A Welcome's not just for Christmas - Christmas Day at Highbury

Happy Christmas!

Welcome to our Christmas Celebration! And a special welcome to old friends returning and new friends here for the first time. It seems a long time since the first of our Christmas services: it was back in November when Year 7’s from Pittville school joined us for their Christmas Carol Service. Since then we seem to have had so many Christmas services! They’re the same carols, the same readings and the same story. And yet, somehow, there’s something fresh each time we come to them. A lot has happened over the last year since last we sang those carols, read those readings and told that story. We come to them as different people in a world that’s changed. One theme has emerged through all those services. It’s a theme of welcome. There was no room for Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem: but someone found them somewhere to stay. No one had time for the shepherds: yet they were welcomed with open arms as they came to see all that had happened in Bethlehem. The Magi came from lands far away, from a different culture, from a different religion, with a different language: yet as they presented their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh they too found a warmth of welcome. When Mary, Joseph and the Christ child fled the brutality of Herod they had a gruelling journey to make across a desert: but in Egypt they were welcomed and given refuge. Together with churches across the town we have joined Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees in giving a welcome to the Syrian families who have found refuge here in our town. It’s good to welcome everyone to our Christmas services … may that Christmas spirit of welcome shape the way we think, the way we talk and the way we act in response to the refugee crisis that’s not going to go away for a long time yet.

Listen to a recording our Christmas Day message.

Welcome

65 O come, all ye faithful

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

Reading: Luke 2:1-7

Lighting the Christmas Candle

Reading; John 1:1-5 and 14

72 Away in a manger

Christmas Greetings

A welcome’s not just for Christmas!

There’s something about a baby that brings people together!

There was no room for them in the inn

But they were given a welcome nonetheless

The shepherds were outsiders

But they were welcomed into the stable

The wise men came from the East far away, a different language, a different culture, a different religion.  But they were welcomed as they presented their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

There’s something about a baby that brings people together

But babies are very vulnerable.  And Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus were up against it.  They lived under a brutal regime and they had to flee. Their flight of fear took them across the fierce Sinai desert to a country far away with a different language, a different culture, a different religion.

But there’s something about a baby and they were given a welcome all the same.

Not until the brutality of Herod’s regime came to an end with his death were they able to return and even then they could not go back to Bethlehem for fear of reprisals and so they went back to Nazareth far off in the North where they were welcomed home and the child grew and became strong and was filled with wisdom and God’s blessing was on him.

There’s one image for Christmas that sticks in my mind this year. It’s a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos, one of the great sculptors of the 20th century. Commissioned by a fiery, campaigning vicar of St Martin-in-the Fields, the church in Trafalgar Square, who himself had been a prisoner of war in 1958. It’s now in Cartmel Priory in the Lake District.

It captures a moment in the flight of Mary and Joseph and the Christ child.

It has a stark title.

They fled by night.

Joseph and Mary are sleeping. They are worn out. The child has woken and is looking around. Has something woken him up? Has something frightened him? Has he caught sight of the beauty of the dawn?

It’s an image that captures a moment in the Christmas story that this year speaks to our hearts.

It has been a year of divisions in our society, in our world. A year once again torn apart by war. Maybe the message of Christmas this year is that we pull barriers down and build bridges up and give a welcome to those in need.

We have been involved with other churches and others in the town in Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees. It was moving to join with people from other churches and indeed from other faith communities in a meeting in the university when we heard a woman from one of the five Syrian families welcomed into the town this year. She spoke of the warmth of welcome she had received.

There are practical things to do … and we have helped with practicalities.

There are political things to do. The scale of the refugee crisis demands a greater response from our country not least because of the involvement of our country in the catastrophic wars that have led to the refugee crisis.

Most importantly there’s a personal response we need to make. There’s a divisiveness in the air. A hostility towards ‘others’. A rising Xenophobia.

Someone made room for Mary and Joseph. The shepherds were welcomed, though they were the outcasts of their day. The Magi were welcomed too in spite of their different way of speaking, their different way of thinking, their different way of worshipping. And Egypt welcomed Mary and Joseph and the Christ child when they sought refuge in a far off country. The conversations each one of us has are important – they make a difference in the atmosphere. Will we make sure that a welcome’s not just for Christmas?

A Hy-Spirit song

Our Christmas Prayers

59 Hark the herald angels sing

Words of Blessing

Glory to God in the highest

And on earth peace

Peace in our hearts,

Peace in our homes

Peace in our communities

Peace in our world

Open our hearts that we may be Peace-makers

This Christmas and through the year to come.

