Text
of the Week: Let us not become tired fo
doing good: for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the
harvest. Galatians 6:9
Welcome to our
services today and a special welcome to any worshipping with us for the first
time. It’s Sunday Special today – that means that any children and young people
are invited to go through to the café space where there’s some breakfast and
lots of activities to enjoy. Thank to our Explore Group who have put together
the first part of our service today and to Hy-Tec and Hy-Tide who have put
together the last part of our Service. This morning’s service follows on from
Remembrance Sunday last week and takes us back to the occasion when David
Waters, who spent a gap year with us twenty years ago, joined our panel at the
40th anniversary of Richard’s ordination. David gave us a fore-taste of the
Songs of Praise programme he had recently worked on. It was broadcast last
Sunday afternoon to mark the 30th anniversary of the Enniskillen bombing. It
tells a moving story of forgiveness and reconciliation. This evening’s service
ties in with this week’s readings from Matthew’s gospel in Fresh from the Word.
Rachel Jacques has copies of the new edition of Fresh from the Word ready for
2018. If you haven’t before, do join those who have been using Fresh from the
Word. It gives us the opportunity to read the Bible together as a Church family
not only in our Sunday services but through the week as well.
Welcome
and Call to Worship
After
the welcome invite people to be quiet and in the stillness sense the presence
of God with us.
Jesus
said,
For
where two or three are gathered in my name,
I
am there among them.
Please
remain seated to sing as a prayer …
38
As we are gathered, Jesus is here
As we are gathered, Jesus is here,
one with each other, Jesus is here;
joined by the Spirit, washed in his
Blood,
part of the Body, the Church of God.
As we are gathered, Jesus is here,
one with each other, Jesus is here.
John
Daniels (born c.1954)
Copyright
© 1979 Authentic Publishing/Adm. by kingswaysongs.com
And
so with the presence of Jesus with us
it
is good to join with all God’s people wherever they may be
to
sing our praises to God.
Then
I saw the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders
fall
before the Lamb,
and
sing a new song:
Then
I looked,
and
I heard the voice of many angels
surrounding
the throne and the living creatures and the elders;
they
numbered myriads of myriads
and
thousands of thousands,
singing
with full voice,
Then
I heard every creature in heaven and on earth
and
under the earth and in the sea,
and
all that is in them, singing,
‘To
the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be
blessing and honour and glory and might
for
ever and ever!’
And
the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’
And
the elders fell down and worshipped.
Let’s
stand as we are able to join in singing
173 Sing to God new songs of worship-
all
his deeds are marvellous;
1 Sing to God new songs of worship-
all his deeds are marvellous;
he has brought salvation to us
with his hand and holy arm.
He has shown to all the nations
righteousness and saving power;
he recalled his truth and mercy
to his people Israel.
2 Sing to God new songs of worship-
earth has seen his victory;
let the lands of earth be joyful
praising him with thankfulness.
Sound upon the harp his praises,
play to him with melody;
let the trumpets sound his triumph,
show your joy to God the King!
3 Sing to God new songs of worship-
let the sea now make a noise;
all on earth and in the waters,
sound your praises to the Lord.
Let the hills rejoice together,
let the rivers clap their hands,
for with righteousness and justice
he will come to judge the earth.
After
Psalm 98, Michael Baughen (born 1930)
©
Michael Baughen/Jubilate Hymns
It
is wonderful to join in with all God’s people wherever they may be and of every
generation in singing the praises of God.
Let’s
share together in saying the words of Psalm 145 in our praise of God.
I
will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name for ever and ever.
Every
day I will bless you,
and praise your name for ever and ever.
Great
is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
One
generation shall laud your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On
the glorious splendour of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
The
might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
and I will declare your greatness.
They
shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
I
will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name for ever and ever.
Every
day I will bless you,
and praise your name for ever and ever.
Great
is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
How
good it is to sing the praises of God.
Great
is the Lord and greatly to be praised.
