Sunday, May 20, 2018

A Pentecost Celebration of Baptism


Text for the week:   Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, ‘Streams of life-giving water will pour out from his heart.’ ” Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to receive. John 7:37-39

Welcome to our services for Pentecost and a special welcome to any who are worshipping with us for the first time. It’s the fiftieth day after the day of Resurrection and it’s the festival of Pentecost, the day when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. Flowing water, living breath, powerful wind, cleansing flame. There are so many ways of thinking of the Holy Spirit! Our service opens as Helen Bloxham invites us to turn to the one who ‘breathes life’ who restores and renews. We’ll then focus on that wonderful image Jesus shared with his friends of life-giving water that’s poured over us and brings us a newness of life as we share in Baptism with Bethany. Then in the second part of the service Karen Waldock and Karen Haden have been putting some thoughts together out of our Explore group about that transformative power of the Holy Spirit for us all which Karen Waldock is going to share with us. This is the faith we share: Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He has brought us by faith into this experience of God's grace, in which we now live. And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God's glory! We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings God's approval, and his approval creates hope. This hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us. Romans 5:1-5

You breathe life, you restore – Hill song – introduced by Helen B
Welcome - Helen
582 O day of joy and wonder
Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

It’s Pentecost – what do you associate with the Sprit of God?

For Jesus it began at his baptism by John in the Jordan … in water –
  
 and water became a wonderful symbol of new life – as he shared with the Samaritan woman at the well

Jesus answered, “If only you knew what God gives and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would ask him, and he would give you life-giving water.”

11“Sir,” the woman said, “you haven't got a bucket, and the well is deep. Where would you get that life-giving water? 12It was our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well; he and his sons and his flocks all drank from it. You don't claim to be greater than Jacob, do you?”

13Jesus answered, “All those who drink this water will be thirsty again,14but whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring which will provide him with life-giving water and give him eternal life.”

Water, Breath, Wind and Fire

On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and38 whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, ‘Streams of life-giving water will pour out from his side.’ ” 39Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to receive. At that time the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not been raised to glory.

Breath – was another wonderful image – the breath that gives life –

John 21

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.” 22Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive people's sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

For forty days Jesus appeared to them … and then his last words to them asked them to wait …

Reading: Acts 1:4-5

and when they came together, he gave them this order: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about, the gift my Father promised. 5 John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

They waited and they waited

A day and a night,

Another day

A week passed

And another day and night

And another day and night

And another day and night …

And then it happened

Wind and fire …
Reading: Acts 2:1-4

When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. 2Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. 4They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

They had a remarkable strength – they could get up – they had a new strength about them.

But it was only the beginning of something new. We’ve heard the Christmas story and the Easter Story now it’s time for the Story not just of Pentecost but the beginning of something that’s still going on!



We share in Baptism

In our font we have a scallop shell – it’s a very special one. When your Mum and Dad got married there was a sea shell theme – and you’re your mum was baptized here we used a scallop shell to pour the water over – so that’s a great family connection. But also the scallop shell has been significant in pilgrimages Christians have made down through the centuries. They would wear a scallop shell to show they were pilgrims. Maybe as you profess your faith today it’s part of a journey you are on – and that journey is a journey with God always with you, Christ in your heart and the Spirit to guide you.

In some ways Baptism is a sign of belonging to the church, being part of a church family. But much more than that, at heart it’s a wonderful reminder that being a Christian doesn’t start with anything we do – as if we could do something to persuade God to accept us. Neither does it start with anything we believe as if we needed to have exactly the right kind of faith to be accepted by God. It all starts with the free gift of God’s love that’s poured over us because God loves us and accepts us just as we are. That’s the wonderful message of God’s grace – a free gift given to us all.

So, I am going to pour water over you – and it’s real water. Just as the water is real, so too God’s love is real – and it’s poured over you completely. It’s the water Jesus experienced in his baptism, it’s the life-giving water he shared with the woman at the well and spoke of in the temple – it’s the water that pours over us.

The wonderful thing about the love of God is that it can really make a difference in our lives – help us through difficult times, open up for us a way of living that’s based on that love and involves love for God and love for our neighbour and love for everyone around us.

So, that’s the same with the love of God. The love of God reaches out to us, pours over us just as we are, however young, however old, but for it to make a difference in our lives we have to make it our own.

