Welcome
and Call to Worship
160
Praise my soul the king of heaven
1 Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet thy tribute bring;
ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven
who like thee his praise should
sing?
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise the everlasting King!
2 Praise him for his grace and favour
to his people in distress;
praise him still the same for ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless:
Praise him! Praise him!
Glorious in his faithfulness!
3 Father-like he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows;
in his hands he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes:
Praise him! Praise him!
Widely as his mercy flows!
4 Frail as summer's flower we flourish,
blows the wind and it is gone;
but while mortals rise and perish
God endures unchanging on.
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise the high eternal One!
5 Angels, help us to adore him,
ye behold him face to face;
sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space:
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise with us the God of grace!
Henry
Francis Lyte (1793-1847)
Prayer
and the Lord’s Prayer
Ezekiel
34:1-6, 11-16
Psalm
23 – OBG
Luke
11:1-13
Hymn:
We limit not the truth of God
We
limit not the truth of God
To
our poor reach of mind,
By
notions of our day and sect,
Crude,
partial, and confined;
No,
let a new and better hope
Within
our hearts be stirred:
The
Lord has yet more light and truth
To
break forth from His word.
Who
dares to bind to his dull sense
The
oracles of heaven,
For
all the nations, tongues, and climes,
And
all the ages given?
That
universe, how much unknown!
That
ocean unexplored!
Darkling
those great fore-runners went
The
first steps of the way;
'Twas
but the dawning, yet to grow
Into
the perfect day.
And
grow it shall; our glorious Sun
More
fervid rays afford:
O
Father, Son and Spirit, send
Us
increase from above;
Enlarge,
expand all Christian souls
To
comprehend your love:
And
make us all go on to know,
With
nobler powers conferred,
George
Rawson (1807–1889)
Based
on the parting words of Pastor John Robinson
to
the Pilgrims who were to sail on the Mayflower, 1620
Tune:
Ellacombe 247, 367, 413
The
Lord’s Prayer
And
so we come to the end … and discover it’s the start of something new both for
us and for the church family here at Highbury. There are so many thank you’s to
say, I am not going to try to begin – suffice it to say it has been good to
share here over all these years and we have to say a big thank you to everyone
in the church family for all that we have shared.
Felicity
and I gave 10 months notice and now we have come to the end of our time in
ministry here at Highbury. In the run up to Easter I decided to preach a series
of sermons that went to the heart of the Christian faith.
Starting
on Easter Sunday and the Road to Emmaus I have in a series of sermons on Sunday
mornings explored the way Luke as he tells the story of the early church in
Acts from that evening onwards and as he tells the story of Jesus coming to a
climax on that day of resurrection, helps us to address one of the biggest
questions facing people of all faith communities in the 21st century
– how we read our sacred texts.
This
evening I want to return to the heart of the Christian Faith.
On
my first evening in Bethlehem at a conference on the theme of reconciliation
ten years ago, the Rector of the Tantur Institute who was hosting our
conference took us up on to a flat roof where we could see the hills around
Bethlehem. The tops of the hills were covered with what looked like new towns,
new housing estates – one or two of our number had been before and were shocked
– they had been bare hill tops before rather like the hill above Cheltenham overlooks
Cheltenham – but much more rugged and considerably more mountainous. And now
those hill tops were being built on. Ten years on … those housing estates have
been joined up – they are all in what is known as the West Bank, the
Palestinian Territories – they are the Settlements much condemned by so many.
The
conference was set up to help us to see through the eyes of the other. It was
moving, it was powerful.
He
gave us a leaflet and introduced it too. You will hear the call of the Muezzin
at the hour of prayer. That beautiful musical chant that calls the faithful to
prayer. In the early hours of the morning, and then through the day and last
thing at night.
How
do you react, he asked?
Some
react with fear.
Don’t
do that, he suggested. Instead hear it as an invitation to prayer. And in those
moments pray. Why not say that short prayer our Lord taught us to pray. The
call to prayer of the Muezzin goes to the heart of Islam. The call to prayer of
Jesus goes to the heart of Christianity.
I
brought to mind a day I had been to at the University. It was shortly after
9/11. It seemed to me in the wake of that horror there was a responsibility
laid upon us to respond to that evil with love – that after all is the way
mapped out by Jesus. And love means just being friendly with Muslim neighbours.
It also means seeking understanding.
The University had a number of day conferences on Islam – and I went along. All but one of the speakers read their paper, had no visual aids, and what they said has disappeared into the mists of time. One speaker stood out. He did not read a thing as he was in his 90’s and could no longer read from a script. Instead he spoke from the heart and he was the only one to use the simplest of visual aids. I could recount the substance of his lecture to this day … but I won’t. It was interestingly all about how to read the Qu’ran.
