It was our Harvest Festival last Sunday, which is always special to our country church. It was our privilege to welcome Mrs. Carolyn Lawrence to lead our worship. Carolyn was warmly welcomed by our steward Rosalind. After our call to worship from Psalm 121 “I lift up my eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help, my help will come from the Lord who made heaven and earth.”. Our opening hymn lifted us into the spirit of thankfulness for our harvest “Come ye thankful people come, raise the song of harvest -home!” Carolyn led us in prayer of praise and thanks for all those who bring our food and drink, keep us safe and secure.
We read Psalm 46 together reading alternate verses “God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble”. Our New Testament reading was from Luke, chapter 12, where Jesus implores his followers to trust in God, who will provide for them.
Carolyn led us in prayers for others remembering all those areas in the world where there is conflict and suffering. Reflecting on the Harvest theme Carolyn spoke about our having a faithful God, who makes Provision for us; Protects us; and makes and keeps his Promises to us. When we worry for the future, we need to be content with what we have, as we may be able to obtain what we need, which is not always the case with people overseas. God is our provider. God is also our Protector, and we know that in difficult times we can turn to God and if we trust Jesus, we know he will carry us through, for God has made us a promise and there are many of God’s promises in the Bible. We need to raise our eyes and see God’s promise for us and those whom we love. We are reminded of some word of Jesus who said, “Do not be afraid for I am with you always”.
It was a delight to listen to a prayer written about the Harvest by a young girl recently arrived from South Africa and joining our Junior Church, before Carolyn closed with a hymn and final prayer.