You, Bethany, have grown up here very much as part of the Church Family – but you have not been baptized. You have said that you want to be baptised because your faith has become important to you. So in baptism we are celebrating the way God’s love reaches out to you and is poured over you – just as the water is real, so too the water of life, the life-giving Spirit of God is real and can transform your life – For it to make a difference you need to respond to that free gift of God’s love in faith – and so after you have been baptized I am going to ask you to rise up in the strength of God’s spirit – the strength of God in your life and I am going to ask you to make your profession of faith.

So I ask you, Bethany, to kneel

Bethany, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit



Bethany, do you believe in God and in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?       I do.

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

I will take your name to our Church Meeting at the beginning of June and then at a Communion Service we will extend the right hand of fellowship and welcome you into membership of the Church of Jesus Christ here at Highbury and the Church worldwide.


I am now going to ask the whole Church Family here which of course includes your Mum and Dad to stand together with all those who have come specially for today’s service. I invite you to share in a statement of faith using words of Paul from Romans 5 in which he takes that imagery first used by Jesus of the living water that flows out from Christ in the power of the spirit and is poured over each one of us and makes the world of difference in the living of our lives. The words are on our notice sheet and on the screen.

Now that we have been put right with God through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
He has brought us by faith into this experience of God's grace,
in which we now live.
And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God's glory!
We also boast of our troubles,
because we know that trouble produces endurance,
endurance brings God's approval,
and his approval creates hope.

This hope does not disappoint us,
for God has poured out his love into our hearts
by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us. Amen.

Prayer – Mary B

We have a gift for Bethany – a Bible – with a guide to help you get into the Bible. Think of it as a guide on that journey of faith you are on.

Hy-Spirit are going to lead us in a song

A Hy-Spirit Song

It’s the end of Christian  Aid Week – we are going to dedicate the Christian Aid Week collection.

A prayer for the building of God’s Kingdom
Give us, Lord God,
a vision of your Kingdom as your love desires it:
a world where the weak are protected, and none go
hungry,
a world where life is shared, and enjoyed by all,
a world where all races, nations and cultures live in
tolerance and respect,
a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is
guided by love.
Give us the inspiration and courage to build your
Kingdom here and now.
Amen.


Activities for All Over 3

The Difference the Spirit Makes – Karen Waldock

As part of the Holy trinity the Holy Spirit has been around since the beginning of time. It has always been a powerful and active presence in the world from the beginning of Genesis where it plays its part in creation hovering over the water expectantly waiting for things to come into being and is there all the way through the story of the people of Israel, in the Hebrew scriptures, from Joseph through to the prophets . In the Old Testament we read of the Holy Spirit only being with great chosen leaders like Moses and Gideon, kings like Saul, David and Solomon and the prophets. It empowered them to lead the people of Israel, to make the right choices, to call for justice, to convict the people of their sin and reassures them of God’s willingness to forgive. It gave those chosen ones courage, intelligence, wisdom and skill needed to do what God wanted them to do. All of this was not for the benefit of the individual, but for the good of all the people of Israel

When we move into the New Testament we read how the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism to show God’s approval and marking Jesus as a chosen person, it remained with him throughout his ministry and even played a part in his resurrection. But something momentous happened after Jesus was taken back into heaven, he promised a helper and that helper arrived in a most dramatic way and it is that which we celebrate today, Pentecost. Firstly the Holy Spirit was poured out on all those gathered in the house and then on all the believers male, female, young old, Jew, gentile and later on even the Samaritans!

What effect did the Holy Spirit have on them? The disciples had been waiting quietly together, waiting for the helper that Jesus had promised and after a dramatic scene with a violent wind and tongues of fire the Holy Spirit came and they all became bold, excited and they went out into the street speaking in different languages. The Spirit also gave them the words to use to convince the people of the good news of Jesus Christ and about three thousand became believers that day. But this was not a one off event, the Holy Spirit did not just come once and then leave and it remained with them. They continued to seek the spirit’s leading all the way through the building of the early churches, from choosing new leaders, and to making key decisions about the distribution of food. It led them to see different people, speak boldly in difficult situations, to take the gospel to so many different people in so many different countries and to create unity amongst all the believers whatever their religious or ethnic background.

