Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

²

Worship the Lord with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

³

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

⁵

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

God's Word also say, that if we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us...

Our God fulfils his promises

and is true to his word.

We have confessed our sins.

God has forgiven us,

because Christ died for us.

We can come before God today with thankfulness and with God's peace in our hearts. He will speak to us as His beloved people, because of Christ.

Let's sing this next song as a continuation of our confession and thankfulness to God for what He has done for us in Christ Jesus...

Ecclesiastes 4:1-5:9

¹ Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—

and they have no comforter;

power was on the side of their oppressors—

and they have no comforter.

² And I declared that the dead,

who had already died,

are happier than the living,

who are still alive.

³ But better than both

is the one who has never been born,

who has not seen the evil

that is done under the sun.

⁴ And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

⁵ Fools fold their hands

and ruin themselves.

⁶ Better one handful with tranquillity

than two handfuls with toil

and chasing after the wind.

⁷ Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸ There was a man all alone;

he had neither son nor brother.

There was no end to his toil,

yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.

“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,

“and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”

This too is meaningless—

a miserable business!

⁹ Two are better than one,

because they have a good return for their labor:

¹⁰ If either of them falls down,

one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls

and has no one to help them up.

¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

But how can one keep warm alone?

¹² Though one may be overpowered,

two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

¹³ Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. ¹⁴ The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. ¹⁵ I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. ¹⁶ There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

^5:1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

² Do not be quick with your mouth,

do not be hasty in your heart

to utter anything before God.

God is in heaven

and you are on earth,

so let your words be few.

³ A dream comes when there are many cares,

and many words mark the speech of a fool.

⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. ⁵ It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. ⁶ Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷ Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.

⁸ If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. ⁹ The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.

Matthew 6:7-15

⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

¹⁰ your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.

¹² And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’

¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Praise Him, all creatures here below!

Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts!

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

¹⁴ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)

"Go in peace to love and serve the Lord and your neighbour.

• Church Directory - If you're on our database, you'll have received the regular email linking to this service material, and in that email you would have noticed the link to an electronic version of our Church Directory. We were hoping to distribute the paper booklet version a few weeks back but restricted gatherings have made that a little hard. We're also conscious that trying to keep in touch without phone numbers or email addresses is a bit tough. Please use the details in the booklet to reach out to people you haven't seen in a while and haven't been able to call... If you're having trouble accessing the directory via that link please email info@mlpc.org.au and we'll sort something out.

• Impact Youth meets back at the church today from 3pm! Please pray for our teens as they meet together once again and go through Ecclesiastes together.

This weeks Kids Catechism video - Question 6