Worship Service 12 September 2021

foreign [Music] [Music] so [Music] foreign [Music] wow [Music] [Music] [Music] my name is [Music] is [Music] is oh [Music] but is love the presence [Music] is [Music] god [Music] the skies [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] and my away my [Music] be acceptable in my sight or god oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] my [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] and make me [Music] [Music] girls [Music] is is [Music] is there is my [Music] is [Music] oh is [Music] uh [Music] there is a [Music] will be watching forever [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] hello [Music] oh [Music] so so [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] well good morning it's lovely to be with you this morning welcome to all of you in the room and those of you online um i hope you've had a lovely week it's been a beautiful week here in perth it's been full of sunshine and then we've had a bit of rain but um i've been here for just about eight months now and what i've learned is that perth comes alive when it's sunny everyone comes out of their shells and they're like oh i can do things outside again so it's really nice but this morning our call to worship comes from psalm 19 and we're going to read it together so the words will come up on the screen and the words in bold i'd invite you to read along with me the heavens are telling the glory of god and the firman firmament proclaims god's handiwork look to the mountain and see the everlastingness day to day pause fourth speech and night to night declares knowledge search both day and night and watch for the glory of it there is no speech nor are their words their voice is not heard listen to the silence and hear wonders speak yet their voices go out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world look to the horizons and hear a word about eternity in the heavens god has set a tent for the sun which comes out like a beloved from a wedding canopy and like a strong athlete runs its course with joy look to the sunrise and enjoy god's forever promise it is rising from the ends of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them and nothing is hid from its heat look to the seasons and leave god's rhythm the law of god is perfect reviving the soul the decrees of god ashore making sure the wires are simple the precepts of god are right rejoicing the heart the commandment of god is clear enlightening the eyes look to justice and truth and feel their lives the fear of god is pure enduring forever the ordinances of god are true and righteousness and righteous all together more to be desired are they than gold even much fine gold sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb look to god's commandments and take their sweetness moreover by them is your servant warren and keeping them there is great reward look to creation's order and know justice but who can detect their errors clear me from hidden faults look to grace and know its forgiveness keep back your servant also from the insolent do not let them have dominion over me look then i shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression look to god's covenant and know it let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you o god my rock and my redeemer the heavens are telling the glory of god let us stand and come to worship our god together [Music] uh [Music] [Music] [Music] oh uh [Music] so [Music] time um oh [Music] [Music] please can you remain standing it says in psalms let us cascade i love that word let us let us pray our praise cascade off my lips after all you have taught me the truth may my tongue sing of your words for all your commands are righteous we are going to shout us our praises to god this song is an old one it might be new to fortress it's very simple uh so just join in you will get it [Music] you are strong when you feel weak in your brokenness [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] heaven is earth [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] and the west jesus is [Music] by his grace [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] we've fallen deeper [Music] jesus lord of heaven and earth [Music] here we go [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] oh what a good thing we're gonna do something a little bit more reflective still singing about god's praises and we're gonna sing shout to the lord my jesus my savior there is none like you here we go my jesus my savior lord there is [Music] i want to praise the wonders of your mighty love my comfort [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] that is [Music] [Music] forever [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] my jesus my savior lord there is [Music] the wonders of your mighty love my comfort my shelter [Music] is [Music] he prays to [Music] is foreign [Music] shout to the lord [Music] [Music] [Music] forever [Music] [Music] nothing compares let's pray dear lord may the words of our mouths and the actions of our hearts reflect only the grace you have demonstrated to all mankind our words have the power to harm and the ability to heal as well lord whenever we speak let us demonstrate the gentleness and grace you have shown to us all let us be your voice hands and feet on your beautiful earth thank you lord for your love i'm in good morning everyone welcome to those who are in the room welcome to those who are sharing with us our regular regular attendees any visitors this morning and welcome to everyone online it's great that you're sharing with us from all around the world this morning we had a quick look before some of the far-flung places that we can see that you're coming from it's great that you're enjoying the time of fellowship with us the coffee birds will be open again this morning after the