This Holy Spirit is as active and powerful force today as it was it the times of the early church, there are so many ways in which the Spirit can work through people today. There are the fruits of the spirit and the gifts of the spirit, for Explore I had a list of 27 different ways in which the spirit work in people in the Bible, but there are more than I had listed. It is available to all believers in all circumstances, to help us and strengthen us when to go through difficult times, to do the things we cannot do in our own strength and at other times the Holy Spirit can inspire us to new and different things, guiding us and making us bolder and braver than we could ever be alone. Even when we struggle to pray, not knowing how best to pray or what to pray for Romans 8:26 tells us that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. “ The Holy Spirit intercedes for us. It empowers us for our foremost commission, to go make disciples and spread the good news of Jesus Christ. It is power, it is knowledge, it brings us closer to God and helps us to encourage others. The Holy Spirit is a vital partner in the creative redemptive work of God and it draws us into that process.

The Holy Spirit can work in a private, quiet way within an individual or sometimes it works in more obvious and visible ways in groups and churches. The Holy Spirit is not just important for us as individuals it is vital for the church. It brought the early believers together, bound them in unity and helped them to function as a loving and cohesive group. Different gifts were given to different members of the church so that all of the work necessary for the functioning and growth of the church could be carried out effectively and to the benefit of everyone.

The Holy Spirit is here in this church, it is real and it is moving not solely for our individual benefit, but also for the benefit of the whole church.  It works in us so that we can love each other, work together for justice, peace and healing in this broken world. It helps us to serve God, our community and each other. How can we tap into this power and understand where the Holy Spirit is leading us? We have to learn how to listen to the Holy Spirit. Just as the first disciples did we need to regularly meet together, to pray, to read the Bible and to wait for God to reveal his will to us. When we have a church meeting we are trying to “find the mind of Christ” through the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not force us, it does not shout, but guides gentle and it is a very real power source we can tap into.

I have to say that I, along with many others, found the address given by Bishop Michael Curry at the Royal wedding very inspiring and I encourage you to read the whole transcript, but this part in particularly caught my attention, he said  “Someone once said that Jesus began most revolutionary movement in all of human history, a movement grounded in the unconditional love of god for the world-and a movement mandating people to live that love and in so doing, to change not only their lives but the very life of the world itself. I'm talking about power, real power, power to change the world.”

He was talking about love, but not the fickle and imperfect kind of love that we, as human beings, are capable of in our own strength, but the real unconditional love that we are capable of through the power of the Holy Spirit.

So here is our challenge as individuals and as a church. Do not worry about what is ahead of us, God knows what we need and he will not abandon us. We need to wait and listen for God to reveal his plan for us through leading of the Holy Spirit. Wait, listen and share God’s love with each other and all those around us and remember that as  2 Timothy 1:7 says “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”


Spirit of wisdom and understanding, enlighten our minds to perceive the mysteries of the universe in relation to eternity. Spirit of right judgment and courage, guide us and make us firm in our baptismal decision to follow Jesus' way of love. Spirit of knowledge and reverence, help us to see the lasting value of justice and mercy in our everyday dealings with one another. May we respect life as we work to solve problems of family and nation, economy and ecology. Spirit of God, spark our faith, hope and love into new action each day. Fill our lives with wonder and awe in your presence which penetrates all creation. Amen (from Catholic.org)

595 O Breath of life

Prayers of Concern

A Hy-Spirit Song

The Lord’s Supper

615 Holy Spirit, ever living

Words of Blessing

Sunday, May 13, 2018

United in our Diversity - standing together - a service at the start of Christian Aid Week


Text for the Week: There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service. The Spirit's presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

Welcome to our services today and a special welcome to any worshipping with us for the first time.  This morning’s service is a Sunday Special service. That means the children and young people meet from 10-15 for Breakfast and to explore together. They will then join the rest of us for the last part of the service. “The Highbury Church Family is made up of everyone who belongs … and everyone has a part to play, however small that part may seem to be.” It was back at the beginning of the year that we launched Giving for Growth. We invited everyone in the church family to reflect on the way we can give of our time, our talents and our money so that the church here at Highbury may grow to the glory of God. At the end of April we were reminded again of the call to give of our money at our annual Gift Day. Today, our Explore Group invite us to re-visit all we give of our time and of our talents. Our morning service is a celebration of creativity and diversity, of difference within the Body of Christ, around the theme of ‘Diverse Unity’.  We are using material prepared by Lucy Mills for Magnet, a thought provoking magazine a number of the church family subscribe to. If you would like to have a copy please see Judi Marsh. Today also marks the beginning of Christian Aid Week and so we shall be commissioning our collectors. We still need more volunteers to cover the streets around the church – please take a bag of envelopes and sign your name on the list.

