Morning Service Sunday 19 October 2025

Welcome and Intimations

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory
for ever and ever.
Amen.

CH4 716 Come and Find the Quiet Centre

1. Come and find the quiet centre
   in the crowded life we lead,
   find the room for hope to enter,
   find the frame where we are freed:
   clear the chaos and the clutter,
   clear our eyes, that we can see
   all the things that really matter,
   be at peace, and simply be.
   

2. Silence is a friend who claims us,
   cools the heat and slows the pace,
   God it is who speaks and names us,
   knows our being, touches base,
   making space within our thinking,
   lifting shades to show the sun,
   raising courage when we’re shrinking,
   finding scope for faith begun.
   

3. In the Spirit let us travel,
   open to each other’s pain,
   let our loves and fears unravel,
   celebrate the space we gain:
   there’s a place for deepest dreaming,
   there’s a time for heart to care,
   in the Spirit’s lively scheming
   there is always room to spare!
   

1992 Hope Publishing Company

1. 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
2. Luke 18:1-8

CH4 81 I to the Hills Will Lift My Eyes

1. I to the hills will lift mine eyes.
   From whence doth come mine aid?
   My safety cometh from the Lord,
   who heaven and earth hath made.
   

2. Thy foot he'll not let slide, nor will
   he slumber that thee keeps.
   Behold, he that keeps Israel,
   he slumbers not, nor sleeps.
   

3. The Lord thee keeps, the Lord thy shade
   on thy right hand doth stay:
   the moon by night thee shall not smite,
   nor yet the sun by day.
   

4. The Lord shall keep thy soul: he shall
   preserve thee from all ill.
   Henceforth thy going out and in
   God keep for ever will.
   

Message

CH4 547 What a friend we have in Jesus

1. What a friend we have in Jesus,
   all our sins and griefs to bear!
   What a privilege to carry
   everything to God in prayer!
   O what peace we often forfeit,
   O what needless pain we bear
   all because we do not carry
   everything to God in prayer!
   

2. Have we trials and temptations,
   Is there trouble anywhere?
   We should never be discouraged:
   take it to the Lord in prayer!
   Can we find a friend so faithful,
   who will all our sorrows share?
   Jesus knows our every weakness –
   take it to the Lord in prayer!
   

3. Are we weak and heavy-laden,
   cumbered with a load of care?
   Precious Saviour, still our refuge!
   Take it to the Lord in prayer!
   Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
   Take it to the Lord in prayer!
   In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
   you will find a solace there.
   

Offering

Prayer of Intercession

One:

God of all healing,
forgive us when we take for granted:
the healthcare available to us;
remarkable advances in medical science;
and especially the people who look after the sick.
We name before you God, in our hearts or out loud,
the first names of those we know who work in healthcare roles.

[After a pause for names]

We pray together:

All:

God of all healing, use and bless your servants in healthcare.

One:

God of all healing,
we pray for healthcare in our country.
Bring peace and rest to tired workers,
send wisdom for difficult decisions,
provide resources where things are stretched,
and give strength and motivation to the discouraged.
We name before you God, in our hearts or out loud,
the names of hospitals, health and social care services,
doctors’ surgeries, dental practices and other centres of healthcare in our area.

[After a pause for names]

We pray together:

All:

God of all healing, be at work in the healthcare systems in our country.

One:

God of all healing,
we pray for Christians in healthcare
and the organisations that support them.
May they know your direction in challenging situations,
and help them show the love of Christ
through their words and actions.
We name before you God, in our hearts or out loud,
Christian people and organisations in healthcare.

[After a pause for names]

We pray together:

All:

God of all healing, empower and encourage Christians in healthcare.

One:

God of all healing,
we pray for those whose bodies are unwell.
Send comfort, healing and relief.
May all have fair access to the treatment they need,
as we work towards the day
when all pain, death and tears will be no more.
We name before you God, in our hearts or out loud,
the first names of those we know who are unwell at this moment.

[After a pause for names]

We pray together:

All:

God of all healing, draw near to those who need your restoration today. Amen.

CH4 718 We Cannot Measure How You Heal

1. We cannot measure how You heal
   or answer every sufferer’s prayer,
   yet we believe your grace responds
   where faith and doubt unite to care.
   Your hands, though bloodied on the cross,
   survive to hold and heal and warn,
   to carry all through death to life
   and cradle children yet unborn.
   

2. The pain that will not go away,
   the guilt that clings from things long past,
   the fear of what the future holds,
   are present as if meant to last.
   But present too is love which tends
   the hurt we never hoped to find,
   the private agonies inside,
   the memories that haunt the mind.
   

3. So some have come who need Your help
   and some have come to make amends,
   as hands which shaped and saved the world
   are present in the touch of friends.
   Lord, let Your Spirit meet us here
   to mend the body, mind and soul,
   to disentangle peace from pain
   and make Your broken people whole.
   

1989, WGRG the Iona Community

Blessing