meeting so we look forward to sharing with you there and again it's f poss only thank you so much we extend congratulations to ben hollis ben was with us for a time here at the core ben and lisa were married yesterday so we congratulate them and uh they'll be on the honeymoon somewhere i'm guessing but anyway there we are i have a notice here from companion club you're invited to join companion club and the morley home league and i presume this is age specific and not just anybody but we'll put the whole message out there this tuesday the 14th of september at the morley salvation army the special guests are the entertainers which isn't just our band it's actually a 10 piece musical group the cost for the entertainment is slightly more than our band and the light launch is seven dollars and proceeds will support the making it happen project please see helen or hazel for a flyer or further information thank you the just men's conference is coming up on the 17th and 18th of september there is more information for that if you see uh alvin major al or if you see narelle she's somewhere in the room narelle has information as well so the 17th and 18th of september that coincides with our yp anniversary weekend so please carefully select which one you're going to i don't think you can make it to both but the yp anniversary are doing an afternoon in the park on the saturday afternoon there is a million activities i've seen some of the plans for this is so exciting there is something for every age group from the youngest young to the oldest old it will be fantastic fun and it's not just for the yp core you will enjoy a great afternoon the band the yp band and timbres are taking part as well so come along bring your own little picnic and have some fun with the core that's on the afternoon of the 17th of september this saturday if you need any more details please see the ypsm lauren uh or any of the yp team they'll be able to help you out with that one uh and then on the sunday morning we will celebrate as we normally would within the church service on the sunday morning with the yp sections as well a couple of other quick announcements here uh was lego for joe so as joe always tries to snaffle everybody's wool was gifts whether it's plants or toys or whatever it is the belga just brass kids and the community kids do collect all of these things and they do have a great time interacting with the team at bowga where they come along and swap so it's something that they're involved with it's not just collecting for the sake of it they actually get some enjoyment from it and they share together with it so if you're collecting the lego joe would appreciate that and now we have a very very special time of offering this morning even more special than we normally would because our musical accompaniment this morning for the offering is brought to us by hannah smith there's no pressure on your toe hannah at this point you've got a support team behind you and i'm sure it will be just amazing so thank you hannah for accompanying us this [Applause] morning so [Music] so [Music] [Applause] well done hannah i'm not very good at reading music but alwyn just said to me you kept tempo the whole time that you just stuck to the right tempo i think that's a good thing well done i have no idea but it sounded lovely to my ears thank you hannah that was beautiful uh the salvation army over the last three weeks has had a national focus on prayer if you might recall and there's been some resources available to all of us including we are daily online zoom prayer meetings and one of the things we did as a core just this week is that we we had kirsten create these little prayer boxes i should have brought one in and we gave prayer boxes to our social expressions across the city so our women's refuge the beacon bridge house and doorways next door had a prayer box and we simply said we encourage staff or client to pop in a prayer request and we as a congregation will pray for you well here we are here we are and i think uh alan and i have been more aware that this is our key role as the faith community of the salvation army in the city there are so many uh amazing people upstairs including ken who are advocating at government levels for our homeless people with high of home with homelessness experiencing homelessness and domestic violence there are so many good people advocating and you know working for change and better conditions and us as a people of faith we can pray and we can pray for those teams and we can pray for those um support services so what i'm going to do now is i'm going to invite you to just assume a posture of prayer just you know hands open and we're just going to come into a time of intercession we've worshiped together we've praised god we've shouted to the lord we've celebrated our own beautiful young people as they play the piano for the offering let's just now think outside these four walls and i'm going to read you these prayers and obviously for confidentiality reasons i'm not going to mention names or which center they have come from and some of it i may adjust so i don't breach confidentiality but as i read it let's just bring before god this incense of prayer and that it would rise to the heavens and that god would hear and answer prayer would you join me and at the end alwyn is going to simply sing a song that has been specifically written for this prayer initiative let's bring these before god please pray for me to find the strength to stop smoking i need a wife who loves jesus we're homeless my 17 year old and i we would love to find safe accommodation please pray for my family we believe god can make a way for my family and my brother's family who live in adelaide please pray for my unborn baby after i was attacked and almost lost her i pray that she comes out healthy and grows to be