Welcome as we Gather Together

Gather us, O God,
As we focus on your gracious presence in our lives;
As we reflect on what it means to be the Body of Christ;
As we open our hearts to receive your Holy Spirit.
All: Gather us, O God.

103
Fill your hearts with joy and gladness
Sing and praise your God and mine!

Confess
Lord, forgive us when we have treated one another badly,
When we have treated members of your precious body as disposable.
Restore us; draw us together in this space
And teach us how to be your Body in every place, for your glory. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Reading: I Corinthians 12:1-11

HTC 246 Spirit of holiness

Reflect – Giving for Growth

Ask people to reflect on what they enjoy, what energises them, what inspires them and what challenges them. How can we encourage each other and inspire others to use their gifdts? Where might we be forcing someone into a mould that isn’t right for them?

Suggest taking time to pray over the coming weeks and to think about how the Holy Spirit has gifted us, where God might be calling us, what we need to pick up or put down. Offer the challenge that we might need to rethink our activities, as individuals and as groups, to use our gifts most effectively and to bless our communities.

Do our patterns of church and service use the gifst we have or are we forcing ourselves into a model that doesn’t reflect our gifting? Perhaps we are spreading ourselves too thinly; on the other hand, maybe we need to broaden our vision.

How can we join with each other, within and across congregations and denominations to embody Christ more fully in our world.

Giving for growth discussion.

Prayer – Beyond Ourselves

Grant us a vision, Lord,
To see what we can achieve
To reach out beyond ourselves
To share our lives with others
To stretch our capabilities
To increase our sense of purpose
To be aware of where we can help
To be sensitive to your Presence
To give heed to your constant call.

Pray for ourselves

Generous God,
We celebrate our differences;
We rejoice in our diversity.
We give thanks for one another’s gifts;
We delight in our unity.
Help us to listen to your Spirit’s leading,
For it is the same Spirit who gives to us all.
May we build each other up,
Encourage one another,
Refuse to pigeon-hole but instead release one another
Into your service and for your glory,
Rejoicing in who we are made to be in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

HTC 233 Filled with the Spirit’s power

Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-26

Together we’re Stronger

Poverty is an outrage against humanity. It robs people of their dignity and lets injustice thrive. But together we have the power to transform lives.

Will you #StandTogether with us this Christian Aid Week (13-19 May 2018) to help families like those of Vilia, Marcelin and Jocelyne live full lives, free from poverty?

Vilia’s story



Christian Aid Commissioning

Loving God, today we join with thousands of others
stepping out in mission for the world’s poorest people.

As Jesus prayed to you before sending out the disciples,
we pray now that our words, actions and deeds will
bring your Kingdom closer.

We pray for the Spirit to fill us with yearning,
and the courage to live out your love for the world –
a love so strong that you gave your only Son.
As Jesus entrusted his disciples with his mission to the world,
we pray that we, who have felt the transforming power of your love, will bear witness to that love far and wide.

God, your people are homeless.
God, send us.
God, your people are hungry.
God, send us.
God, your people are oppressed.
God, send us.
God, your people are ignored.
God, send us.
God, your people are afraid.
God, strengthen us as we go.

We pray that as we reach out
to our sisters and brothers around the world,
justice and hope will flourish in our own community.
Amen.

Give us, Lord God,
a vision of your Kingdom as your love desires,
a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry,
a world where life is shared, and enjoyed by all,
a world where all races, nations and cultures
live in tolerance and respect,
a world where peace is built with justice,
and justice is guided by love.
Give us the inspiration and courage
to build your Kingdom here and now.

Cornerstone – Hy-Spirit

Pray for Others

Everyone joins with the words in bold. Pause between sentences to allow people to bring to mind individual circumstances as they pray. You can adapt or add to the wording if other situations feel relevant at the time.