Christ at the Centre of our World

Text of the Week:  For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.

Welcome to today’s services on the third Sunday of Advent and a very warm welcome to any worshipping with us for the first time. It’s Sunday Special today and so our children and young people are going to be together in the first part of the service, getting ready for Christmas. They will join us for the last part of our service. We invite all who love the Lord Jesus Christ to share with us in the Lord’s Supper this morning. This month our Communion collection and our giving at coffee after the service are going towards our Christmas Collectionfor CHIKS, Children’s Homes in Kerala State. It’s good to be joined by Robin Radley today. Robin has just returned from a visit to India and the children’s homes he helped to set up nearly twenty years ago. He will be updating us on the work that’s going on there, on the moves towards sustainability with the farm that Sue Cole helped to establish. It will be great to hear how the little children we were supporting when we first got involved at Sue’s prompting are getting on now they are well into their teenage years and needing to be helped towards independence. Do remember the work of CHIKS in your prayers and if you are able to Gift Aid your Christmas collection gift use the yellow envelopes in church and label them Christmas Collection.

Morning Worship

Welcome and Call to Worship

Hymn: A sound of singing fills the air

1     A sound of singing fills the air
          in praise of all that God has done,
       who sent, our human life to share,
          his Son, his own beloved Son;
            the Prince of life the Father gave,
            a wayward world to seek and save.

2     The sovereign King of all the earth,
          and Lord of all the worlds there are,
       he chose, as emblems of his birth,
          a stable and a shining star:
            within a manger-bed to lie,
            whose fingers formed the starry sky.

3     He came, the Father's final Word,
          from that celestial throne above;
       a child, and yet creation's Lord,
          to show the human face of Love:
            the love of God to earth come down,
            who chose the cross before the crown.

4     So lift our songs to fill the skies!
          From manger-crib and cattle-stall,
       from cross and grave, behold him rise,
          the high-ascended Lord of all,
            whose praise the whole creation sings,
            as Lord of lords and King of kings!

Timothy Dudley-Smith (born 1926) 
© 2014 Timothy Dudley-Smith in Europe and Africa.

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

Christ at the centre of our personal lives, of our church lives, of our world.

Lighting the Advent Candles

Reading: John 6:48,51 & 15:1,5 – Angela and Angela

Christ at the Centre of the World

I am the bread of life. 

I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

Whoever eats of this bread will live forever;

and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. 

I am the vine, you are the branches.

Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit,

because apart from me you can do nothing.

We reach our Christmas Communion service – and two I am sayings that take us to the heart of communion.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

Whoever eats of this bread will live forever;

and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

How appropriate as we light a candle and think of Christ at the centre of our world – the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

Christ for the world – the communion laid on the table that has the crib scene underneath – and  beside our stable.

Need to serve the world – speak of Robin, Christmas collection

The world-dimension of Christmas.

The needs of the world overwhelming

Cannot do it on our own – the second comes into play

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower.

I am the vine, you are the branches.

Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit,

because apart from me you can do nothing.

Apart from me you can do nothing.

But with me – in the presence of Christ – a power to change things and make a difference.

The call to live as children of light.

What that means – the meaning of Christmas in the singing – the songs of Luke 1-3

And so in our service we are going to share the three songs … and read them together – and sing them together.

The Magnificat – the Congregation

‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
   and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
   Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
   from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
   and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and sent the rich away empty. 
He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
   to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

42 Tell out my soul

The Benedictus – the Congregation

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
   for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty saviour for us
   in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
   that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
   and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
   to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
   before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
   for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
   by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
   the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the way of peace.’

599 O bless the God of Israel

The latest news of CHIKS - Robin

A Hy-Spirit Song

Prayers of Concern

58 Jesus, hope of every nation

The Lord’s Supper

Communion Offering & Dedication

A Hy-Spirit song

The Nunc Dimittis – the Congregation

Retiring Collection

Christ at the Centre of our Personal Lives

We have started to put recordings of our servivces online. There is now a recording of last week's services available ...