a beautiful human please pray for all the staff at our center including management that we will show the values and vision towards clients as well as each other please please pray that there would be more of jesus in our center please pray that this person who is not well that she needs love and guidance and support and we pray that she continues to recover and gets healthy and strong we pray for a support worker at this center who has endured much heartache this year losing loved ones and we pray for her strength and comfort as she continues to selflessly serve our community please pray for the manager of our center who works tirelessly to provide a service to protect and serve the most vulnerable please pray for their peace and strength and their compassion for others does not dwindle we continue to pray for the staff at our center who serve tirelessly our community and the most vulnerable who are under attack we pray for their protection and strength please pray for my brother he's gone through family separation homelessness homeless and has mental health issues he assaulted someone recently at his work he's not in a good place pray jesus heals his heart please pray for a cure for type 1 and 2 diabetes and for all people that need help and care to make this world better for all please pray for my family and my friends and my work colleagues i pray for peace for all who work at this place and provide them with your strength and forgiveness and compassion please pray for my friend who died in a motorbike accident last week he was very kind friendly and loving to everyone please pray for encouragement for me to achieve my goals of finishing my course and believing in myself that i can please pray for all the covert patients and all who are sick please pray that this pandemic will end soon please pray for me to move on after the death of my brother and please pray for my husband he's very sick i'd like help in the way of a house please so i can have more family time with my beautiful daughter and granddaughter please pray for my health broken arm and ongoing flu please pray that i would receive funding for necessary technology often feel isolated particularly when i'm unwell i ask for god's peace and calmness over my life please pray for the center i won't name a center please pray for the center we need god back staff morale is low i pray for hope for my future for courage for self-assurance and for clarity of mind my dad's not well he's in a lot of pain and cries every day please pray for him give him strength to fight and to live make him see that it's worth it the following are a series of prayers from one individual and i think you'll see how it progresses dear lord i pray that i would be skinny and fit and have lovely long hair so that a certain person would want to date me again i pray that this person would realize how much i love them and how much they meant to me i wish that they would miss me and one day realize how much pain and torture they gave me i wish that i'm able to buy my own home so that i can keep my kids safe and secure with me this individual continues to pray that that pray i really wish that this person would miss me a lot that they would realize how much they have meant to me and how much they have hurt me i pray for the strength still the same person i pray for strength and wisdom to be able to move on from the trauma this person has put me through please give me strength o lord to become positive and wise and independent and very skinny and there's a prayer here in another language and i just trusting the lord will interpret that one for us and so god as your people of faith gather in this room this morning of people who believe in the power of prayer a people who believe that you are a god who hears and answers prayer we bring before you this offering from people in our community around these streets who are suffering and who need to know that god is with them and loves them pray dear god that through us they would see you and know that there is a god who loves them in the name of jesus i pray amen jesus christ the name above fill our hearts with fire [Music] for this hurting world lord we unite to live your kingdom to shine your light o father see your son hallelujah [Music] jesus christ [Music] you broke the divide setting captives free for this hurting world lord we unite to live your kingdom to shine your light [Music] make us one so the world will see your son hallelujah [Music] inspires us to be like you to honor you hearts are placed with truth and grace may you glorify your name [Music] may we glorify your name father make us one so the world will see your son hallelujah [Music] the world will see your song [Music] make us one so the world will see your son hallelujah the world will see your sounds [Music] so [Music] is [Music] me [Music] [Applause] your grace [Music] you make me [Music] what can i give with me [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] so uh sorry i was looking for a button and couldn't see it how are we all oh i love it when we all make it in for a little while now i have to apologize i am croaky but i'm not sick i humiliated my daughter at the football friday night and i'm not i haven't quite recovered so no no illness here just just foolishness probably well how are we all doing good this morning we're talking about words who likes to talk we've got a few chatter boxes amongst us yes some of us like to talk lots well we're talking about words words are important aren't they we use an awful lot of words every day don't we they're very important and the words that we say are powerful because they have meaning and so they're powerful and you know what the words we say they can build people up they can be used to encourage each other can't they we can say really nice things and encourage or we can say some