Loving Lord, when one part of your body suffers
We all suffer

When one part of your body is honoured
We all rejoice

We suffer with those
who have lost someone dear to them.
Who are battling chronic illness
Who have been injured and are recovering in hospital or at home
Who are struggling to find work
            Or a permanent home to live in
Who are worried and anxious about anything
Who are frightened for their lives,
Through violence and war
Terror and persecution

We all suffer

When one part of your body is honoured
We all rejoice.

We rejoice with those
            Who have had or are having a new life arrive in their family
            Who have been encouraged in their workplace this week
            Who have made a new friend
                        Or had healing in a long-term relationship
            Who have made peace where there was strife
            Who have welcomed someone in your name
            Who have found shelter from the cold
                        And a place to call home.

When one part of your body suffers
We all suffer

When one part of your body is honoured
We all rejoice.

Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:27-31a

251 I the Lord of sea and sky

Sharing Together for Sunday Special

Song: Lord, let your love shine through me

Words of Blessing




Sunday, May 6, 2018

The Journey of Faith - Baptism and God's Amazing Love


Text for the week: “I now realise that it is true that God treats everyone on the same basis.” Peter in Acts 10:34

Welcome to our services today and a special welcome to any who are worshipping with us for the first time.

During our morning service we are going to share in the Sacrament of Baptism with Ben and with Phil and Adam.

When I was growing up in a Christian family and came to the point of making decisions that would be affecting the rest of my life I made my own profession of faith and received the right hand of fellowship. It was the teaching of Jesus and the way of life he mapped out that caught my imagination, a way of life based on love for God and love for neighbour.

It was when I left home and people called in question all my inconsistencies that I discovered another verse that turned my whole idea about the Christian faith on its head.

It’s 1 John 4:10 “This is what love is: it is not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.”

It starts not with anything I’ve done, not even my faith: it starts with God and the love that reaches out through Jesus by the power of the Spirit and is poured over each one of us individually.

That, for me goes to the heart of the message of baptism. It’s a celebration of God’s grace, the free gift of God’s love, poured over us before we know anything about it. But the love of God won’t make a difference to us unless we make it our own and say, I believe in God and in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour.

When we share baptism with younger children it’s our prayer that they will come to the point of making that profession of faith for themselves.

When older young people and adults come to be baptised it’s wonderful to hear them make that profession of faith in response to the baptism they receive. That’s the celebration we share today!


Welcome and Call to Worship
A time of Praise
Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
Open the Book – God has no favourites

A marvelous telling of the story of Peter and Cornelius from our Open the Book team – and what a message – God has no favourites! And what a prayer …

Dear God, thank you that you don’t have favourites. Please help us to be like that too, so that people we know don’t get left out. Amen.

What a meal they had together – quite some party.

But that’s not all that happened.

What followed on next is interesting …

Reading: Acts 10:44-48

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening to his message. 45The Jewish believers who had come from Joppa with Peter were amazed that God had poured out his gift of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles also. 46For they heard them speaking in strange tongues and praising God's greatness. Peter spoke up: 47“These people have received the Holy Spirit, just as we also did. Can anyone, then, stop them from being baptized with water?” 48So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay with them for a few days.

This morning we are going to share in the Sacrament of Baptism and we’re going to do that with Ben, with Adam and with Philip.

So we are going to sing one of Ben’s favourite songs

Be bold, be strong for the Lord you God is with you

We share in the Sacrament of Baptism

In some ways Baptism is a sign of belonging to the church, being part of a church family. But much more than that, at heart it’s a wonderful reminder that being a Christian doesn’t start with anything we do – as if we could do something to persuade God to accept us. Neither does it start with anything we believe as if we needed to have exactly the right kind of faith to be accepted by God. It all starts with the free gift of God’s love that’s poured over us because God loves us and accepts us just as we are. That’s the wonderful message of God’s gift.

So, I am going to pour water over you – and it’s real water. Just as the water is real, so too God’s love is real – and it’s poured over you completely.

The wonderful thing about the love of God is that it can really make a difference in our lives – help us through difficult times, open up for us a way of living that’s based on that love and involves love for God and love for our neighbour and love for everyone around us.

So, the water in this jug [taking a jug of water from beside the font]  is real, it’s wet, it’s cold. And it has incredible life-giving properties. If I pour out this water over this glass [taking a glass and holding it upside down] – it’s real water, it’s wet, it’s cold – it has life-giving properties and it’s useless. It cascades to the floor.