Sunday, 20th November in the morning

Sunday 13th November in the evening

Text of the Week: So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. Ephesians 2:19-20 

Welcome to our services on the first Sunday in Advent and a special welcome to any worshipping with us for the first time. It’s the vision we have for our church … but what happens when you put it into practice? That’s the question we’ll be asking through Advent as we seek to put Christ at the centre of our own lives, of our church life together and of our involvement with the world around us. We begin today by reflecting together on the way we can put Christ at the centre of our own lives. Through the year we have been reading the Bible together with the help of the IBRA notes, Fresh from the Word. If you would like to order notes for 2017 please add your name to the list or have a word with Rachel Jacques. Our Bible reading plan takes us in Advent through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Having Christ at the centre of our lives is for Paul the richest of all blessings as it unlocks for us what our lives are all about: it gives us an identity and a purpose for the living of our lives. This Thursday at our Church Meeting we will explore ways in which we can ensure that Christ is at the centre of our Church life together. Do join us as we then focus in our meeting on the children and young people in our church family. 

Welcome and Call to Worship

Praise and Worship with Hy-Spirit

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

The First Advent Candle

Reading: John 10:9 and 11

The Good Shepherd

As we light the first of our Advent candles our prayers are with those of our church family who are awaiting treatment in hospital. As we put Christ at the centre of our lives we look to him as the Gate through which we enter into the presence of the love of God and as the Good Shepherd who seeks the lost, binds up those who are hurting and lays his life down for his sheep.

I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

 ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

A Japanese Christian once reflected on what was needed in the tiger economies of the far East where in the drive for efficiency and growth people work all hours and children are pressured to reach targets in demanding exams. He concluded that what was needed was a water buffalo theology that slowed life down.

The Gospel of Christ brings with it a slowness that brings peace beyond all our understanding.

At our Messy Church last week we reflected on the Good Shepherd and for the meal had place mats with different versions of the 23^rd Psalm.

This is one that is special.

Toki Miyashina

The Lord is my Pace Setter, I shall not rush,

He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals,

He provides me with images of stillness,

Which restore my serenity.

He leads me in ways of efficiency,

through calmness of mind; and his guidance is peace.

Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day,

I will not fret, for his presence is here.

His timelessness, his all-importance will keep me in balance.

He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity,

by anointing my head with his oils of tranquility,

My cup of joyous energy overflows.

Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruit of my hours,

For I shall walk in the pace of my Lord,

and dwell in his house for ever.

A Hy-Spirit Song

Activities for all over 3

Christ at the Centre or our lives

To me it matters.

Having that other dimension in your life that is more than the material things we can see and posess.

Something that makes sense of life.

I guess for me that’s where religion comes in.

There is a God dimension in the world that somehow fills a God-shaped hole in my make-up.

Think of that the other way round – it’s as if there’s a God dimension inside me that makes a difference and is all important to me.

Maybe it’s a Goddimension that’s simply there something of God in everonee

I love exploring the thinking of that and what’s important.

I guess that’s what makes me a religious person.

But I find there’s more than that.

From simply acknowledging a religious dimension in my life I then feel I want to be aware of that – I want to bring that dimension to the surface as it were.

That’s where I value having as one part of what makes me a spirituality. That seems to me more than simply being religious.

In a very real sense that religious dimension can be felt, can be sensed but it is a matter of faith – and I recognize all sorts of relifioous people with all sorts of faith backgrounds and all sorts of faith.

Somehow having something to believe in is important.

It is often said – it’s important to believe in something – that’s the important thing.

It’s somethiing many people have an awareness of. Taking funerals you encounter all sorts of people with all sorts of ways of thinking – they will have involvd me in taking a funeral because they want something religious – and I think it’s one of the big priviledge I have that I am asked to share at an important oint in people’s lives.

You recognize and I hoonour somehow an innate sense of god – and a sense also of the spiritual.

But I feel thre’s a value in bringing it into life now.

Many peole sense the religious and are drawn to some kind of spirituality – a practice of meditation – the popularity of Mind and  Spirit sections in bookshops – outweighing the religious sections.

I sense a need people sense of doing something spiritual.  Different thjings come and go.  At the moment it is mindfulness That involves deliberately being mindful of this present moment – and focusing on this moment.

Putting away thoughts of what has happened putting away thoughts of foreboding about what might happen and being mindful in the present.

Of tremendous value – and has made a difference I can see.

But something is missing for me.

The different religions share common values and I want to take a common stand on common ground – but those different religions are different. They have different focal points. And what you focus on seems to me to matter.

Yes I honour the right for everyone to believe as they see fit. But it’s not true to say that it’s ok so long as you believe in something. The outcome of this week’s court case was the declaration that the murder of Jo Cox was a terrorist murder – there are -isms people pin their whole lives to that are massively damaging and corrupting. What you believe matters.

