Sunday 02 August 2026
Tenth After Pentecost
Welcome!
Welcome to excerpts from the worship held within the newly formed Westhills Church of Scotland Congregation. We know that not all members of the congregation are able to be in church on Sunday morning; offering these excerpts from the Sunday morning service might help you feel included. Where we can, we offer parts of the service in text and audio, whichever works best for you.
If this post helps you explore what happens within an act of worship then please read on…
The Psalms
Psalm 145: 13 – 21
Live recording
Your Weekly Church Notices
Scripture
Romans 9: 1 – 5
Live recording
Matthew 14: 13 – 21
Live recording
Praise – Great is thy faithfulness
Prayers
Live recording
God of Life, we come to You.
We gather in this place to taste Your goodness, to lean on Your faithfulness and remember Your kindness. We come To You, our Strength and our Song.
Generous God, brimming with ideas, who worked and created on six days and rested on the seventh You gave us this place of beauty in which to live and move and have our being!
In every corner of creation Your imagination is on show!
You dreamed up a world, a cosmos, that is colourful, dramatic, alive,
full of spirit, Your Spirit. Sculptor of petals and wings, catcher of sighs and tears,
painter of blue skies and storm clouds, You care about detail; You care about us, a mere speck in this vast universe.
Accept our wonder and gratitude that we are more than just creatures to You; we are Your children and Your friends.
Gracious God, no longer do we live with ease in the Garden of Eden. Paradise for us has long since evaporated. As we go walking in the streets, sitting in our homes, concentrating on what needs done, daydreaming for a moment, pondering our woes and troubles – we feel far from you. Where is our God who sets all things right? Where is the God who loves with a boundless love? We feel undeserving of Your love.
Help us in our confusion, release us from whatever is tormenting us, forgive what needs forgiven, understand what needs to be understood. Keep us generous of heart and spirit, just as You are. Come and help us when we find it hard to forgive; come and console us when we meet with disappointment;
come and brighten us when the colours fade and we feel jaded by life itself; Bring us back to ourselves and to You.
Here now as we present our offering, giving thanks for your many gifts to us, we also find our way back to you. Here now as we present our offering, we acknowledge that You are always with us, we seek you; we knock at the door and the door is opened to us. In our giving we receive.
Hear us as we join in the words of the Lord’s Prayer saying…
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 debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever. Amen.
Address
Live recording
My neighbours seemed to have a good holiday if their social media pictures were anything to go by. I’m sure they don’t mind me spying on them from the comfort of my mobile phone! Two weeks of sunshine and fun were over in the twinkling of an eye. Half an hour after arriving home the lawnmower was out and the front grass was getting cut. Then two weeks washing appeared on the line. And less than 12 hours after arriving home they were off to work no doubt to be greeted by the pile of paperwork, the endless emails and phone messages that need answered.
We work hard all year round and yearn for that much needed bit of space and time to yourself. Trouble is, we also know that terrible feeling that it’s all waiting for you when you get back. We need to get away from things but we never really escape those things. And if you think that is a symptom of modern living, then you would be wrong.
Jesus had returned to his hometown of Nazareth and taught in the synagogue. Sadly, his own people were not overly impressed with the carpenter’s son teaching them about eternal truths. They rejected him. The reaction of the people of Nazareth stands somewhat in contrast to the reaction Jesus got from the crowds as he taught them in parables saying The Kingdom of Heaven is like this… Jesus had gone from the highs to the lows and back again in the twinkling of an eye.
And then news comes to Jesus that Herod had executed his cousin, John the Baptist. It was a sad and depressing time where all the lows of rejection and grief crushed in upon him. He needs to get away and does so in a very simple way. He gets into a boat and sails across the lake to a lonely place, a wilderness place, away from people and the pain of rejection and in that lonely place he wants to grieve for the loss of his cousin John and maybe even ponder the implications of John’s death for his own ministry. Jesus was trying to get away from things but of course it was all waiting for him, there was no escaping. Jesus stepped out of the boat to be greeted by crowds of people from the towns and villages who had walked to the other side of the lake. He wanted to get away to be alone, he wanted time to be by himself but instead everyone was waiting for him. Graciously he bowed to the situation and seeing the depth of need there was in the crowd he began to heal those who were ill.