And
sometimes it makes us feel very small, all too conscious of our inadequacies,
our frailty, our sinfulness.
We
know what we should do … and yet so often we don’t do as we should.
We know what we should say … and yet so often we don’t say it
We
know what should be in our hearts … and yet so often it’s not there!
But
that’s the whole point of the faith we share in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The
God he opens up for us to sing our praises to is the God who is full of
compassion, who sees us as we are and touches us with a deep-down love that
forgives.
Let’s
go back to that wonderful vision of God’s glory Iain began our service with …
Then
I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a
Lamb standing as if it had been slain,
And
grasping the secret of life in all its fullness
Then
it was that the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before
the Lamb, sang a new song:
‘You
are worthy to open up the secret of life in all its fullness
for
you were slain and by your blood you set your people free for God
from
every tribe and language and people and nation;
you
have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God,
and they will reign on earth.’
Then
I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the
living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands
of thousands, singing with full voice,
‘Worthy
is the Lamb that was slain
to
receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and
honour and glory and blessing!’
Let’s
look to Jesus and see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and
in the knowledge of that wonderful love of God let’s say together more words of
that Psalm.
The
Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast
love.
The
Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has
made.
I
will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name for ever and ever.
Every
day I will bless you,
and praise your name for ever and ever.
Great
is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
The
Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast
love.
The
Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has
made.
The
Lord is faithful in all his words,
and gracious in all his deeds.
The
Lord upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The
Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
The
Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
The
Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast
love.
The
Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has
made.
On
Tuesday evening we met together at Explore to put this morning’s service
together. We’ve celebrated the 40th Anniversary of Richard’s
Ordination as Roy Jenkins, David Waters and Yvonne Campbell shared their vision
for the church with us. We have celebrated the 500th Anniversary of
the Reformation and the wonderful insight it has given us that God’s grace in
all its love reaches out to each of us before we have done anything to deserve
it.
We
have reflected on dying, death and what is beyond in the sure and certain hope
of resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. In our Remembrance Service we have committed
ourselves once again to work for that peace which those who died in war longed
to see.
Where
can we turn next?
Reconciliation
was, we sensed, the theme we should share today.
Reconciliation
begins with forgiveness.
Where
better is that story told than in the book of Genesis? Many of its stories set
the scene for the whole story of salvation the Bible contains.
Forgiveness
and Reconciliation are at the heart of those stories in Genesis and at the
heart of the whole story of salvation in the Bible.
When
Jacob cheats Esau of his rightful inheritance the two brothers become enemies.
The story unfolds focusing on Jacob until towards the end Jacob sees Esau
approaching him with 400 hundred men and he is convinced he is bent on revenge
and destruction. Gathering all his family together, Jacob goes on ahead to meet
his brother and he bowed down to the ground seven times. It is not in a spirit
of enmity that Esau has come. He has come in a spirit of friendship.
Jacob
reaches out to Esau and says, most movingly, “To see your face is for me like
seeing the face of God, now that you have been friendly to me.”
As
Jacob’s story comes to an end it leads on to the story of Joseph and his
Brothers. And it is a story of forgiveness and reconciliation.
There’s
a most moving moment in Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor dreamcoat when
Joseph is at his lowest – he has fallen out with his brothers, they have fallen
out with him. He finds himself in the deepest of dark places. And it is there
that he finds the presence of God.
Close every door
to me.
I
love Joseph and the Amazing Tecnicolor Dreamcoat – but at the very end it
somehow misses the point. It comes to a climax with the slushiest of messages –
Any dream will do!
No,
any dream will not do, I always feel like shouting out in the theatre but I restrain myself and get carried away
with the exuberance of the m music – which I could sing … but I won’t!
The
Bible story actually comes to an end on a much more challenging and a much more
powerful note.
At
the very end of the story in Genesis the tension mounts one last time. Their father,
Jacob, has now died. And the brothers are convinced that Joseph will turn to
hatred and wreak revenge.
