Lord. Real change, true and lasting change, comes to us when we put our trust in You, when we say, “Not my will, but Your will be done, Lord.”

Sometimes, Lord, when we think about our many sins, we wonder, “How can we possibly be forgiven?” – and, then, we remember Jesus. We remember that He died for our sins. We look at ourselves, and everything seems to be so hopeless. We look at Jesus, and we say, “Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful love. Your love is greater than all of our sin. Thank You, Lord.

Lord, what does Your Spirit have to say to us? He speaks to us of our sin. He shows us our Saviour. It’s a good thing to be aware of our sin. It’s an even better thing to know that Jesus “receives sinners” (Luke 15:2). We come to Him – and He welcomes us. He is our Saviour. He forgives our sins. Our sin gets us down. Our Saviour lifts us up. No wonder we sing, “Hallelujah! What a Saviour!”

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“No one ever cared for me like Jesus”: Lord, help us to remember this – when our heads start to go down, and everything seems to be getting on top of us. Help us to remember this: “Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:38-39).

Lord, when we feel like there’s no hope, show us that You are “the God of hope” (Romans 15:13). This is why we believe that “there is hope” (Jeremiah 31:17). Our hope is in You – the God of great faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23). With You as our God, how can we ever feel that we’re hopeless? – To ask this question is to answer it! You are our God. You are our hope. Thank You, Lord.

Lord, we look for happiness. Where will we find it? “Happiness is to know the Saviour, living a life within His favour.” How does happiness come our way? It comes when we’re learning to see that pleasing You is more important than pleasing ourselves: Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

Where, Lord, will we find peace – when our emotions are tearing us apart? We feel like we’re being pulled this way and that way. Sometimes, we feel like we’re all over the place. We don’t know whether we’re coming or going. Lord, give us Your peace. Give us Your Son, Jesus. He is our Saviour. He is our Peace.
How much, Lord, do we want to be blessed by You? Is this something that we can take or leave? Do we say, “It would be nice to have more of the Lord’s blessing – but we’re doing OK, as things are? Are we doing OK? or Are we too easily satisfied? Create in us, Lord, a greater hunger and thirst for Your righteousness. Give us a greater desire that You will be glorified in us and through us. Help us not to settle for less than You want to give to us.

Where does our faith come from? – It comes from You, Lord. You put it into our hearts. You brought us to Jesus, Your Son – Jesus, our Saviour. You brought us out of unbelief and into faith. We came to You in our sin. You gave to us Your salvation. Thank You, Lord.

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How are we to live? Sometimes, Lord, our journey through life can be very confusing. We don’t know what to think of it all. One person tells us one thing. Someone else tells us something very different. Lord, what are we to do? Help us to start listening to what You have to say to us. You know what’s best for us. Help us to trust You – to guide us safely through our, often, confusing journey. Help us to follow You in the way that You lead us.

Lord, You are the God of grace. You are the God of glory. You come to us in grace. You’re preparing us for Your glory. You lift us out of our sin and shame. You lead us on to Your heavenly and eternal glory. Help us to live by Your grace – and to look forward to Your glory.

Often, Lord, we feel so useless. Make us useful – Your faithful and fruitful servants.

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Keep on praying! – A message from the Moderator of the Presbytery of Greenock and Paisley

As you read Jack’s letter, pray for the people he mentions – and don’t forget to pray for him, giving thanks to God for his much-needed and much-appreciated spiritual leadership.

Call to Prayer

Jeremiah 33:3

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As we face the uncertainty surrounding the present coronavirus pandemic and the fact that we cannot see, feel or touch the problem, it can lead us to become either sceptical about its seriousness or terrified of what it could do to us or our loved ones. There is no doubt that we face the greatest test that our nation has faced since the end of the Second World War. It proves, once again, that we really do not have all the answers to life’s problems.

However, even in the uncertainly and the need to listen carefully to the scientific and medical experts, who are seeking to help our nation get through these difficult times, I believe that there is One who does have all the answers, and we can pray to Him.

I have no doubt that we have all been earnestly praying in these days, but I have been led to believe that, although we cannot come together as a Presbytery, we can still pray together. I would like to suggest that we, as a Presbytery, endeavour to set aside time each day at the same time if possible to pray about the present situation; and I would suggest 11.00 a.m.

It may be that for some that is not possible, but let us pray every day at whatever time is suitable for each one of us.

Let us pray for doctors, nurses, scientists, emergency service workers and indeed all who would seek to respond in these difficult days. Pray for the vulnerable folk in society; let us pray for those who have had to self-isolate, and for folk who contract the virus that they will make a full recovery. Let us pray for families with children who are at home because our schools are closing, that they can cope with the need to keep the children interested and occupied.

Let us pray for our congregations and the folk in our Presbytery and nation. Pray for folk whose employment and income is adversely affected by not being able to work.

Pray for our politicians in Westminster and Holyrood that God will sustain them and inspire them with His Holy Spirit that their decisions will be in accordance with His will and purposes.

Let us all remember that God is Sovereign and that he has shown the depth of his love for us by sending His Son Jesus into our world to be our Saviour and our Lord. He will not abandon us now in our time of need.

God Bless you all.

Jack McHugh

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We thank You, Lord, for Your Son, Jesus Christ. He is our Lord.  He came from heaven, where He is worshipped by angels (Hebrews 1:6). He is our Saviour. He came to earth where “He suffered death, so that, by the grace of God, He might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). Help us, Lord, to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus – to catch a glimpse of His heavenly glory and His saving grace.

We thank You, Lord, that You invite us to become Your “children” (Hebrews 2:13) – through faith in Your Son, Jesus (John 1:12). When we hear Your voice, calling us to come to Jesus, help us to open our hearts to Your love (Hebrews 3:7,15) – and receive Your Son as our Saviour.

When, Lord, You speak Your Word to us, You say to us, “Do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7). These are words that we need to keep on hearing – again and again. This may not be what we like to hear – but it’s what we need to hear. Help us to hear what You’re saying, to pray for Your “mercy” and “grace” (Hebrews 4:15-16), and to receive Your “eternal salvation” (Hebrews 5:9).

You call us, Lord, to “go on to maturity” (Hebrews 6:1). You’re showing us that there’s a very real “difference between good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). You’re calling us to leave sin behind (Romans 6:1-2) – and to press on to “the better things that belong to salvation” ((Hebrews 6:9). Help us to hear what You’re saying to us – Don’t become “sluggish” (Hebrews 6:12); “Take care that you don’t become “worthless and near to being cursed” (Hebrews 6:8); Pray for “earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end” (Hebrews 6:11). Help us, Lord, to listen to You, to learn from You, and to live for You.

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God bless you all.

Charlie

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Here are some more songs.