His
name was Kenneth Cragge, he was a personal friend of Vaughan Harries who at the
time was a regular in our evening congregation. Kenneth Cragge, a Christian,
had spent a lifetime in the Middle East and was a scholar of the Qu’ran highly
regarded by Muslim and Christian alike.
His
introduction to Islam is the finest I have come across. He explores Islam
through the Call of the Minaret – that indeed is the title of the book. He
takes each line of the call of the Muezzin and unpacks Islam. It’s a brilliant
account.
He
then goes on to explore how Christians should respond. He suggests that the
prayer Jesus taught us can in the same way not only be a prayer but it can also
go to the very heart of the Christian faith.
I
recalled that on one occasion when I had a conversation with one of the dads
from St John’s – his daughter had been part of the nativity here in Highbury
and we got talking at the Christmas fair. He came round. He was passionate as
he described to me Islam . He wanted to say in the wake of on eof those
horrific terror attacks – not in my name. That’s an aberration of Islam – he
wanted to share with me true Islam.
He
got to the end – and he had taken a long time. Then he asked me, so what is
Christianity about. That’s when it came to my mind. And I found myself using
the Lord’s Prayer as pegs to hang an account of my Christian faith on. So this
for me goes to the heart of the Christian faith.
I
know there are different versions in the Gospels. I know the one we say isn’t
in the oldest of the manuscripts. I love the old words. Three thoughts on those
words
Spoken
English naturally has the rhythm of the heart beat. De Dum, De Dum. William Tyndale captured that rhythm as did
Shakespeare. The traditional words have something of that rhythm – it’s is as
if praying these words is the stuff of life.
Our
Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
Thy
kingdom come, they will be done
On
earth as it is in heaven.
The
oldest words in English are single syllable words and come from the Anglo
Saxon. Longer words have come in from Latin or from French. Often you can weigh
words – longer words as it were weigh more. They are more weighty.
Our
Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
Thy
kingdom come, they will be done
On
earth as it is in heaven.
Give
us this day our daily bread.
Wait
for it now, we are about to encounter a three syllable word. It weighs more, it
weighs heavily.
Forgive us our trespasses
As
we forgive those who trespass against us.
Trespassing
is breaking the law – I think that’s a good way of describing what we need
forgiveness from
The
modern forgive us our sins – also needs explaining – but the word sins is too
short, it doesn’t weigh heavy, it’s a thruway word.
And
deliver us from evil. Notice that deliver is the first three syllable word that
carries weight – to counter temptation to be delivered from evil is weighty
stuff – it needs a counterweight.
And
then we come to the climax
The
modern version goes
The
kingdom, the power and the glory are yours … the last word is a thruway word
that yours that’s lightweight.
Contrast
that with
For
thine is the kingdom the power and the glory.
There’s
a mounting crescendo until you reach the climax in a glorious word – thine is
the kingdom the power, and the glory.
Forever
– another three syllable word! And ever. Amen.
But
it’s the content and meaning of those words that goes to the heart of the
faith.
Many
see the Christian faith as all about getting people into heaven. It’s all about
what happens when you die. I don’t accept that. When Jesus meets people he does
not begin by leading them through a step by step process which will get them
into heaven. He comes alongside people, meets them where they are and draws
them into a friendship that in his presence enables them to have life and have
it to the full.
The
Christian faith is not about getting people into heaven. It’s about getting
heaven into people’s hearts, into people’s lives, into people’s homes, into the
world.
So
what is heaven. It’s not the place we go to
when we die – though it can be a lovely picture of that. Heaven is where
God rules OK – heaven is where God’s way prevails. It’s where God’s will is
done. It’s here and now and it doesn’t come to an end at death. It’s for all
eternity.
Heaven
is where God’s will is done – where God rules – earth is where we are living
out our lives. We can live out our lives in a way that we want to – each one
for themselves. Or we can live out our lives according to God’s way – Love God,
love your neighbour, with the transforming love of God real in the presence of
Jesus empowering us but the strength that is from beyond ourselves in the Holy
Spirit.
That’s
the start of the prayer.
Our
Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name – heaven is where God is
Thy
kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven – heaven is where God is, where God’s rule prevails – that’s
what we pray for on earth as well. What is that kingdom like – the clue is in
the next phrase – thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
God’s
rule is where God’s will prevails.
Thy
kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
So
that’s the start.
Getting
heaven into people’s hearts.
Give
us this day our daily bread.
Each
day is to be treasured. Not wished away. That’s something for me to remember –
treasure each day – and live it to the full. Take no thought for the morrow.
The sacrament of the present moment.
And
this day give us just what we need. Not more, the things we need. The basics.
There’s a whole life style thing there – not wanting to excess, but accepting each day.
And
it is to God we turn each day for our needs for that day.
That plaque Lord help me to remember that nothing is going to happen to me today that you and I together can’t handle.
Forgive
us our trespasses.
The
thing is you can’t do it. You cannot live up to the ideal of love for God, love
for neighbour, even before Jesus extends it to love for enemy too.
