McPhail Weblog January 10th 2021

McPhail Baptist Church

Jan 10th 2021

Prelude: “O My Soul, Be Glad and Joyful”

(G. Böhm)

Hymn: “Great God, We Sing That Mighty Hand”

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

O God our Father, we express our gratitude to You for the gift of time, a gift so priceless and yet so often wasted and misused.

For the time that has now passed, for the happy hours and difficult experiences which have made us better persons and prepared us for the present, we thank You, Lord.

For the time that is yet to come, for the opportunities and possibilities of future ways, for the time to change as we correct past mistakes and become the people we want to be, we thank You, Lord.

For the time that is with us now, for the spiritual power that You give to us today to guide us in the midst of the pressures of life, to sustain us in our doubts and disappointments, to uplift us in the hours of fear and loneliness, we thank You, Lord.

For the gift of time, and for all the many ways we can use it, we give You thanks, Lord. Teach us in the hours that are given to us this year how to use our time creatively, and to use it in your service. Amen.

Favourite Hymns

Scripture Reading

Matthew 6:25-27 (NRSV)

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?

34 So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Philippians 3:12-14 (NRSV)

12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Announcements

Some of you have been asking if the new Upper Room devotionals have arrived. Unfortunately, they are not here yet. We’ll let you know as soon as they arrive at the church and we’ll distribute them to those of you who would like to have them. If you phone the church or email a request to Steve, Ernie or Sue for a copy or copies, we’ll be glad to get them to you.

Hymn: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”