Prayers  Loving God, in an ever-changing world, we come to you for stability. In a world of so many choices, we come to you for guidance. In a world so full of knowledge, we come to you for wisdom. In a world awash with rights, we come to you to discern our responsibilities. In a world of countless opinions, we come to you to discover what you think, that we may praise and thank you with our faithfulness in our promises and the

wholeheartedness of our service. 

Lord’s Prayer  Our father

Message 

The fact is that neither son in the story was the kind to bring full joy to his father. The ideal son would be one who accepted his father’s orders with obedience and respect and who unquestioningly and fully carried them out.

I suspect that all of us have been both of those sons at one time or another.  Perhaps saying no to a request with good reason.  We had other plans with friends or we had promised to take somebody on a longed for visit and didn’t want to disappoint them but when, for whatever reason, those things didn’t happen, we remembered what we had been asked to do and went and carried it out.  Or maybe, with less good reason, we said no because we were fed up of being asked and said no in a spirit of rebellion before relenting and actually doing what was asked.  Whatever the reasons at least the work was eventually carried out.

On the other hand, what of the son who said yes but then did nothing.  Again, I suspect all of us have done that to one extent or another.  Yes, I’ll go and do that, we say, but just let me watch the game finish first, or the TV program to end or I finish reading this article. 

No great harm provided we do then actually do what we said we would but, probably more times than we care to remember, there have been occasions when we have intended to do something and then failed to do it. Sometimes we forget or are too busy but too often initial enthusiasm falls away as we find the task is harder or less attractive than we thought.  On other occasions it can be sheer old-fashioned laziness that causes us to fail.

With luck, our failure to do as we promised may not matter all that much.  It could however, matter a great deal and the pity of it is that it may well be what to us seems a small matter.  The visit to the lonely person we promised to make and didn’t.  The phone call of encouragement that we forgot or were sure someone else would make so it didn’t matter that we didn’t do it. and so and so on. They could easily have consequences far greater than we could ever envisage. It may even be that the opportunity we have missed may never come our way again so please, please if God is calling you to do something, no matter how small a matter it may seem, don’t put it off.  Say yes, mean yes and act now, before it’s too late. 

Amen

Prayers 

Gracious God, forgive us for those things we should have done but have left undone; the acts of kindness we never found time for, the thoughtful word never spoken, the message of encouragement or concern never sent, the helpful deed never attempted. Forgive us for forgetting our friends, our neighbours and, above all, you. Help us to translate our thoughts into actions, our words into practice and to turn our good intentions into good deeds, to the glory of your name.

And God, so often we want to pray for others but sometimes we don’t know how. Thank goodness, God, that you know what we mean when we pray. So, we bring in this moment those names and faces, images and desires for others that pop in and out of our minds throughout the day. For all these people and countless others, we offer our prayers. We know you do not need reminding, but you do need willing workers – even us –

to help them know your love and have their needs met. 

Amen.

Hymn StF  563 O Jesus I have promised

https://youtu.be/QrooaJ56dvc?si=jTN6lsUGjFKuPpWp