If, however, I turn the glass the right way up [turning the glass the right way up] and pour the water over it, now I can catch the water. I can drink it and the life-giving properties help to give me life!

So, that’s the same with the love of God. The love of God reaches out to us, pours over us just as we are, however young, however old, but for it to make a difference in our lives we have to make it our own.

And so the hope in baptism as we shared it with Jamie and Matthew when they were tiny, and now as we share it with Ben who is 5 and in year 1 is that when as they grow up and when they come to be making decisions for themselves about the rest of their lives they will come to that point of saying, this love of God is for me, being a Christian is for me. And then they come to the point of making a profession of their faith and say I believe in God and I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and my Saviour.

And as we see that grace of God at work within you we hope to extend the right hand of fellowship to you and welcome you into membership of our church.

So, as we share first in the baptism of Ben I am going to ask Vicky and Phil and Karen as God Parent to come forward with Ben – and I will ask Vicky and Phil, do you believe in God and in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour? – We do

Do you promise to bring Ben and Jamie and Matthew up in the family of the church to know the teachings of Jesus and the love of God for himself? – We do

To the God parent – do you promise to give all your support to Phil and Vicky as they bring Ben up in a loving home with Jamie and Matthew?

To the Family – do you promise to give all your support to Phil and Vicky as they bring Ben up in a loving home with Jamie and Matthew?

To the Church family – do you promise to give a welcome to all and especially to those who are children, growing up in the family of the church so that they can come to know the love of God for themselves?

Ben, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.


Adam and Phil have grown up here very much as part of the Church Family – but they have not been baptized. You have said that you want to be baptised because your faith has become important to you. So in baptism we are celebrating the way God’s love reaches out to you and is poured over you – just as the water is real, so too the water of life, the life-giving Spirit of God is real and can transform your lives – and we are then going to ask you to make your profession of faith.

So I ask you, first Adam, and then Phil  to kneel

Adam / Phil, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit


Adam, do you believe in God and in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?          I do.

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

I will take your name to our Church Meeting at the beginning of June and then at a Communion Service we will extend the right hand of fellowship and welcome you into membership of the Church of Jesus Christ here at Highbury and the Church worldwide.

Phil do you believe in God and in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?   I do.

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

Now, in that love of God, rise up to a new life in Christ Jesus and stand in the love of God. I invite you to make your profession of faith  that you want to make this love of God your own in Jesus Christ and draw on that strength from beyond us in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I will take your name to our Church Meeting at the beginning of June and then at a Communion Service we will extend the right hand of fellowship and welcome you into membership of the Church of Jesus Christ here at Highbury and the Church worldwide.

I am now going to ask the whole Church Family here which of course includes your Mum and Dad to stand together with all those who have come specially for today’s service. I invite you to share in a statement of faith using words of Paul from Romans 5 in which he takes that imagery first used by Jesus of the living water that flows out from Christ in the power of the spirit and is poured over each one of us and makes the world of difference in the living of our lives.

Now that we have been put right with God through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
He has brought us by faith into this experience of God's grace,
in which we now live.
And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God's glory!
We also boast of our troubles,
because we know that trouble produces endurance,
endurance brings God's approval,
and his approval creates hope.

This hope does not disappoint us,
for God has poured out his love into our hearts
by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us. Amen.

Prayer - Felicity

We have a gift for Ben … and a gift for Adam and Phil –

For Ben a book of Bible stories for you to read.

And for Adam and Phil – The Bible Book.

The Bible is a handbook for living the Christian life – great Bible stories to read. But also a book to get your mind round and to explore – and maybe this can be something to help you as you explore that faith into the future as well.

Hy-Spirit are going to lead us in a song that Adam and Phil have requested –

A Hy-Spirit Song - Your love is amazing

Activities for all over 3

When we needed a new logo who better to turn to but Phil, Ben’s Dad. I’d got all sorts of ideas – about a circle with cross in it, but an open circle that’s all welcoming – but in the nicest of ways Phil wasn’t having anything of it! But you don’t want a new logo, said Phil, that’s very old hat. You just want to say who you are – but say it in an eye-catching way. And our notice boards and the presentation of our leaflets do exactly that. Highbury Congregational Church – with its special font. But then, Phil was really nice … and if you look very carefully there’s a line under Highbury Congregational Church it’s broken in the middle … and what do you see but my circle! Take a look afterwards!

