Daily Prayers Wednesday, 2 November 2022
Good morning Cornerstone people.
Today we commemorate the ‘faithful departed’, All Souls. This provides an opportunity to give thanks for those who led us into our faith and started our various pilgrimages, parents, church youth leaders, pastors, friends.
We can also give thanks for those who are in our community right now doing the work of showing how the love of God is still a powerful force for good.
Psalm 27 verses 1 to 5
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, come upon me to eat up my flesh,
they stumbled and fell.
Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not be afraid,
and though there rise up war against me, yet will I put my trust in him.
One thing I have asked of the Lord and that alone I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
To behold the fair beauty of the Lord and to seek his wall in the temple.
God our light and our salvation illuminate our lives,
so that we may see your goodness in the land of the living
and looking on your beauty may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(Common Worship Daily Prayer)
St Luke chapter 14 verses 25 to 33. The Cost of Discipleship
Now large crowds were travelling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them,
‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise when he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” Or what king going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.’
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The traditional translation which refers to ‘hating ones family’ is not always helpful. However the message is clear that we should give God first place and not cling to possessions or relationships that get in the way of following our Lord. Jesus gave examples of ‘counting the cost of discipleship in terms of money like the person building a tower or the human resources like the king preparing an army for war.
We as a church are still needing to do that thousands of years later, in both our worship and in living out a life of service to others. The prayer associated with the psalm sums it up well:
‘that we may see your goodness in the land of the living and looking on your beauty may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Can I suggest a change to praying for the church and the world separately but combine the two with a local emphasis. Two organisations exist in Milton Keynes because of a deeply held idea that God should not be limited to our Sunday worship and kept inside the church walls.
Milton Keynes YMCA has facilities to provide housing for over 200 young people (ages 18 -30). It does much more providing them with social facilities back up in helping them obtain independence and better employability. It is right on our doorstep and is supported by just one or two of our fellowship. God’s love is being shown on your behalf by employed staff often not Christian in open practice but ‘people of goodwill’.
Please keep this organisation its operating board and staff in your prayers.
Milton Keynes Christian Foundation has its main premises in Wolverton. It helps young people (ages 16 to 20) who have or who are not flourishing in secondary school and likely to fail their end of school exams. It has some 50 young people in its programmes. To provide different approaches from school the Christian Foundation runs a number of enterprises to give employment experience in market gardening, bee-keeping, cycle repairs, operating a café and a childcare service for pre-school children.This is intensive stuff and it employs some 20 or more staff, people of goodwill but not overtly churchgoers.
It also provides an interface between living out the gospel and society at large by providing examples of organic cultivation, healthy eating, recycling, regular exercise and reducing pollution and waste. Right now the Christian Foundation is advertising for a new chief executive with theological training to replace our existing leader who has been tireless in forming and expanding this showcase of Christian love to wider society.
The Christian Foundation has the esteem of a large charitable trust run by a well-known bank, St Martin in the Fields’ charitable operation team, our own local authority and the SE Midlands Economic Partnership.
Please keep this organisation its operating board and staff in your prayers.
Heavenly Father we give thanks for the work of showing your love in our wider society by these two and other organisations with a clear Christian ethos. We ask that they will continue to prosper and expand their operations to meet the needs of our city. We pray also for the board and staff of our own Cornerstone Trading Company keeping our building ‘open to the world’.
By your grace may we each be ready to support the work of providing more opportunities for those ‘left behind’ in our society. May your name continue to be glorified by these actions.
Amen
Don Head
