Goooood morning, folks.

God is good?
All the time.

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, you fill all things with your presence.
In your great love, keep us near you this day.
Grant that in all our ways and doings we may remember that you see us.
Help us always to know and perceive what things you would have us do,
and give us strength to do the same,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Prayer for the day ahead

We give you sincere thanks for the rest of the past night
and for the gift of a new day, with its opportunities to pleasing you.
Grant that we may so pass its hours in the perfect freedom of your service,
that at evening, we may again give you thanks; in Jesus’ name.

Amen

Reading

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’

Mark 4: 35–41 ®

In Mark’s gospel we read of two different occasions when Jesus calmed a storm.
In Mark 4, Jesus is with the disciples but having a kip at the back of the boat.
Even though they had witnessed Jesus performing miracles,
they still didn’t fully comprehend the impact of these miracles,
nor appreciated Jesus’ power and authority over the elements and ordinary life.
The second time Jesus calmed the storm, in Mark 6,
he was alone walking on the lake during a storm.
In both instances, the disciples were greatly fearful.
In the first instance because of the dangerous storm,
and on the second occasion, well, because they thought Jesus was a ghost!
In each case, we witness how Jesus was building the faith of his disciples.
He allowed them to sail into the middle of a fearful situation to stretch their faith.
In Mark 4: 35, they asked in fear, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’
Fear had blinded them to Jesus’ good intentions for them.
After he rebuked the wind, he asked the disciples:
‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’
None of us is immune to the storms of life,
but Christ helps us to put our fears in perspective.
He is always ready to guide us through life’s most raging storms.

I wonder, what storms are you facing right now?
How can you entrust your fears and emotions to Jesus
when the storms rage and you find yourself in a deluge?

Intercessions

Loving God, we pray for those people who feel defenceless
in the face of huge challenges and storms of life.
We pray for those in our community and society who are abused or neglected.
Those without shelter and those who have been forced into hardship
by the current pandemic.
We pray for families who watch helplessly their loved one suffering
and those that suffer themselves.
We pray for parents who cannot help their children,
especially in poor third world countries
and for children who cannot come to the aid of their parents.
Merciful God, we pray for all of us who feel powerless
when the storms of life threaten to overwhelm us.
Stay with us, Lord, lest we be submerged in the pain and chaos of our world.
You are a God of power and might
and we are confident that you will defend and strengthen us in Jesus, name

Amen

Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is 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

Blessings

May the beauty of God be reflected in your eyes,
the love of God be reflected in your hands,
the wisdom of God be reflected in your words,
and the knowledge of God flow from your heart,
that all might see, and seeing, believe.

Amen

Peace ya`ll?))

Revd George