Trespassing
is breaking the law – and we do break God’s law too often.
Forgive
us our trespasses.
I
also like that English word – you trespass when you go into someone else’s
space – forgive us those times when we have gone into someone else’s space –
those times when we haven’t stayed in God’s space but gone elsewhere.
Forgive
us our trespasses. The forgiving love of God in Christ is at the heart of the
Christian faith for me. Think of all those people Jesus befriended and they had
failed in some way or other. And yet
forgiveness was theirs – right through to the cross – Father, forgive them for
they know not what they do.
But
then comes the kick in the teeth – the bit that’s difficult to say.
Forgive
us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
I remember one occasion when I interrupted the saying of the Lord’s prayer at that point. And got people to think – so who has trespassed into our space. Who don’t we get on with. Who do we bear a grudge against.
it’s reciprocal this forgiving love
Forgive
us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And
lead us not into temptation.
There’s
another of those three syllable words. Some complain at that line – even the
Pope recently said that’s a line he wants to re-write. It’s not that God would
lead us into temptation. Rather it is a definite thing. Lead us not into
temptation. And there are temptations galore. Don’t let us succumb to those
temptations that nag at us.
But
deliver us from evil. That three syllable word again – God can counter the
awfulness of temptation and gets the better of evil.
Deliver
us from evil.
It’s
not just deliver us from the evil that may befall – but deliver us from
complicity in the evil that can so easily prevail in our culture, in our
hearts.
For
thine is the kingdom – that’s what Jesus message was about. God’s rule breaking
in here on earth. We end in this prayer
as we began. It’s not human authority – we are citizens of God’s kingdom under
God’s rule.
Thine is the kingdom, the power.
In
our faith is a source of strength for living our lives. We host a number of
twelve step programs – Gamblers Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous – someone I know
who belongs to one of those groups helped me to understand. I wanted to do
something with them, for them. No, they said. You mustn’t. The very fact they
have a safe space to meet that means the world to them. The very fact of a warm
welcome – that means the world. Not all churches would host those meetings.
There are very few secular meeting places in Cheltenham. It’s important.
1. We
admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become
unmanageable. ...
2. Came to
believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. ...
3. Made a
decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we
understood Him.
God’s
way for us to follow involves love for God, love for neighbour
We
know the transformative power of the forgiving love of God in Christ, a
forgiveness we can reflect and share
But
we also have a strength from beyond ourselves, a power to live by in the
unseen, yet real presence of the enabling, empowering, Holy Spirit.
Thine
is the kingdom, the power and the glory.
I
love the way the prayer builds up to that climax in glory.
The
Christian faith is not about getting people into heaven.
The
Christian faith is about getting heaven into people.
That’s
not to deny the glory – it is to affirm it.
For
the life that we live to the full begins here and now but does not end with
death. Death is not the end beyond which there is nothing but in Christ Jesus
the beginning of life in the eternal glory of the love of the God who is love.
Thine
is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever …
That’s
the ultimate victory – nothing can prevail against it.
And
to that you can only say Amen.
546
Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire
1 Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.
2 Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.
3 Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer the sublimest strains that
reach
The majesty on high.
4 Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice,
And cry: 'Behold, he prays!'
5 Prayer is the Christian's vital
breath,
The Christian's native air,
Our watchword at the gates of death;
We enter heaven with prayer.
6 Prayer is not made by us alone:
the Holy Spirit pleads,
and Jesus, on the eternal throne,
for sinners intercedes.
7 O thou by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way!
The path of prayer thyself hast
trod:
Lord, teach us how to pray!
James
Montgomery (1771-1854)
CM
Looking
back and Looking forward
Prayers
of Concern
Offering
and Dedication
159
Lord, for the years
1 Lord, for the years your love has kept
and guided,
urged and inspired us,
cheered us on our way,
sought us and saved us, pardoned and
provided,
Lord of the years, we
bring our thanks today.
2 Lord, for that word, the word of life
which fires us,
speaks to our hearts and
sets our souls ablaze,
teaches and trains, rebukes us and
inspires us,
Lord of the word,
receive your people's praise.
3 Lord, for our land, in this our
generation,
spirits oppressed by
pleasure, wealth and care;
for young and old, for commonwealth
and nation,
Lord of our land, be
pleased to hear our prayer.
4 Lord, for our world; when we disown
and doubt him,
loveless in strength,
and comfortless in pain;
hungry and helpless, lost indeed
without him,
Lord of the world, we
pray that Christ may reign.
5 Lord, for ourselves; in living power
remake us,
self on the cross and
Christ upon the throne;
past put behind us, for the future
take us,
Lord of our lives, to
live for Christ alone.
Timothy
Dudley-Smith (born 1926)
Words
of Blessing
Music:
Richard Sharpe & Frank Guppy
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