really nasty things and tear each other down and it can happen really quickly sometimes it's just a word and it is a word that really is hurtful who's heard the saying sticks and stones will make break my bones but words will names will never hurt me have you heard that do you think that's true it's not true yes sticks and stones they kind of can really hurt us physically but it's actually not true because words can be very very hurtful and there's a passage in the bible that we're speaking about in church today from james chapter three and it talks all about the power of our tongue or the words that we say and i'm going to read just a little bit to you this morning and it's out of the bible called the message just makes it a little bit easier to understand but it says a word out of your mouth may seem of no account but it can accomplish nearly anything so it can do good things or it can destroy it it only takes a spark you know when someone when we light a match it's just a tiny little flame but it can set a whole forest on fire it only takes a spark remember to set off a forest fire a careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that by our speech we can ruin the world think about that not just ruin our friend but we can ruin the world we can we can turn harmony things that are peaceful to chaos we can throw mud on someone's reputation we can send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it imagine that just from the words that we say so a tongue is such a small part of our bodies but it controls our words and it has big impact if we say something wrong can we put those words back we can't can we they're already out there we need to think before we speak now i need two helpers this morning i think i might go for some helpers that aren't usually here with us every sunday i think we might not go nikita and i reckon phoebe yep phoebe you're going to come and help me perfect miss nikita i have got not toothpaste again yeah i've got toothpaste yeah okay i've got a tube of toothpaste here and yes the camera can see you that's good i want you to squirt that whole tube of toothpaste out onto this so get squeezing and then phoebe i've got a job for you squeeze it from the bottom oh my goodness do you do that at home squeeze your toothpaste from the middle squeeze it from the bottom perfect that's probably pretty good that's all right well done there we go okay do you want to give that to phoebe now you can keep the lid off you can give her the toothpaste tube and i've got a little stick here for you phoebe and now if you undo the toothpaste i want you to see how much you can get back of this into the toothpaste tube do you reckon you can do that let's have a go i'll hold this under here let's see let's see are you going to get any of it in oh you're trying have one more scoop we'll give you one more one more script see if you can get oh it's pretty messy that's good job you can pop it on the lid now it really wasn't very easy was it girls you can go back down now if you would like to it wasn't very easy i'm going to put it down it'll end up on the carpet it really isn't an easy job is it once you squirt out your toothpaste it's kind of near impossible to get it back in and it's messy and do you know what it that what that's like it's like when you say unkind things to people it's messy it hurts it makes people sad and you know what it's messy and you can't take those words back we like to say sorry don't we and sorry is important but actually sorry doesn't actually change things once those words have left your mouth even after you've said sorry they still can't be taken back so think about that think about the words that before they leave your mouth because they can't be put back there's a verse in the bible from proverbs and it says gracious words nice words encouraging words they're like honeycomb who likes honeycomb oh my goodness if i was eating chocolate that would be top on my list honeycomb my favorite gracious words are a honeycomb they're sweet to the soul and healing to the bones how good is that those encouraging words those kind words are sweet like honeycomb may the words that we speak be like that maybe think about that this week so let the words that we say be kind let's use them for good to build people up rather than cause hurt to people i think we can remember that this week think of the toothpaste when you squeeze it from the end onto your toothbrush this week that once it's out you can't put it back good job kids we're heading off to kids [Applause] so [Music] so as leanne said the bible reading today is james chapter one to twelve oh sorry james three verse one to twelve and it's about taming the tongue not many of you should become teachers my fellow believers because you know what we who teach will be judged more strictly we all stumble in many ways anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect able to keep their whole body in check when we put bits into our mouths of horses to make them obey us we can turn the whole animal or take ships for example although they are so large and are driven by strong winds they are steered by a very small rudder whenever the pilot wants to go likewise the tongue is a small part of the body but it makes great boasts consider what the great forest is set on fire by a small spark the tongue also is a fire a word of evil among the parts of the body it corrupts the whole body sets the whole course of one's life on fire and itself set on fire by hell all kinds of animals birds reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind but no human being can sorry by no human being can tame the tongue it is a relentless evil full of deadly poison with the tongue we praise our lord and father and with it curse human beings who have been made in god's likeness out of the same mouth come praise