Welcome to our services today and a special welcome to any
who are worshiping with us for the first time. Today is Sunday Special. This
morning our children and young people are meeting first for breakfast and then
to explore the faith together before joining us for the last part of our
service as we share in the Lord’s Supper together.
For forty days the risen
Jesus appeared to his followers on different occasions and then came the moment
when that brief time came to an end. Jesus parting words to his disciples were
a promise and a challenge: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Then followed ten days of waiting. Or
was it ten days of preparation? Whatever it was Luke leaves us in no doubt,
they were ten days of prayer.
Then on the fiftieth day after the day of
resurrection it happened. They received power as the Holy Spirit came upon them. The promise was
fulfilled. And the disciples rose to the challenge and from that day on their
story is the story of the way they bore witness to the Good News of Jesus
Christ and the transformation it brings into people’s lives.
We are invited to
a special period of prayer for the ten days from the Day of Ascension on
Thursday to the Day of Pentecost on 4th June. The prayer is inspired
by the Lord’s Prayer and that passage in Acts 1. Thy Kingdom Come.
Almighty God, your ascended Son has sent us
into the world
to preach the good news of your kingdom:
inspire us with your
Spirit
and fill our hearts with the fire of your love,
that all who hear your
Word may be drawn to you,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Welcome
and Call to Worship
Praise
and Worship with Hy-Spirit
Prayer
and the Lord’s Prayer
In
Praise of God
Psalm
46 – the Congregation
God
is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore
we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of
the sea;
though
its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its
tumult.
There
is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God
is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
The
nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The
Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come,
behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the
earth.
He
makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
‘Be
still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.’
The
Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
It’s
so very easy just to say those words … let’s pause and think what is we have
just shared in reading …
a
Psalm
It’s
Praise
It’s
Prayer
It’s
Poetry
What
is poetry?
Poetry
has a way of saying things that ordinary everyday language cannot quite
achieve.
I’ve
got a wonderful collection of modern poems called staying alive – it starts
with a section of quotations headed Poets on Poetry.
This
is what poetry is …
Coleridge:
Poetry, the best words in the best
order.
Yeats:
Poetry is truth seen with passion.
Wordsworth:
Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge … Poetry is the
spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion
recollected in tranquility …’
Christopher
Logue – Poetry cannot be defined, only experienced.
The
Book of Psalms is the poetry collection of the Bible – though by no means the
only place in the Bible where poetry is found.
It
helps to get the idea of how the poetry of the Bible works. It’s not built on
rhyme. Instead there is an echo – the meaning of one line is echoed in the next
line. The ideas of one line are paralleled in the next line. There’s a rhythm
of ideas.
And when it comes
to THE most important thought expressed
in these words we will all say it together.
·
the breath and spirit of all knowledge
·
as truth seen with passion
·
as the BEST words in the best order
·
as something that cannot be defined … only
experienced.
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth
should change,
though
the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters
roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
There is a river
whose streams make glad the city of God,
the
holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst
of the city; it shall not be moved;
God
will help it when the morning dawns.
The nations are in
an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come, behold the
works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars
cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
‘Be still, and
know that I am God!
I am
exalted among the nations,
I
am exalted in the earth.’
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
God is our refuge and strength,
a
very present help in trouble.
Therefore
we will not fear,
It cannot be
defined … only experienced.
MTS 2
Be still for the presence of the Lord
How
good are you at counting?
Sometimes
we count the years – it’s the year of our Lord, 2017
This
is the point when I will ask everyone to get up and we will all meet in the
entrance to the church. Something very special greeted you – a host of golden …
not daffodils but tulips and roses – because John and Trish are counting 50
years since they got married.
Yesterday
was a day of celebrations at Highbury! And we’ve got the flowers to prove it.
Here in the church, the wedding flowers. Claire, who has led Beavers and now
Cubs for the last six years or so felt so much part of our extended church
family that she chose Highbury for her wedding – Claire and Chris are therefore
counting the days – and they are now into day 1
And
as you arrived and as you leave in the porch flowers with a golden hue. If
Chris and Claire are counting the days, John and Trish are counting the years –
yesterday was their golden wedding anniversary.
So,
counting the years this year is the Year of Our Lord, 2017.
What’s
today for those who like counting the days?
A
bit of a trick question!
It’s
day 36 … and counting … since Easter. It’s very easy to think of Easter just as
the weekend around two bank holidays. But Easter stretches further than that. It’s
still the Easter period – when the risen Jesus shared much with his disciples. It’s
fascinating to reflect what was it that the risen Jesus shared with his
disciples in this period of resurrection. At the heart of the Christian Arts
festival the Mark Drama. Nikki Seville is talking of commissioning a play
around the resurrection appearances of Jesus.
Reading:
Acts 1:1-3
In
the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from
the beginning 2until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving
instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3After
his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs,
appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom
of God.
What
comes into your mind when Jesus speaks of the kingdom of God? What is ‘the
kingdom of God’?
A
time to share with each other in 2’s and 3’s
then
some feedback
The
clue for me lies in the Lord’s prayer.
