Thought for the Day - Sunday 18 October

Thought for the Day – Sunday 18th October ‘Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father there is no shadow of turning with thee thou changes not, thy compassions, they fail not as thou hast been, thou forever wilt be. Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; all I have needed thy hand hath provided Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. Summer and winter, and seed-time and harvest, sun, moon and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! ....... Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! …….. (CH4 153 Thomas O. Chisholm 1866-1960) It was wonderful to be able to share in worship together once more this morning – at least virtually via Zoom and so good to see so many of you joining worship too. We were talking this morning about harvest and giving thanks for different harvests, harvests of land, sea and air but also for all those unexpected harvest blessings we have perhaps encountered during lockdown. Maybe you could take time to think of some unexpected ways you have been blessed yourself – what or who has brought blessing to your life during the pandemic and who or what do you wish to thank God for this day. Although in our service we acknowledged that for some lockdown has been a very isolating and difficult time, for many others, this has been a time when folk have been reaching out to each other in fantastic ways, using their God-given gifts and talents to touch people’s lives in ways they perhaps had not done for a very long time. This unexpected harvest blessing of a community displaying love to their neighbour. I wanted to include ‘Great is thy faithfulness’ in our service today but I felt it would have made it too long – so I offer it here for you to sing along to now as a wonderful reminder to all of us of the great faithfulness of God who provides for our every need and blesses us not just with a harvest to get us through the winter and into the spring but every single day of our lives and beyond! Prayer Loving God, May we sing about the wonders of your love forever. May we tell everyone we meet about your faithfulness to all generations! May we declare that your love stands firm, that your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens above! May we know that we are blessed as those who know you as their God and walk within the light of your presence! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.