TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE GOD KNOWN
Lent with the Church of England
Serving the Kingdom
Week 4 • Tuesday
Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac; and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst; and afterwards I brought you out. When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. When they cried out to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. Afterwards you lived in the wilderness for a long time. Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan; they fought with you, and I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. Then King Balak, son of Zippor of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent and invited Balaam son of Beor to curse you, but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you; so I rescued you out of his hand. When you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I handed them over to you. I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove out before you the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. I gave you a land on which you had not laboured, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.
‘Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’
Joshua 24.1-15
Serving God is a choice to be made. Joshua’s declaration, “We will serve the Lord,” came in response to the challenge of competing worldviews.
Joshua and his people were in a new place, where other gods were worshipped, gods of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Canaan. The Israelite tribes gathered with a question in mind: “Whom will you serve?” They had witnessed the deliverance of God, and heard the stories – passed down the generations – of God’s faithfulness. But now they must decide to renew their commitment to the covenant and inhabit it.
Choosing God is about more than religious affiliation. It determines our way of life. Followers of God commit themselves to the purposes of God in the world. They serve. In every circumstance, even where there is competing accounts of what matters, God’s people are called to think and act in ways that consistently reveal more of God’s love in Christ.
Response
What is competing with your purpose of serving God? Talk to God about it. Repeat Joshua’s promise: “We will serve the Lord.”
Our vicar is Rev Elaine Atack
Contact: revelaine@nym.hush.com
PRAYER WALL:
You can write a prayer and light a virtual candle on our prayer wall: https://slfchurch.org/prayerwall
Please pass your requests to Rev Elaine at the Vicarage if you haven’t got internet access.
ONLINE PODCASTS:
The menu for our podcasts is at the top left of the page
Our Parish Hall
Frodsham Parish Hall
Frodsham Parish Hall is owned by St Laurence Church and can be booked by contacting our Booking Secretary: Louise Wright on 07869 265791
or emailing her at saintells@gmail.com
You can go to the Parish Hall Facebook page here
About Us
Who are we?
Baptisms and Weddings
Baptisms and Weddings
We are a warm, welcoming and inclusive Church of England congregation in the small market town of Frodsham. We belong to Inclusive Church and welcome all people to our services.
Normally, our church is open during the day on most weekdays - please see the notice above for this week's times.
You are most welcome to visit.
We have a Church School which you can link to here.
Baptisms and Weddings
Baptisms and Weddings
Baptisms and Weddings
Sunday Services
Baptisms and Weddings
Sunday Services
We have 3 communion services each week - please check our timetable above
Sunday 8am - said
Sunday 10am - with music
Tuesday 7pm - said
Messy Church is at 3pm on the first Sunday of the month in term time.
Still Point (a reflective service) is at 4pm on the third Sunday of each month.
Evensong is sung on various Sundays through the year and will be shown on our timetable which you can see above.
Online donations page and QR code
The work of our church is reliant on people’s generosity. We worship in a beautiful Grade 1 listed building which is open most weekdays between 10am and 4pm and we welcome you to visit us. Please check times in the timetable near the top of this page.
If you wish to make a donation to St Laurence Church you can do so here.
We give to our church in a variety of ways but there are two ways it can be done online, both described below.
YOU CAN MAKE A DONATION BY CLICKING HERE or use our QR code
