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.
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.
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
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
No comments:
Post a Comment