and cursing my brothers and sisters this should not be can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring my brothers and sisters can a fig tree bear olives or or a grapevine bear figs need it can salt spring produce fresh water uh [Music] foreign foreign [Music] ready [Music] um [Music] foreign [Music] well good morning to you good to be here with you and sharing and worship now a lot of the message that i have today has already been given to you certainly with toothpaste tubes and i know i introduced this if you were listening last week about the idea of the tongue and there's really not a lot that i need to tell you in that regard but let's bear with me for a little while while we try and unpack this passage and take it to ourselves this morning i know uh leanne introduced the phrase sticks and stones will break my bones and names will never hurt me um do you remember that when you were a kid did you yeah there was a bit of defiance in there you you give it you know say what you like but it's not going to hurt me but some mud sticks doesn't it words have power and we get that and we'll all remember when someone has said something that we've never forgotten and the impact upon our lives as a result and i'm not just talking about words that can hurt but her words that can heal as well and offer encouragement after uplifting words as another saying goes the pen is mightier than the sword the uh actually uh that saying is not in the scriptures but there's certainly parallel in in some of the proverbs proverbs 25 has like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor and there are several other proverbs that refer to the power of words both for their good and for their not so good proverbs 15 a gentle answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger the tongue of the wise adorns knowledge but the mouth of the fool gushes folly the soothing tongue is a tree of life but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit gracious words are a honeycomb sweet to the soul and healing to the bones words have power i also remember hearing as a boy another phrase wash your mouth wash your mouth out i'm fairly convinced i wasn't being told this for the purpose of my personal hygiene but then again there was soap involved so maybe it was and soap doesn't taste very nice did you know that yeah i don't recommend it anyway words have power don't they the point is words have power we've been looking at the the letter from james these last few sundays and it's not really a popular letter because it says things like this and there's a fair bit of rebuke in here and as deborah reminded us last week we're going to the prayer room for a chat remember that the letter of james was unpopular with some theologians as well martin luther didn't like the letter of james he he actually called it a right straw epistle as if it lacked no depth or of theology and luther actually uh questioned it's just it's the literacy to be even in the new testament he thought it actually contradicted paul's uh doctrine of the justice of justice justification by grace through faith and you can hear something of uh luther's argument here the letter doesn't offer a lot of theological speculation or doctrinal exposition and it spans a lot of its content talking about the importance of the deeds of the christian and you can be tempted to think that this letter from james is a kind of works religion even and that's what luther was sort of holding his argument with but it's really selling it short and not trying to undermine luther's thinking because what we find in james is an honest approach to uh the human condition of sin from which james offers a a loving response and a challenge to learn and grow as debra pointed out to us last sunday james offers over and over he says to my brothers and sisters and they would that they would know christ more and more and to live in accordance to living for him in in faith and this is a faith and works in harmony idea so we come to this chapter chapter three today and as you've heard it read it's especially about the power and especially about the not so good power of the human tongue the power of words and it's not confusing is it there's no theological speculation no doctrinal exposition required instead james counts on real life to help him help me make the point common with uh coming up with these common illustrations that allow the listeners to judge for themselves the truth of what he says in the use of the power he talks about the you know the bits in the in the horses of mouths and and the rudders on a ship and small fires create big fires humans contain wild animals but they can't tame their own tongue no spring uh force pulls forth two kinds of water uh fig trees don't produce olives and grapevines don't produce figs over and over he's sort of emphasizing this importance and he and particularly the fact that a small thing can make devas to have devastating results and it's from the inherent person within so without spending a lot of time explaining uh the passage in some sort of unpacking what i would like to do is just approach it from three perspectives and and each of these could be listed under the under the the one heading of the tongue toxins the tongue toxins the first tongue toxin is regarding the the harm that is done to god's people by those who would speak evil and james uh if you notice at the start of the letter of chapter three he particularly addresses those who would be called teachers now teachers uh would have been referred to rabbis that's the same word rabbi means teacher and it was a title of honor and real respect and it indicated a person's level of competence and responsibility to unpack and teach the scriptures the rabbi had recognized power of his words much of life and society was dependent about what the rabbi said