But then on our main notice board we’ve got a statement of our two service times – and what we stand for.

Highbury – a place to share Christian friendship, explore Christian faith and enter into Christian mission, with Christ at the centre and open to all.

I still think that’s an exciting vision.

In all sorts of ways it’s great for today’s service as we celebrate baptism – growing up in a church family is to share Chrsitain friendship – it’s to be challenged in Christian mission – it’s to seek to put Christa at the centre and it’s to be open to all.

Our hope is that Ben comes to make his own profession of faith … and it’s great to share in Baptism with Adam and Phil and for them to make their profession of faith.

I love the idea that faith is something to be explored. My hope is that you will want to explore your faith. And keep asking questions!

To explore your faith it’s great to share with others – but it’s also good to go back to the sources of the faith. To go back to the Bible – Ben’s got a book of Bible stories hopefully to read!

Adam and Phil have a copy of a book by Nick Page – The Bible Book – a User’s Guide. Nick Page spoke at a church leaders conference we had a couple of years ago. He works for Open Doors in Witney supporting the Persecuted church – and hopefully we’ll be able to get him to come across and preach sometime in the not too distant future! He’s a great speaker.

Think of studying the Bible, he suggests,  as like exploring another land – how do we map the Bible? What’s the terrain? What does the country look like?

“The most important thing to bring to the Bible is the ability to ask questions. We have to be willing to engage with the text, to ask questions and look for the answers.”

“The Bible is full of people who asked God challenging questions; they weren’t afraid, neither should we be.”

He comes up with a whole set of questions that help you to understand the origin of the passage, the contents of the passage and the meaning of the passage.

It all helps as you explore the faith.

Explorers, Nick Page suggests, have one aim: to explore. They want to visit new place, to climb new heights, to discover things that no one has ever discovered before. Exmporation is about the gathering of knowledge – and exploring the Bible is no different.

The Bible gives us knowledge in all sorts of different ways – Nick Page puts his finger on three things it will give us knowledge about

Knowledge of the Bible – you need to read it, explore it and the more you do the more you will find your way round it, the more useful it will become.

Knowledge of life – it’s all about life how you live it, what you do with it, what it’s for

Knowledge of God – explore the Bible and find out what God is like.

But take care!

Parts of the Bible are difficult to get your mind round and hard to understand. Not least the earlier parts of the Old Testament. The great thing is that there is a key to understanding the Bible inside the Bible itself.

And the key is Jesus – it was on resurrection day, the first Easter that he spent a great deal of time with his closest friends showing how the whole story of the Bible he knew, we call the Old Testament, reached its fulfilment in him.

It was as if he gave his followers a way of reading the Bible that always used Jesus as the measure and the guide.

And what Luke does in the Gospel of Luke and in the Book of Acts is to give us an insight into ways Jesus read the Bible.

That’s what that story of Cornelius, the Roman Centurion, who comes to faith and discovers that God has no favourites is all about.

It’s worth looking at the text in the church Bibles.

Acts 10 -

Peter had grown up reading the Bible with its very strict rules about what you can eat and what you cannot eat. Strict rules about who you should eat with as well.

Then he had meet with Jesus who ate all kinds of things and would eat with anyone and everyone. Luke tells many of those stories in his Gospel.

Now in that time of prayer as Peter has a dream he feels he is commanded by God to eat anything and everything.

It’s one of those breakthrough moments for Peter – so that when he does meet with Cornelius, the Centurion he sees God at work.

And then in his speech he describes what he now realizes.

And it is all down to what Peter knows of Jesus.

Peter began to speak: “I now realize that it is true that God treats everyone on the same basis. 35Those who worship him and do what is right are acceptable to him, no matter what race they belong to. 36You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, proclaiming the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37You know of the great event that took place throughout the land of Israel, beginning in Galilee after John preached his message of baptism. 38You know about Jesus of Nazareth and how God poured out on him the Holy Spirit and power. He went everywhere, doing good and healing all who were under the power of the Devil, for God was with him. 39We are witnesses of everything that he did in the land of Israel and in Jerusalem. Then they put him to death by nailing him to a cross. 40But God raised him from death three days later and caused him to appear, 41not to everyone, but only to the witnesses that God had already chosen, that is, to us who ate and drank with him after he rose from death. 42And he commanded us to preach the gospel to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God has appointed judge of the living and the dead. 43All the prophets spoke about him, saying that all who believe in him will have their sins forgiven through the power of his name.”

