"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture."
(Psalm 100:1–3)
Hymn
Word of God
Read Deuteronomy 8:7-18, to lead us in thankfulness whether in times of plenty or need.
A Prayer of Harvest Thankfulness
In a moment of silence, bring to God what you are thankful for at this time.
Lord God Almighty, we give you thanks for all the blessings of this life; for heath and strength, for the beauty of the world, for the kindness and love of family and friends, for opportunities of service and for the harvest of the land and sea. Accept our praise for these your gifts, and make us ever mindful of our dependence on you; for your Son, Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
Confession
“What can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16:26)
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour in thought and word and deed, through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past and grant that we may serve you in newness of life to the glory of your name. Amen.
On seeing Jesus’ glory at his transfiguration, the disciples "fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 17:6–7)
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of his great mercy has promised forgiveness of sins to all them that with hearty repentance and true faith turn to him; have mercy upon us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Word of God
Reflection: Most Precious
“There are some things so dear, some things so precious,
some things so eternally true, that they are worth dying for.
And I submit to you that if a man has not discovered something
that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”
— Martin Luther King, 15 July 1965.
Some things in life are so precious they are worth dying for. Our passage asks us what is most precious in our life.
Maybe the past 9 months have led you to think about what really matters in life. Where people might have been living for their health, savings, family or comfort, all those have been shaken.
Here we are reminded of why Jesus is so supremely precious to us. We know him, follow him and worship him. He shows us his suffering and his glory.
His suffering
Firstly we see Jesus’ death and suffering:
"Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." (Matthew 16:21)
The divine son of the living God, the Messiah, God’s chosen king chooses to come into this broken world, to walk the road to Jerusalem, to suffer and be killed. He denied himself and chose suffering for our sake. What else could be given in exchange for our souls but his perfect life? He chose this path for us, he chose the cross for you. His death is supremely and eternally valuable. Nothing compares to him.
His glory
He shows us not only his death, but also his glory, to help us understand what is truly valuable.
"For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done." (Matthew 16:27)
Jesus is often overlooked as a mere figure of history or a good teacher. But we know he is far more significant. Peter, James and John are given a glimpse of Jesus’ true divine glory. In his first coming he had “no beauty or majesty to attract us to him" (Isaiah 53:2) but his disciples have glimpsed his glory at the transfiguration.
When the disciples saw him “they fell on their faces and were terrified” such was his overpowering glory. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" (Matthew 17:5) We know his glory as heaven’s precious Son; as the King of the Father’s coming kingdom. We know him as our salvation and life. Nothing compares to him.
We follow in his steps
So we follow in the footsteps of our precious Lord:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)
To deny myself is to put Jesus in charge of my life. To take up my cross is to walk the way of daily death through his death and resurrection. We crucify our old way of life and, resurrected, we live empowered by his transforming Spirit.
Some things in life are so precious they are worth dying for. Jesus’ suffering and glory open our eyes to his incomparable value in this life and the next. Our Lord who suffered and died for us is worth laying down our lives for. We follow the glorious King, whose kingdom is coming. Entering his kingdom and living with him in eternity is a greater treasure than all this world can offer.
Prayers
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us your gift of faith that, forsaking what lies behind and reaching out to that which is before, we may run the way of your commandments and win the crown of everlasting joy; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
You may like to continue with your own prayers and the Lord’s Prayer using the following pattern, filling in what you would ask for them:
Gracious Father, we pray for our families …
... for those who live near us …
… for school pupils, teachers and other staff …
… for our key workers, leaders and government …
… for those who are sick or grieving …
… for the persecuted, broken and hurting …
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Conclusion
Christ give you grace to grow in holiness, to deny yourselves, take up your cross and follow him; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
Hymn