and it seems here that in james audience that there were many who wanted to be a teacher um james want but jane wants to warn them and be weary of such ambition he didn't mean that rabbi was not something to aspire to but that someone with such power also had great responsibility and what we see for christians i guess and how we accept this in the church is twofold on one hand there are those who have specifically been called to leadership and of the teaching of god's word and also and on the other hand we also believe that in the priesthood of all believers so you're not off the hook if you're not a teacher that every christian is in fact a leader and an influencer or a teacher as you say so where whenever there are words from a christian that aren't good it brings harm to the people of god and it's not hard to recogni recognize this gossip slander harsh words cutting remarks ridicule they do harm to the church in the church and it's all too easy to identify their effect and their impact sadly and it leads to the second tongue toxin from perspective this is regarding the harm done by the faithful speech that is unrelated to faithful actions or you could say the words don't match the deed one of the biggest arguments from those who would criticize the church is that it's full of hypocrites those christians talk about love and kindness but they don't seem to show it they can talk the talk but they don't walk the walk and we can remind those who would say that that no one is perfect we can tell them that churches are only made up of human beings after all and that there's always room for one more hypocrite you know all those things that we can say but sadly they still have a point don't they jesus knows james knows they had a point if god's word does not show up in the lies of god's people if those who hear the word do not also live out the word then the tongue has worked a wicked spell on them again this is not hard to recognize if someone speaks one thing yet does something different that person has basically lost their credibility and done harm to the church and this leads to the third toxin this is regarding the overall inherent untrustworthiness of the tongue now let me make a wild assumption here am i alone with any of the following have you ever said things you wish you didn't say have you said things you know you shouldn't have said have you said things that weren't entirely correct have you think said things that contradicted your behavior am i alone jane says i'm not so i'm taking his argument he says everyone does it it's a fact according to james in verse 2 we all stumble we all stumble anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect able to keep their body in check he's almost sarcasm there can you hear it we all make mistakes we all do it says james our tongues are dangerous and impossible control he says no human being in verse eight can can no human being contain the tongue it's a restless evil full of deadly poison and verse sticks the tongue is a world of evil oh thank you very much james he's rather blunt about it isn't he that it is useless to try to disguise that that what is at the core of the person no matter how hard we might try to guard our tongue we're going to let it slip and it's going to it's going to speak evil well thank you james what hope do we have should we just never speak again but if we look at what james is saying in the larger context it certainly doesn't suggest he doesn't suggest that we just shut up because the cure for these tongue toxins james suggests is the steady practice of faith with the help of god one may try to tame one tongue without without the help of god but sooner or later the bitterness and the ugliness of the inner core will spill out the only way to tame the tongue and this is what james is trying to emphasize is that it needs to be cleansed and taken control and handed over to god the holy spirit can accomplish this in the lives of christians as they surrender themselves to god the spirit remains the guardian of their thoughts and he warns them should they try to allow bitterness and ugliness back into their lives so james is teaching that if we dedicate our tongues to the language of god our actions will follow with god's help within us the holy spirit at work in our lives and in control of our life the tongue would uh would otherwise speak evil can now speak goodness and godliness and looking at verse 10 9-10 rather of james three with the tongue we praise our lord and father and with it we curse beings ten verse ten out of the same mouth come praise and cursing we can with god's help make it that the tongue speaks more and more the praising and less and less the cursing because our tongues can also admit our failings and ask god for help thankfully that's the truth too you think if you remember the prophet isaiah when he had a powerful encounter with god in isaiah 6 as recorded was overcome with guilt and shame before a god he cried out woe to me i am ruined for i am a man of unclean lips he says i live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have said the king the lord and almighty and what happened to him was in verse six of isaiah 6 one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand which he had taken from the tongues of the altar and with it he touched my mouth and see see this has touched your lips your guilt is taken away in your sin atoned for god can cleanse our tongues like he did with isaiah and with god's help our tongues can be a blessing and our tongues will be a blessing when we remember each other in prayer when we use it for worship when we encourage one another in the face when we affirm those who are growing in the faith when we cite scripture when we welcome the stranger when we speak truth when we speak of god and of his love a few mom mornings ago in my