Genesis
50:15-21
After
the death of their father, Joseph's brothers said,
“What
if Joseph still hates us
and
plans to pay us back for all the harm we did to him?”
So
they sent a message to Joseph:
“Before
our father died, he told us to ask you,
‘Please
forgive the crime your brothers committed
when they wronged
you.’
Now
please forgive us the wrong that we,
the servants of
your father's God, have done.”
Joseph
cried when he received this message.
Then
his brothers themselves came and bowed down before him.
“Here
we are before you as your slaves,” they said.
But
Joseph said to them,
“Don't
be afraid; I can't put myself in the place of God.
You
plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good,
in
order to preserve the lives of many people
who
are alive today because of what happened.
You
have nothing to fear. I will take care of you and your children.”
So
he reassured them with kind words that touched their hearts.
Forgiveness
leads on to reconciliation.
Verse
20 is one of the most powerful in the Bible …
You
plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good,
That’s
the God I believe in.
And
then comes an even more wonderful moment … as Joseph reassured them with kind
words that touched their hearts.
Let’s
come back to those words of Psalm 145
Great
is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
The
Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast
love.
The
Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has
made.
The
Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
The
Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He
fulfils the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry, and saves them.
The
Lord watches over all who love him,
My
mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all will bless his holy name for ever
and ever.
187
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
1 There's a wideness in God's mercy,
like the wideness of the sea;
there's a kindness in his justice,
which is more than liberty.
2 There is no place where earth's
sorrows
are more felt than in God's heaven:
there is no place where earth's
failings
have such kindly judgement given.
3 For the love of God is broader
than the grasp of mortal mind;
and the heart of the Eternal
is most wonderfully kind.
4 If our love were but more simple,
we would take him at his word;
and our lives be filled with glory
from the glory of the Lord.
Frederick
William Faber (1814-1863)
Forgiveness
gives rise to reconciliation. And that makes a world of difference. It can make a difference in our lives not
because of any strength we can muster but because of that strength we can draw
on from beyond ourselves in the unseen, yet very real power of the Holy Spirit.
But
the Spirit produces
love,
joy, peace, patience,
kindness,
goodness, faithfulness,
humility,
and self-control.
There
is no law against such things as these.
Reading:
Galatians 5:22-26 & 6:7-10
And
those who belong to Christ Jesus
have
put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires.
The
Spirit has given us life;
he
must also control our lives.
We
must not be proud
or irritate one
another
or be jealous of
one another.
Do
not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God.
People
will reap exactly what they sow.
If
they sow in the field of their natural desires,
from
it they will gather the harvest of death;
if
they sow in the field of the Spirit,
from
the Spirit they will gather the harvest of eternal life.
So
let us not become tired of doing good;
for
if we do not give up,
the
time will come when we will reap the harvest.
So
then, as often as we have the chance,
we
should do good to everyone,
and
especially to those who belong to our family in the faith.
Those
are powerful words –
he must also
control our lives.
People will reap
exactly what they sow.
So let us not
become tired of doing good;
So then, as often
as we have the chance,
we should do good
to everyone,
Forgiveness.
Reconciliation.
Can
that really be something practical to live your life by?
A
month ago at that celebration weekend for the 40th anniversary of
Richard’s ordination, David Waters spoke of his return to Songs of Praise. He
had just been working on the Songs of Praise edition for Remembrance Sunday
which this year marked the 30th anniversary of the Enniskillen
bombing in Nortthern Ireland. David spoke of filming Joan Wilson whose husband
Gordon found it within himself to forgive those who had so cruelly killed their
daughter. He rcalled how everyone involved in the filming was moved – even the
cameraman, moved to tears, he said.
Joan
Wilson reflects on how faith gave her strength after losing her daughter in the
Enniskillen bomb. And Father Brian Darcy on how Gordon Wilson’s words impacted
the Peace Process.