What you focus on in the practice of your spirituatlity can make a difference too.

So how does all this work out for me as a Christian?

Increasingly I sense the importance of not just the Christian religion, not just faith in Christ, or the practice of prayer the Christian way – what is important to me is Jesus Christ – what counts is putting him at the centre of the living of my life.

Not as one interesting thing among others but as the One who makes sense of everything else.

What does it look like to put Christ at the centre of our personal lives?

Paul was a very religious person.

Paul had a very strong faith

He practiced a strong spirituality

But then something happened to make sense of the rest of his life.

An encounter with Jesus Christ.

He ended his life in prison where he wrote letters of support to churches he had visited and founded.

Among them was the church in Ephesus. The letter we have is the inspiration of what Paul had to share with that church  - we are going to be reading Ephesians through Advent in Fresh from the Word.

Do order your new copies of Fresh from the Word from Rachel for 2017 and we shall continue reading together.

What does putting Jesus at the centre of our own personal lives mean/

This is what Paul addresses in Ephesians 1:3-14.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.

AS the stories of Christmas unfold and we focus again on the coming of Christ we can dig into the story of Jesus and see all he did – but as we touch Jesus we touch something beyond – the glory of God in all his glory.

There is a sense of touching the God who is love – and so these spiritual blessings draw us to the God who is love.

This is something that goes to the heart of the teaching of Jesaus it goes to the heart of all that Jesus means – it goes to the heart of all that we are.

 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

That wonderful swense of being family

 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.

It’s a setting free – jesus who maps out the way we should follow but brings forgiveness as we fail to follow that path and thereby strengthens to keep at it.

With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

It is not just about following a person with a particular set of values – it is about transforming the whole of creation.

This is a dimension to Christ that makes us steward the wonder of God’s creation.

 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.

A wonderful sense of purpose through Christ.

 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Hear the word of truth – the gospel of your salvation

Believe in him

Marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit – that strength from beyond ourselves – the pledge of our inheritance – the down payment.

We can only rise to the call Christ gives and put him at the centre of our personal lives as we draw on a strength from beyond ourselves, the strength that is given in the Holy Spirit.

For me one way to bring that sense of the presence of Christ with us is to read the words of Psalm 23. I love the Authorised version which somehow captures the rhythms of spoken English that gives it a heart beat that touches our innermost being.

Words that are well worth committing to memory.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil:

for thou art with me;

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me

in the presence of mine enemies:

thou anointest my head with oil;

my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Song: The Lord’s my shepherd

Prayers of Concern

Longing for light,

Words of Blessing

One with all God's people - especially in Syria and Iraq

Text of the Week: Then afterwards I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.  Joel 2:28

Welcome to our services today and a special welcome to any worshipping with us for the first time. This morning is a Sunday Special. That means our children and young people are going to meet together in the first part of the service and then come through to church. In that first part of the service we will all of us, young and old alike, be preparing for our time of communion. In prayer and praise, in Bible reading and reflection, in preparing the table and in baking the bread we will be preparing to share in something that goes right back to Jesus and that night of his betrayal when he shared the Passover with his closest friends. The Passover meal is a family occasion in which the youngest member of the family has one of the most significant parts to play. As we gather around the table our younger members have something to give for all of us to receive. We invite all who love the Lord Jesus Christ to share with us in breaking bread and sharing the cup. Today is also a day when we join with Open Doors in praying for persecuted Christians in Syria and Iraq. Please sign the petition that is available at church.

A Recording of this Service is available here

Morning Worship

Welcome and Call to Worship

STL 40 Lord we have come

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

Welcome to our services today and a special welcome to any worshipping with us for the first time. This morning is a Sunday Special. That means our children and young people are going to meet together in the first part of the service and then come through to church. In that first part of the service we will all of us, young and old alike, be preparing for our time of communion. In prayer and praise, in Bible reading and reflection, in preparing the table and in baking the bread we will be preparing to share in something that goes right back to Jesus and that night of his betrayal when he shared the Passover with his closest friends. The Passover meal is a family occasion in which the youngest member of the family has one of the most significant parts to play. As we gather around the table our younger members have something to give for all of us to receive. We invite all who love the Lord Jesus Christ to share with us in breaking bread and sharing the cup.

As we come together in a service that comes to its climax in the sharing of bread and the taking of the cup the first part of our service is a time of preparation – our children and young people are sharing in a time of preparation and then in the spirit of that family gathering they are going to share with us around the table.

Our preparation begins in praise of God.

