Sing joyful songs to the Lord!
Praise the mighty rock where we are
safe.
Come to worship him with thankful hearts and songs of praise.
The Lord is the greatest God, king over all other gods.
He holds the deepest part of the earth in his hands,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The ocean is the Lord’s because he made it, and with his own hands
he formed the dry land.
Bow down and worship the Lord our Creator!
The Lord is our God, and we are his people,
the sheep he takes care
of in his own pasture.
Listen to God’s voice today! (CEV)
Call
to worship: Judi & Hy-Waves
Abi
– a few words of welcome
Judi
– says something about the service
Ceitidh
will say,
Sing
joyful songs to the Lord!
Praise
the mighty rock where we are safe.
Come
to worship him with truthful hearts and songs of praise
Ceitidh
announces the two hymns:
We’re
going to sing two joyful songs to the Lord
Jesus
is Lord! Creation’s voice proclaims it
And
God
is good – we sing and shout it!
Hymns: (these are both in the complete edition of
Mission Praise)
MP367: 'Jesus is Lord' ORGAN
MP
185: 'God is good, we sing and shout
it' H/S
Prayer
& the Lord's Prayer: Hy-Waves
Abi
will introduce this, and we will all read our prayers
Then
Judi will call Gwyneth up for the reading
Reading: Psalm 104:1-12 (Gwyneth)
In Praise of the
Creator
1Praise the LORD,
my soul!
O
LORD, my God, how great you are!
You
are clothed with majesty and glory;
you
cover yourself with light.
You
have spread out the heavens like a tent
and
built your home on the waters above.
You
use the clouds as your chariot
and
ride on the wings of the wind.
You
use the winds as your messengers
and
flashes of lightning as your servants.
You
have set the earth firmly on its foundations,
and
it will never be moved.
You
placed the ocean over it like a robe,
and
the water covered the mountains.
When
you rebuked the waters, they fled;
they
rushed away when they heard your shout of command.
They
flowed over the mountains and into the valleys,
to
the place you had made for them.
You
set a boundary they can never pass,
to
keep them from covering the earth again.
You
make springs flow in the valleys,
and
rivers run between the hills.
They
provide water for the wild animals;
there
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
In
the trees near by,
the
birds make their nests and sing.
Abi
will announce the hymn
So
… who put the colours in the rainbow? – let’s join in singing.
Hymn: CH143
'Who put the colours in the rainbow?' H/S
Children's
slot: simultaneous short craft activity
for the younger children, and quiz on the quality of rocks for the
congregation.
Abi
is the quiz master. Judi will say there’s a craft activity for the little ones.
Laura will sit with them.
1. The
hardest natural substance on earth is a) diamond b) sandstone, c) bone
2. The
most common rock on earth is a) limestone, b) basalt, c) seaside rock
3. The
ancient Egyptians used a powder made from this rock as eye make-up a)sandstone,
b) marble, c) lapis lazuli
4. The Taj
Mahal in India is made entirely of this rock a) diamond, b) marble, c) rock
salt
5. Igneous
rock is formed when magma reaches this temperature in Farenheit a) 2 degrees,
(- 17˚ Celsius) b) 200 degrees (93˚ Celsius) c) 2000 degrees (1093˚ Celsius)
Psalm
95 begins like this …
Sing
joyful songs to the Lord!
Praise the mighty rock
where we are safe.
Come to worship him
with
thankful hearts
and songs of praise.
Why
do you think the writer of Psalm 95 used the image of a rock to describe God?
After
the Quiz Judi will ask the little ones to show what they have done.
Ceitidh
will introduce Psalm 95:1-7
Let’s
all read Psalm 95 together:
(This
is all brought together by everyone reading Psalm 95:1-7)
Sing
joyful songs to the Lord!
Praise
the mighty rock
where
we are safe.
Come
to worship him
with
thankful hearts
and
songs of praise.
The
Lord is the greatest God,
king
over all other gods.
He
holds the deepest part
of
the earth in his hands,
and
the mountain peaks
belong
to him.
The
ocean is the Lord’s
because
he made it,
and
with his own hands
he
formed the dry land.
Bow down and worship
the Lord our Creator!
The Lord is our God,
and we are his people,
the sheep he takes care of
in his own pasture.
Hy-Spirit
song: 'My lighthouse' H/S
Judi will say it
is time for
(the
younger children leave for their own activities. Hy-Waves & Hy-Tide remain)
Judi
will invite Gwyneth to come back to to continue the reading
Reading: Psalm 104:13-26 (Gwyneth)
From
the sky you send rain on the hills,
and
the earth is filled with your blessings.
You
make grass grow for the cattle
and
plants for human beings to use,
so
that they can grow their crops
and
produce wine to make them happy,
olive
oil to make them cheerful,
and
bread to give them strength.
The
cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain —
the
LORD's own trees, which he planted.
There
the birds build their nests;
the
storks nest in the fir trees.