Thursday
on the Today Programme at 1 hr 30 mins
Frank
Gardner, the BBC’s security correspondent, himself a victim of terrorist
bombing went with the Coptic Bishop Angelos to a desert monastic community
north of Cairo and he spoke to a community that feels under siege.
On
Tuesday we will be praying for the persecuted church – to do that with Open
Doors is to be struck by the resilience of the Christians in the Middle East,
their defiance in the face and their
commitment to the Gospel of Christ in all its forgiving love.
Bishop
Angelos reflected on what it was about the Coptic people that impressed him.
The
Copts are a resilient people who have faced persecution for 2000 years and the
wonderful thing for me, the very inspiring thing for me is that I always fall
back on the example of people here who face this with such forgiveness and such
strength and such grace.
We
don’t want to die. We love to live because life is given to us by God we are
not people who look to die but we embrace it if it comes our way. I think
resilience comes from a love of life in the right way and an ability to forgive
even those who pursue our death and our persecution.
What would you say then, to the extremists of ISIS and others who say Christians have no place in the Middle East? Asked Frank Gardner.
My
message to those who choose to persecute us, replied Bishop Angelos, is that
you are loved, we forgive you.
Frank
Gardner responded, How on earth can you say that you love somebody who blows up
and butchers innocent people?
Because
I know that it is the evil within the person acting not the person him or
herself and what I want is for that person to look at every individual as a
human with the sanctity of life, with a dignity and a right to live.
Then
Frank Gardner went on to meet a Coptic
man whose granddaughter had been killed in the bombing of a Cathedral church
last December just before Christmas when a suicide bomber had killed 25 to 30
people, nearly all women and children.
Frank
Gardner asked Samir what happened that day. Speaking through an interpreter he
explained what had happened.
I
got back from church and turned the TV on and saw there had been an explosion
at |St Mark’s and people had died. I knew my grandchildren would be there so I
rushed down there to see what was going on.
I
saw ambulances, police and people carrying stretchers – he saw my daughter who
had seen my granddaughter had been taken to another hospital.
He
found her plugged into a machine. We were praying for a miracle. We prayed to
God to save her we kept on praying for her but sadly she was gone. She went to
heaven 21st December
After
the terrible thing that has happened has it changed you? Asked Frank Gardner. Do
you feel stronger, weaker?
After
the attack we are stronger. I used to go to church once a week before the
attach but now I go several times a week.
Our
church is called the martyrs’ church – its fruit grows with the blood of
martyrs, the believers of the church.
Then
came the question that made me prick my ears up even more.
Could
you ever forgive the terrorists who did this?
Samir
then spoke so powerfully of his Christian faith.
Our
religion teaches us to forgive. It teaches us to love our enemies, to bless
those who curse us. And to pray for those who hurt us. Yes we will forgive them
despite all the blood that was spilled. Our faith tells us to forgive.
Frank
Gardner then went on to give his comment as the BBC’s security correspondent.
Well,
he sighed audibly, it’s obviously an incredibly moving story. A number of
things strike me about this.
One
is this amazing attitude that Coptic Christians seem to have, the few that I
have spoken to since I have been here of turning the other cheek. Of saying,
you know, we must forgive.
Then
Frank Gardner said something very, very personal.
But
personally, as a victim of terrorism myself, I don’t forgive the terrorists.
They’ve never apologized. I’ve never had a letter from the mum saying forgive so
and so.
But
they, [those Coptic Christians,] are different.
They
keep telling me they want to love the terrorists, they want to say prayers for
them which to me is extraordinary.
The other thing is the resilience that they have so this man that has lost his darling grand daughter and his own daughter has been horribly scarred and damaged for ever by the explosion yet he says he goes even more to church than ever before. He is determined to resist the threats from the terrorists.
486
Forgive our sins as we forgive
1 'Forgive our sins as we forgive',
You taught us, Lord, to pray,
But you alone can grant us grace
To live the words we say.