quiet time with the lord i was reading through some psalms and i found myself in getting engrossed in psalm 145 um and i couldn't help but notice particularly because i was thinking of this sunday as well how often in psalm 145 there's so many references to speaking and the voice and the tongue and it's all essentially about a voice that is blessing to and for god i just want to read some of the verses from psalm 145 and just notice how powerful these words are all about the tongue for the praising of the lord psalm 145 i will exalt you my god and king i will praise your name forever and ever every day i will praise you i would stole your name forever and ever one generation commends your works to to another they tell of your mighty acts they speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty they tell of the power of your awesome works and i will proclaim your great deeds they celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness all your works praise you lord your faithful people extol you they tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom the lord is near to all who call on him to all who call on him in truth my mouth will speak in praise of the lord this is just taken from some of the verses of psalm 145 and that's just one of the wonderful examples of exalting and blessing from the mouth singing praise exalting and speaking god and giving testimony to to all who would hear about god and his power and his love calling out to god in faith the tongue full of blessing and not cursing as james would say that's the power of words of god from our tongue other psalmists knew the same and sought god's help psalm 141 the psalmist there writes set a guard over my mouth keep watch over the door of my lips psalm 19 4 may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight lord my rock and i redeemer as we read earlier in the responsive reading can we pray those prayers to words have power and o that the words that we offer might only serve god and his purposes and not harm the church and the main the name of christ so i want us to use our voices this morning i think it's only appropriate to pray a prayer together and it's a prayer of surrender it'll be in a song and it's a prayer giving over control of our lives to god um this prayer makes mention of our voices but it's in the verses that's why i particularly thought of this song but it also talks about the whole body our hands and our feet and our heart and our entire life so um take it in the context of that surrender to god but you will notice in one of the verses take my voice and let it sing always only awfully take my lips and let them be filled with messages from thee so as we sing this song it's also got a little extra refrain that is a surrendering i am yours set apart for you i am yours hungry for your truth take my life you are all i live for and i am yours so as we're seeing this i invite us to to recognize that the love that god offers us the grace he bestows upon us that he would forgive our foolish tongues and cleanse us from within so that more and more what comes from our lips is the blessings and the praise and the glory take my life [Music] my days [Music] take my hands take my hands and then [Music] me i am [Music] take my life you are [Music] take my voice see always [Music] is [Music] i am yours [Music] for your truth [Music] wrong [Music] take my will and make shall we [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] you are [Music] [Music] hungry for your truth take my life you are [Music] you are [Music] i invite you to pray with me oh lord we come before you now and we speak of your wonderful deeds of your power and your majesty we speak of your love and your grace but we also know that with that same tongue that offers this blessing it can speak cursing so we have trouble with our tongue and we confess to you how we have spoken words that have not honored you that have heard you that have betrayed your name the name that we bear as your people in christ so we need your help we need your help with our tongue toxins against the harm that we have done in to your church with our words against the harm that is done because of our deeds don't match our words and against the inherent untrusting worthiness of our tongues we know that you are the cure and we ask you holy spirit to take control of our life we set ours we seek to set ourselves apart for you take our lives for your sake hear our voices as we cry out to you and we lay claim that you would hear us and you would help us out of your love for us and we ask this in the powerful name of christ through the spirit amen as we come to the end of our meeting um god really placed it on my heart that as we leave from this place today that our voices would be honoring and glorifying to him as we learn to tame our tongues and to speak his glory into the world and um we're going to sing our last song and our benediction together you'll probably know the words i'm sure you will of the words i love you lord and i lift my voice to worship you so we're going to sing this song three times and it's going to be our benediction so this is going to conclude our meeting the band won't play anything after this song so i invite you to take your time and sit in reflection and leave as you um as you feel you need to um we're going to sing it three times the first two we're going to sing it with the band and the last one we're just going to sing at acapella just our voices just to praise god in these last moments so i'd invite you to stand and let's sing together [Music] so [Music] you [Music] my [Music] oh [Music] my [Music] is [Music] [Music] you

Channel: The Salvation Army Perth City

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Id: Ae08zgbgkNc

Length: 100min 37sec (6037 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 11 2021