Pray : Help us to wait patiently for you, Lord, to be on the look out for opportunities to hear your voice, to sense your leading, to see you at work and to respond to your call. The world can be very busy, we can be too busy – it is all too easy to let other things crowd you out. Forgive us our shortcomings, our carelessness, the ease with which we let things slip. Remind us of your Son’s promise to be with us always, to send his Spirit to draw us near, to equip us to love and serve, to be with you in love and grace. Grant us a greater awareness of how you really want to be with us in our daily lives, to be part of them, to enable us to make them part of your overall plan for us, those around us, our communities, the world, your kingdom! Help us to think bigger, to make room for your wonderful design for us, for humanity. And if it begins with something simple like “Come and see” so be it. Draw near to us that we might draw near to you and enable us to worship you in spirit and in truth not only with words in Church but with the service of our lives. We pray together saying Our Father…

Thought- Most of us like to receive invitations particularly to a special event – perhaps a special birthday, a wedding or a family gathering – for some, possibly a gig or party. You might have a concern about the timing or what to wear or who will be there or what it might cost – but on the whole invitations are positive and to be appreciated. There were so many functions curtailed or cancelled in the last couple of years or so that it is good to be able to contemplate getting back together and marking special occasions. What is it that REALLY matters about invitations? Ok the setting does matter a bit – I wouldn’t be too keen on the Get me out of here jungle – no matter who was with me (anyway most of my family and friends aren’t into creepy crawlies) but actually it is PEOPLE who matter more – who is the invitation from, who is it for? Invitation is a key part of faith. The trouble is that we’ve confused inviting to meet PEOPLE (and most especially Jesus) with PLACE – a particular Church or meeting. The early disciples had heard about Jesus, seen him from a distance, were interested  but it took one of them to “Go and see” and to then invite others to “Come and see”. Yes, we’ve to make our churches welcoming places but actually our invitations shouldn’t really stop at inviting people to Church or a meeting but we’ve to get better at introducing people to our friend Jesus. Come and see – Jesus!

Pray: Lord, you would think we’d be delighted to receive an invitation to meet with the Lord of lords and King of kings and to pass on the invitation to as many friends and neighbours we could reach but something has gone amiss. Of course, it’s not to a royal garden party – you aren’t into status and show – it’s about service, even self-giving. But we do have a lot to learn. Break down the barriers of our self-consciousness, hesitancy, mis judged priorities, perhaps lack of faith and boost our love for you and our friends and neighbours and our readiness to introduce and invite others to get to know you as friend and saviour. Be with the many in the world as well as locally in the community whose lives are fraught with difficulty and suffering – be with people in the down to earth struggles of family life, work, budgeting and busyness and give them some calm in the midst of storms. As we move towards a more integrated future give the Montrose congregations of our church a deeper love for Jesus and our neighbours, a focus on what is important in your eyes, a willingness to change and a sensitivity to others’ viewpoints – and may we be eager to share in your cause and kingdom.  In our prayer walk we pray for those who live or work in Provost Reid’s Road. SILENCE. Lord, hear our prayers spoken and unspoken for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Blessing - May the Lord bless you. Amen.