The significance of that moment created a dilemma. The evening wore on and still the crowds were waiting somewhat reluctant to go but also reluctant to stay. They had no shelter, no food, but no desire to travel home at night. The disciples sensed the un-easiness of the crowds and the awkwardness of what was unfolding. Knowing that the people would listen to what Jesus told them, the disciples ask Jesus to tell the crowds to go away and buy food for themselves. The disciples didn’t get the answer they were looking for. Far from solving their dilemma Jesus gave them an even greater one. “You yourselves give them something to eat!” said Jesus.
Can you imagine the stunned look of disbelief that must have crossed the disciples’ faces. Effectively they had nothing to feed the people with. There’s five thousand men plus women plus children and all they have is five loaves and two fish enough perhaps to feed themselves but that’s all. In a very practical way Jesus demonstrates what he has been preaching about. Small things can change situations. When you feel that you have nothing worthwhile or substantial or meaningful to offer; simply offer what you have. God can still use it.
Can you imagine that moment when a disciple handed a loaf of bread to a man in the crowd wondering if he was doing something brave or foolish? Brave enough to follow Jesus instruction. Foolish enough to think that the whole crowd could be fed this way. And that is the nature of faith. Faith sits somewhere between brave and foolish. But faith produces miracles. The impossible becomes possible.
The lesson we learn is this: When we feel that we have nothing worthwhile or substantial or meaningful to offer; in faith we simply offer what we have. God can still use it. God can produce miracles from that simple faithful offering. And if that was true that day on the shores of the lake, then it is true now; an unchanging truth that depends not on you or I but on God Himself. This is what God can do.
Miracles happen where faith lives. Faith lives where people hope and doubt and struggle. The story of the feeding of the five thousand isn’t just a story about faith or miracle; it is a story about people. People like us. It is not so hard to see ourselves in that lonely place, seated on the grass, waiting, hoping, doubting, anxious, hungry. Where would you place yourself in the story of the feeding of the five thousand?
Are you in the crowd feeling a little restless and uneasy, wondering if you should stay or if you should go? You’ve been moved by the preaching and witnessed the miracle of the sick being healed but maybe the show is over for today; its gotten a little quiet a tad boring; every task and responsibility that presses upon you is waiting at home; it’s time to go.
Are you in the crowd feeling hungry, wondering if it is time to head for home yet dare not walk away from the presence of Jesus because you hunger for something more than food to eat?
Are you a disciple hearing Jesus say, “You yourself give them something to eat” and feeling that you face an impossible dilemma? You feel more than a little overwhelmed by the task that is in front of you. Feeling that you have nothing worthwhile or substantial or meaningful to offer those who are hungry.
Don’t be scared. In faith offer what you have. God can still use it.
Praise – Son of God eternal Saviour
Prayers for Others
Live recording
A Reform of Social Welfare System
The words are welcome… when we live in a world where social welfare is critical yet the system lets so many down, while it remains open to abuse by others. Just one more broken system that needs to be completely overhauled. The words of our new Prime Minister are welcome even though he speaks only for the Welfare system in England. Devolved governments might have the courage to follow suit, reforming, renewing, being bold enough to recognise the struggles of society and the brokenness of support mechanisms, the inequalities that exist, the abuses that are all too common. Lord God, this is our prayer, that righteousness may prevail, that justice and equality may be upheld, that compassion may be the hallmark of our society and that our many failings might be touched by your grace and mercy. Lord hear us as we pray…
Wealth and Poverty
We pray for those who have more than enough, not as to judge them for hard work and great rewards, but that they might not take their comfort for granted
or lose touch with neighbours living on less, but choose to follow Your example
in quiet and unadvertised giving.
We thank You for all people who love humanity, who love their neighbour and see their greater resources as an opportunity to help someone else.
We pray for those who do not have enough, who are hungry in body, thirsty for affection or company or hope, anxious because they cannot make ends meet. Bear them up and give them a voice, and do not let us rest as long as inequality persists. Lord hear our prayers for those who challenge the great divide of wealth and poverty…
Small Gifts
Lord Jesus, you admired the widow who gave just a mite, one small coin, to the Temple Treasury because she gave from the heart, she gave all that she could. You admired the offering of five loaves and two fish to feed five thousand and more people; a gift so small as to be almost insignificant, yet the disciples giving all they had, giving from the heart, they witnessed a miracle of love, a miracle of community. Our gift is never too small if we are giving all we can to feed the hunger and thirst that humanity feels within. Lord Jesus, we pray from deep within our hearts that when the time comes that we are confronted with the hunger of another we too will give what we have; a crust of bread, a prayer, a seed of faith. Hear our prayers…
Praise – What a wonderful change
The Grace
And now… May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and all whom you love, now and for evermore. AMEN.