Our
Father who art in heaven, - heaven, not so much the place where you go when you
die, but heaven, God’s realm, it’s where God’s way of doing things prevails.
Our
Father who art in heaven,
hallowed
be thy name
Thy
kingdom come,
thy
will be done.
The
way Hebrew poetry works the idea is express – and then there’s the echo –
We’ve
said it once … Let’s try saying the prayer in a different kind of way.
So
this time those on the left facing the front will read the first idea … and
then those on the right facing the front will be the echo …
And
when it comes to THE most important
thought expressed in these words we will all say it together.
Let’s
think of these words as
·
the breath and spirit of all knowledge
·
as truth seen with passion
·
as the BEST words in the best order
·
as something that cannot be defined … only
experienced.
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 trespasses
As we forgive
those who trespass against us
And
lead us not into temptation
But deliver us
from evil
For thine is the
kingdom,
the power and the
glory
forever and ever,
Amen.
What
is the kingdom?
It’s
where God’s will is done
Where’s
that – our prayer every day is that it is on earth as it is in heaven.
What
is the kingdom?
It’s
not our way of doing things – it’s God’s way of doing things
It
may feel like a way of weakness – loving God, loving your neighbor, loving your
enemy.
But
make no mistake it is a way of strength and of power and of glory
For
thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory
Forever
and ever.
So
it’s the power we need …
Reading:
Acts 1:4-
4While
staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there
for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from
me; 5for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy
Spirit not many days from now.’
6
So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when
you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7He replied, ‘It is not for you to
know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth.’
Jesus
sets us a task.
It’s
not just about coming together – it’s not just about – doing our best
It’s
about witnessing to this Jesus – it’s about doing God’s will on earth as it is
done in heaven – it’s about bringing that kingdom into people’s lives to make a
difference in their lives.
Some
mark it religiously. I never have. But this year I have been thinking of it.
If
today is day 36 what is Thursday? Day 40.
It’s
Ascension day.
It’s
that rounding off of the life and teaching, the death and resurrection of
Jesus.
Before
the power of the risen Lord is let loose into the world in resurrection.
Notice
what happens next
Reading
Acts 1:9-14
9When he had said this, as they were watching,
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10While he was going
and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood
by them. 11They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards
heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in
the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’
Then
they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near
Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. 13When they had entered the city, they
went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James,
and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus,
and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14All these were constantly
devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the
mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
The
come together for prayer.
It’s
the betwixt and between time.
Count
the days – it’s 10 days.
And
that’s the invitation for us … to commit to pray.
And
what is the prayer?
Thy
kingdom come, thy will be done
That
God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Think
specifically – how does that work out for you … how does that work out for each
person in your family – how does that work out for the people you know – how
does that work out in what’s going on in our nation at the moment – in the
election – in the day to day living people experience around us – how does that
work out in the face of the refugee crisis – how does that work out – maybe
something each day … but from all of those can you think of one person you
would pray for and one situation you woujld pray for through those ten days.
That
thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
The
prayer that is being shared …
Almighty
God, your ascended Son has sent us into the world to preach the good news of
your kingdom: inspire us with your Spirit and fill our hearts with the fire of your
love, that all who hear your Word may be drawn to you, through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Make
real the kingdom
Video
clip of your kingdom come by the Rend Collective
Prayer
for those things – and for one in particular.
Songs of Worship
Dedication
of Christian Aid gifts
This year is the 60th Christian
Aid collection and in a moment we are going to receive the gifts that have been collected ... Christian Aid was the British churches' response to the refugee crisis after the second world war. By the time of the first street collection that was still a major crisis. As we face another refugee crisis in Europe it is still as important as ever.
Intercessions
(based on John 14:1-10)
Lord,
who spoke the words of comfort,
‘Do
not let your hearts be troubled’,
we
come to you with troubled hearts.
Troubled
for those in Syria,
still
enduring the suffering of war.
Troubled
for those in Afghanistan,
enduring
the trauma of torture.
Troubled
for those in Yemen,
enduring
famine and conflict.
Troubled
for those in South Sudan,
enduring
displacement once again.
Troubled
for those in Haiti,
having
to rebuild their lives and hopes.
Troubled
for those in Bangladesh,
living
in fear of the river rising.
Troubled
for those in Greece,
stuck
in the trauma of refugee camps.
And
with our troubled hearts we turn to you,
believing
in you and in your promise
that
if we ask for anything, you will do it.
We
ask that those dwelling places,
those
many rooms you spoke of,
would
not just be for the few, then,
but
also for the many, here and now.
We
still believe in life before death
and
so we pray for life abundant
for
those who have been refused hospitality
by
those who have many rooms.
Help
us to change the story
from
rejection to refuge
from
displacement to
a
safe place to call home
for
all this Christian Aid Week.
So
help us God,
Amen
Dedication
of Christian Aid gifts
Hy-Spirit
song
The
children and young people returned to lead us in
The
Lord’s Supper
Communion
Offering & Dedication
Praise
and Worship
My
lighthouse
Words
of Blessing
Retiring
Collection
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