2 How can your pardon reach and bless
The unforgiving heart
That broods on wrongs, and will not
let
Old bitterness depart?
3 In blazing light your cross reveals
The truth we dimly knew,
How small the debts men owe to us,
How great our debt to you!
4 Lord, cleanse the depths within our
souls,
And bid resentment cease;
Then, reconciled to God and man,
Our lives will spread your peace.
Rosamond
E. Herklots (1905–1987)
©
Oxford University Press
Is it really
possible to seek reconciliation for real?
Hard
on the heels of that piece by Frank Gardner on
Friday morning came Thought for the Day with Lucy Winkett.
She
reflected on how forgiveness is so often seen as something weak, as if it
involves letting people get away with something. So often it is seen as
somewhere between impossibly generous and unhelpfully pious.
She
was quite clear. It is not about being nice. It is not about being a doormat.
Especially does that apply, she suggested, to women who have experienced
domestic violence.
She
reflected on the way there is a timeliness to forgiveness and for many it isn’t
yet; it isn’t now.
She
suggested it’s more of a process than an event.
And
then she quoted Marion Partington who only discovered after 21 years that her
sister, Lucy, who had gone missing had been killed by the West’s in Gloucester.
The discovery set her on a path that has led to her involvement in the
Forgiveness project.
Forgiveness,
she suggests, is giving up hope of a better past. She knows what she is talking
about.
When
I embark on a process of trying to forgive you or trying to forgive myself I am
taking a deep breath and turning my face towards a past that I know I can’t
change. It’s not weak: it’s strong. And the hallmark of the strength of
forgiveness is found in the root of the word used in the NT. To set aside. To
let go. What is forgiveness then?
Listening
to Samir perhaps it begins in defiance, choosing what is inevitably a costly
path to freedom
It’s
interesting how Lucy turns to an understanding of the NT to throw light on the
emotional power of what Marion Partington had said. Lucy Winkett has written
the forward to 2018’s Fresh from the Word. Rachel has got fifty copies for the
New Year – and so make sure you get a copy. If you haven’t had one so far
please put your name on the list, and make sure you get hold of them.
“When
we read the Bible with our heart, she says, we let it touch us; we let the
gospel get under our skin….
“When
we read the Bible with our head, we obey the commandment to love the Lord our
God with our mind as well as everything else.
“And
finally, when we read the Bible with our feet, we acknowledge that this
scripture is good news for our lives as they are lived now.”
Is
it really possible to forgive in such a way?
Is
it really possible to seek reconciliation for real?
No,
it is not possible … in our own strength.
But
what makes our faith the faith that makes such a difference for Samir and those
Coptic Christians and for Marion Partington and those involved in the
Forgiveness Project is that we have a strength from beyond ourselves that we can
draw on.
The
Spirit has given us life;
he
must also control our lives.
People
will reap exactly what they sow.
So
let us not become tired of doing good;
So
then, as often as we have the chance,
we
should do good to everyone,
526
This is a day of new beginnings
This
is the definitive version of the text. An earlier version Is this a day of new
beginnings in Faith Looking Forward is given elsewhere but the definitive
version should be used wherever possible.
1 This is a day of new beginnings,
time to remember, and move on,
time to believe what love is
bringing,
laying to rest the pain that's gone.
2 For by the life and death of Jesus,
love's mighty Spirit, now as then,
can make for us a world of
difference
as faith and hope are born again.
3 Then let us, with the Spirit's daring,
step from the past, and leave behind
our disappointment, guilt and
grieving,
seeking new paths, and sure to find.
4 In faith we'll gather round the table
to show and share what love can do.
This is a day of new beginnings;
our God is making all things new.
Brian
Wren (born 1936)
©
1983, 1987 Stainer & Bell Ltd
Prayers
of Concern
The
Lord’s Supper led by our Children and Young People
Praise
with Hy-Spirit
Words
of Blessing
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