The glory of God in creation. Think of one of those wonderful moments when there is that wonderful sense of the glory of God in creation. Maybe a mountop, maybe a coastal place, maybe the beauty of a flower, maybe the setting sun, caught here by Cynthia on Priory Terrace overlooking the church.

And glory in the God of creation.

There is much to praise God for.

It is this God who cares for each one of us, in this moment, here and now. As Jane Gonzalez reminded us in yesterday’s readings from Fresh from the Word, God holds us in his hands and cares for us. Julian of Norwich lived in the time of the plague, the black death, at a time of wawr and yet ~”she had utter faith in God’s loving providence. God loves us as a mother does her child, totally, completely, without string. God made us, he loves us and therefore he keeps us – treasured, safe, held in his loving hands.”

Julian of Norwich invites us to take a hazelnut and hold it in the palm of our hands – imagine you are holding something such as that.

And in this he showed me a little thing, the quantity of a hazel nut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed. And it was as round as any ball. I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding, and thought, 'What may this be?' And it was answered generally thus, 'It is all that is made.' I marveled how it might last, for I thought it might suddenly have fallen to nothing for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasts and ever shall, for God loves it. And so have all things their beginning by the love of God.

In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it. The second that God loves it. And the third, that God keeps it. But what is this to me? Truly, the Creator, the Keeper, the Lover.

It is in Jesus that that love becomes most real – God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

In this is love not that we lovd God but that he loved us and gave his son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.

God is love.

It is that love of God, that love that will not let us go that is in the words of a Psalm that was one of the great Psalms of Praise used at Passover – the great hallelujah Psalm. As we read these words, let’s make them our own.

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

Let Israel say,

   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’

Let the house of Aaron say,

   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’

Let those who fear the Lord say,

   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

Out of my distress I called on the Lord;

   the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.

With the Lord on my side I do not fear.

   What can mortals do to me?

The Lord is on my side to help me;

   I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

   than to put confidence in mortals.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

   than to put confidence in princes.

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,

   but the Lord helped me.

The Lord is my strength and my might;

   he has become my salvation.

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:

‘The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;

   the right hand of the Lord is exalted;

   the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.’

I shall not die, but I shall live,

   and recount the deeds of the Lord.

The Lord has punished me severely,

   but he did not give me over to death.

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

Open to me the gates of righteousness,

   that I may enter through them

   and give thanks to the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord;

   the righteous shall enter through it.

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

I thank you that you have answered me

   and have become my salvation.

The stone that the builders rejected

   has become the chief cornerstone.

This is the Lord’s doing;

   it is marvellous in our eyes.

This is the day that the Lord has made;

   let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!

   O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

   We bless you from the house of the Lord.

The Lord is God,

   and he has given us light.

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;

   you are my God, I will extol you.

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

Let’s join in celebrating the wonder of the God who loves us with a love that will not let us go, the God who is Creator, Lover, Keeper.

A Hy-Spirit song

So much is involved in what we share aroiund the Table – modern theorists remind us that we take things in and learn by hearing, by seeing, and by doing. Jesus knew that instinctively.

Here at the table we hear words of promise from Jesus.

Come to me all you that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

I am with you always to the end of the age.

Let’s hear those words and treasure them in our hearts.

We see – a table as it is being prepared for us, bread broken, a coup that has been poured out – and in our mind’s eye we see the body of Christ broken for us, the blood of Christ shed for us.  We look to the cross and see the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, that takes away the sin of each one of us and forgives and renews.

We see the bread cupped in our hands we see the fruit of the vine in the cup as we take it in our hands. As I hold the cup I see the beat of my pulse in the liquid in the glass – maybe that’s just me.

Then I do – I take the break, I drink the cup – and I sense this is real – just as the bread and the fruit of the vine is real so too the love of God in Christ is real – made real by the presence of God with us as we meet in the power and the strength of the Holy Spirit.

As we have heard and seen and done … so too then there is an invitation to put into action the things that we have heard and seen and done in the living of our lives.

Reading: John 13:3-5,12-15, 34-35

And during supper 3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? 13You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.

34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

STL 29 Jesu, Jesu

One more thing is real to me as we gather here together.  It is that gathering together that is all important. It is not something we do on our own. It is the meeting together – people around us.

Jesus speaks of a new covenant in his blood. A Covenant is a partnership, a commitment, an agreement, a relationship – the story of the Bible is the story of God’s partnership, God’s commitment God’s relationship with all creation, with his people, with each of us.