The
wild goats live in the high mountains,
and
the rock-badgers hide in the cliffs.
You
created the moon to mark the months;
the
sun knows the time to set.
You
made the night, and in the darkness
all
the wild animals come out.
The
young lions roar while they hunt,
looking
for the food that God provides.
When
the sun rises, they go back
and
lie down in their dens.
Then
people go out to do their work
and
keep working until evening.
LORD,
you have made so many things!
How
wisely you made them all!
The
earth is filled with your creatures.
There
is the ocean, large and wide,
where
countless creatures live,
large
and small alike.
The
ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan,
that
sea monster which you made.
Hymn: 'God is great, amazing' (in Graham Kendrick book) H/S
Talk: by Richard
The
words of the first seven verses of Psalm 95 tell us why it’s so important to
praise God and they also tell us how to do it. And they are wonderful words.
It’s
getting closer!
We’ve
been making the journey from Cheltenham to Bridgend and back quite a lot for
quite a time.
And
the countryside is beautiful.
I’ve
grown up knowing South Wales and over the last thirty years we have been to the
Gower Peninsula and had the most wonderful holidays there.
The
Congregational Federation has a wonderful holiday cottage – quite reasonably
priced – Rachel Jacques has been going recently – over the years we have gone
time and again.
It’s
on the road to Rhossili and the Worm’s Head at a place called Pilton Green.
From the cottage you can walk to the coast
And
as you reach the sea you are above one of the most wonderful spots in Britain
and one of the most historic. It is where the oldest human remains to be found
in Britain were discovered. Known wrongly as the Red Lady of Paviland they were
found in a cave from the time whgen the Bristol channel was a stretch of land
where the mammoths roamed and the caves in the cliffs were our ancestors lived.
And this is one of them.
It’s
a wonderful spot.
Looking
in there’s hardly any sign of a cave
But
from inside, looking out it’s a place that feels secure, a place that feels
safe. From the storms, from the winds there is security here there is safety
here.
This
is the rock that provides a home that is safe.
Why
praise God – because it is in his presence that we are safe – safe from the
storms, safe in his safe-keeping.
Sing
joyful songs to the Lord!
Praise the mighty rock [a]
where we are safe.
Why
praise because in God’s presence we are safe.
And
how should we praise?
2
Come to worship him
with
thankful hearts
and songs of praise.
It’s
a wild and rugged place where you touch the beauty of God’s creation in all its
splendor.
That suggests the Psalmist, is the second reason to give God our praise – it’s because he is the God of creation.
he
Lord is the greatest God,
king over all other gods.
4
He holds the deepest part
of the earth in his hands,
and the mountain peaks
belong to him.
5
The ocean is the Lord’s
because he made it,
and with his own hands
he formed the dry land.
6
Bow down and worship
the Lord our Creator!
It’s
in our time in Cheltenham that I have become passionate about geology. Olga
gave me two books on Glos geology by William Dreghorn, a friend and colleague
of her father’s.
Marvellous
sketches. So when I found a book on Welsh geology in the same series I snaffled
it up.
It
says of the road from Bridgend over the tops to the Rhondda that it is one of
the most beautiful mountain roads in Britain for its wonderful geology – and
its glacial cirques.
As
you emerge at the top, known as the Bwlch, the gap – there’s the most wonderful
view over to Treorchy and my family grave. And at your feet a plaque.
And
the words of the plaque are the words of Psalm 104
LORD,
you have made so many things!
How
wisely you made them all!
The
earth is filled with your creatures.
You
won’t stand there long before being joined by one of the Rhondda’s residents.
A
sheep!
Which
takes us back to Psalm 95 and the last reason.
It’s not just because we are safe.
It’s
not just because we look to the God of creation.
It
is because God cares for us with the deepest possible love.
The
Lord is our God,
and we are his people,
the sheep he takes care of
in his own pasture.
Lake
is going to announce the next hymn
To
lead into our prayers we’re going to stay sitting down to sing
‘The
Lord’s my shepherd’
Hy
Spirit lead the singing of the Lord’s my shepherd
Prayers
of Concern
Let
us pray …
Loving
Lord Jesus, we give you thanks that you care for us
as
a shepherd cares for his sheep.
Look
after all those who are lonely,
All
those who are sick,
All
those who are sad
All
those who are without a home
Lord
God, our heavenly Father,
we
give you thanks for the wonder of your creation.
Thank
you for the wonderful world you have given us to live in
Be
with those who live in places where there are earthquakes
and
in places where there are volcanoes,
Be
with those who live in places where there is drought
and
in places where there are floods
Keep
them safe, we pray
Help
us to look after your world and to care for it in all that we do.
God
of all creation,
we
give you thanks that you are always there for us,
a
rock to keep us safe.
Keep
us and our families and friends safe now and always.
This
we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour,
Amen.
Let’s
join together in singing our last hymn,
Hymn:
CH804 'You shall go out with joy' ORGAN
Words
of blessing – Richard to lead
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