God treats everyone on the same basis – God has no favourites.

Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

His life of teaching and healing ends in crucifixion and then in resurrection – he and his message is exactly what all the prophets of old had been speaking of.

This is the message to take to heart. It’s a big message to take to heart – and the church in Jerusalem are skeptical so Peter tells them in a spirit of wonder what had happened.

There are whole swathes of the Bible especially in the early books of the Law where those laws are worked out.

But Jesus has brought the story of the Bible to fulfilmnet. You cannot just read verses in the Old Tetament and say, it says so there. You have to take into account what Jesus did, who he was, what he taught, all he shared in accepting all – know that Jesus is Lord of all.

And so realise that was then this is now – and we do this in the name of Jesus.

Acts 11:5-17

“While I was praying in the city of Joppa, I had a vision. I saw something coming down that looked like a large sheet being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it stopped next to me. 6I looked closely inside and saw domesticated and wild animals, reptiles, and wild birds. 7Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat!’ 8But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord! No ritually unclean or defiled food has ever entered my mouth.’ 9The voice spoke again from heaven, ‘Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean.’ 10This happened three times, and finally the whole thing was drawn back up into heaven. 11At that very moment three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where I was staying. 12The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitation. These six fellow-believers from Joppa accompanied me to Caesarea, and we all went into the house of Cornelius. 13He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send someone to Joppa for a man whose full name is Simon Peter. 14He will speak words to you by which you and all your family will be saved.’ 15And when I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17It is clear that God gave those Gentiles the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; who was I, then, to try to stop God!”

The Church in Jerusalem is persuaded.

18When they heard this, they stopped their criticism and praised God, saying, “Then God has given to the Gentiles also the opportunity to repent and live!”

This for Peter was a new way of reading the Bible that changed his whole life. It changed the lives of those he was with as well – no longer.

The key to reading the Bible is to seek that inspiration that Jesus offers.


That way the Bible will be for us the inspiration it was for those who wrote it, for those who lived it.

There’s one more question to ask, suggests Nick Page.

For me, as for so many Christians, the Bible is not just another Book: it is the Book where we find God’s Word for us – it is the book that is in a very special way inspired by God.

Nick Page puts it really well …

The key thing is what we mean by ‘inspire’. The word comes from two Latin words spirare meaning ‘breathe’ and in meaning … um … in. Inspire literally means to breathe in.

To read the Bible is to breathe in God – to feel what God feels, hear God’s words, feel God’s life within us.

“That means the most important question is How has it changed your life? To breathe in something of God is to be more loving, kind, forgiving, faithful, patient, understanding, compassionate in ourselves and to recognize and respond to those qualities in God. If we do that, then we will truly be inspired and the Bible will truly be inspirational.”

A Hy-Spirit Song
No barriers
OBG 38 Heaven’s walls

1          Heaven's walls at times seem far too high -
            It's hard to see God's throne;
            For fear and darkness take a hold
            And we are left alone.
            And yet those walls come tumbling down
            As we in Christ believe;
            Then let us find fresh faith and love
            And God's good grace receive.

2          Church walls within can soon divide
            All those who should be one;
            For arrogance and pious pride
            Have all too often won.
            And yet those walls come tumbling down
            As we in Christ can see
            A oneness which rejoices in
            God's rich diversity.

3          The walls of hatred in our world
            Destroy the ways of peace;
            For humankind seems bent on war
            And strife that will not cease.
            And yet those walls come tumbling down
            As we to Christ pay heed,
            And give ourselves with selfless love
            To serve a world of need.


Richard Cleaves
Tune: Vox Dilecti


Prayers of Concern
Praise with Hy-Spirit
Words of Blessing

So much to pass on at Highbury

If you give a little love you can get a little love of your own

A blessing shared at Highbury

Now and the Future at Highbury

Dreaming Dreams Sharing Visions at Highbury

Dreaming Dreams Sharing Visions

Darkness into Light