The covenant with Noah is a Covenant of Peace with All Creation

(Genesis 9:8-17) that reminds us of God’s care for all creation and our responsibility to care for all creation.

The covenant with Abraham is a Covenant of Blessing for all Peoples

(Genesis 15:1-6) that reminds us that our relationship with God is built on faith and for the good of others

The covenant with Moses is a Covenant of Commitment sealed in blood (Exodus 24:1-11) and reminds us of God’s way for us to follow in the world and our commitment to follow the way of life he maps out for us.

The covenant with David is a a Covenant of Commitment to God’s Way (II Samuel 7:1-17) that is expected by God of those in power and gives them a responsibility to work for righteousness and justice.

The tragedy of the Old Testament is the tragedy of history and in a sense the tragedy of humanity: it’s the failure of people to keep their part of the covenant relationship. It is at the moment of greatest collapse that there is a vision shared by the pophets of that time.

They look to a new covenant that is written not on stone tablets but written in the heart.  (Jeremiah 31:31-34). It is a wonderful vision.

It’s that new covenant that is sealed by Jesus around the table in that supper – that new covenant that is written in our hearts as we are drawn into the closest of relationships with God in Jesus Christ by the unseen and yet so real power of the Holy Spirit.

To take the bread and drink of the cup is to re-commit ourselves to the partnership, the relationship, the covenant with God that is written in our hearts – that’s

·         a covenant of Peace with all creation

·         a covenant of Blessing for all peoples

·         a covenant of Commitment sealed in Christ’s blood

·         a covenant of Commitment to the God’s Way, Christ’s way of justice, peace and love.

That new covenant relationship binds us with each other.  We do not break bread and take the cup in isolation, on our own, in our own place. We come together with those we share a commitment to, those we know, those we are in that covenant partnership with.

It binds us together with all God’s people wherever they may be. A sense of togetherness in Christ.

Earlier in the year we had a time when we focused on the persecuted church and thought especially of our brothers and sisters in Christ facing persecution. Churches up and down the country and across the world are today especially remembering the Christians of Iraq and Syria with Open Doors.

PRAY AS NEVER BEFORE

Islamic extremists are intent on eradicating the church in the Middle East, but many courageous Christians are determined to stay and serve their communities. They're crying out to us - their global church family - for support.

"We need prayer, every day," says a church leader, speaking on behalf of displaced families in Iraq. "When we see pictures of IS (Islamic State) on the television, we're afraid. When we hear that IS has been driven back, we regain hope. Every day our feelings change. So please pray for us every day."

Christians in Iraq and Syria need our prayers and support more than ever before – and Sunday 20 November, the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church - provides a great opportunity to bring them hope.

Call to Prayer Video Clip

http://www.opendoorsuk.org/churches/international-day-prayer.php

Two things to take with us from this service – that little nut to remind us that we are in God’s hands, Created, Loved, Kept by God.

And a prayer by a Syrian Christian – and photos of Christians in Iraq and Syria. These are the people we are in that covenant with as we break bread and take of the cup.

Prayer by a Syrian Christian – Open Doors

Thank you, Lord,

For all that you have done and are still doing.

I trust your will is always good and finally

you will turn evil to good.

I know you are not silent, but patient…

But how long will it take, Lord?

I am looking forward to a new beginning

amongst my people.

My own desire is that evil will stop

and that we see your glory shine again in

the darkness.

I’m longing for healing, for restoration.

I cry out to you, Lord.

I’m longing for a new generation to take

their place in your kingdom,

To be the light and salt of this nation.

Help me to see my role in this

transformation.

Protect me and be with me.

Carry me, day by day.

And something for us to do

A petition for us to sign.

We call upon our own government and the United Nations to ensure that Christians and other minorities enjoy:

1. The right to equal citizenship 2. Dignified living conditions 3. Aprominent role in reconciling and rebuilding society

The powerfully moving words at the end of that prayer

Protect me and be with me.

Carry me, day by day.  Amen.

That love knows no limits.

It was most moving on Thursday to join in the University with people from other faith communities in Cheltenham where across the faith communities we share in a commitment to bring help and care and love to people whose lives are being damaged by those same extremists of all faiths in that region. Most moving to hear a refugee from Syria speaking of how much she treasured the wrlcome given here in Cheltenham to her family.

481 Love is his word

Prayers of Concern

480 Lord God your love has called us here

We share in communion

Communion Offering & Dedication

Praise and worship with Hy-Spirit

Words of Blessing