Praising the God of Creation - Psalm 95

Text for the week: Sing joyful songs to the Lord! Praise the mighty rock where we are safe. Come to worship him with thankful hearts and songs of praise. Psalm 95:1,2 

Welcome to today’s services and a special welcome to all who are worshiping with us for the first time today. 

Today’s morning service has been put together by our Hy-Waves group with the help of Judi Marsh. Their service is inspired by the first seven verses of Psalm 95 and by Psalm 104. They are two marvellous Psalms that celebrate the wonder of God in creation. Before our service begins use the first seven verses of Psalm 95 to reflect on the God who is at the heart of our worship today, the God whose voice we are going to listen out for! 

Sing joyful songs to the Lord! 

Praise the mighty rock where we are safe. 

Come to worship him with thankful hearts and songs of praise. 

The Lord is the greatest God, king over all other gods.

He holds the deepest part of the earth in his hands, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 

The ocean is the Lord’s because he made it, and with his own hands he formed the dry land. 

Bow down and worship the Lord our Creator! 

The Lord is our God, and we are his people, 

the sheep he takes care of in his own pasture.

Listen to God’s voice today! (CEV)

Call to worship:  Judi & Hy-Waves

Abi – a few words of welcome

Judi – says something about the service

Ceitidh will say,

Sing joyful songs to the Lord!

Praise the mighty rock where we are safe.

Come to worship him with truthful hearts and songs of praise

Ceitidh announces the two hymns:

We’re going to sing two joyful songs to the Lord

Jesus is Lord! Creation’s voice proclaims it

And

God is good – we sing and shout it!

Hymns:  (these are both in the complete edition of Mission Praise)

MP367:  'Jesus is Lord'  ORGAN

MP 185:  'God is good, we sing and shout it'  H/S

Prayer & the Lord's Prayer:  Hy-Waves

Abi will introduce this, and we will all read our prayers

Then Judi will call Gwyneth up for the reading

Reading:  Psalm 104:1-12  (Gwyneth)

In Praise of the Creator

1Praise the LORD, my soul!

O LORD, my God, how great you are!

You are clothed with majesty and glory;

you cover yourself with light.

You have spread out the heavens like a tent

and built your home on the waters above.

You use the clouds as your chariot

and ride on the wings of the wind.

You use the winds as your messengers

and flashes of lightning as your servants.

You have set the earth firmly on its foundations,

and it will never be moved.

You placed the ocean over it like a robe,

and the water covered the mountains.

When you rebuked the waters, they fled;

they rushed away when they heard your shout of command.

They flowed over the mountains and into the valleys,

to the place you had made for them.

You set a boundary they can never pass,

to keep them from covering the earth again.

You make springs flow in the valleys,

and rivers run between the hills.

They provide water for the wild animals;

there the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

In the trees near by,

the birds make their nests and sing.

Abi will announce the hymn

So … who put the colours in the rainbow? – let’s join in singing.

Hymn:  CH143  'Who put the colours in the rainbow?' H/S

Children's slot:  simultaneous short craft activity for the younger children, and quiz on the quality of rocks for the congregation. 

Abi is the quiz master. Judi will say there’s a craft activity for the little ones. Laura will sit with them.

1.      The hardest natural substance on earth is a) diamond b) sandstone, c) bone

2.      The most common rock on earth is a) limestone, b) basalt, c) seaside rock

3.      The ancient Egyptians used a powder made from this rock as eye make-up a)sandstone, b) marble, c) lapis lazuli

4.      The Taj Mahal in India is made entirely of this rock a) diamond, b) marble, c) rock salt

5.      Igneous rock is formed when magma reaches this temperature in Farenheit a) 2 degrees, (- 17˚ Celsius) b) 200 degrees (93˚ Celsius) c) 2000 degrees (1093˚ Celsius)

Psalm 95 begins like this …

Sing joyful songs to the Lord!

    Praise the mighty rock

    where we are safe.

 Come to worship him

with thankful hearts

    and songs of praise.

Why do you think the writer of Psalm 95 used the image of a rock to describe God?

After the Quiz Judi will ask the little ones to show what they have done.

Ceitidh will introduce Psalm 95:1-7

Let’s all read Psalm 95 together:

(This is all brought together by everyone reading Psalm 95:1-7)

Sing joyful songs to the Lord!

Praise the mighty rock

where we are safe.

Come to worship him

with thankful hearts

and songs of praise.

The Lord is the greatest God,

king over all other gods.

He holds the deepest part

of the earth in his hands,

and the mountain peaks

belong to him.

The ocean is the Lord’s

because he made it,

and with his own hands

he formed the dry land.

 Bow down and worship

 the Lord our Creator!

 The Lord is our God,

 and we are his people,

 the sheep he takes care of

 in his own pasture.

Hy-Spirit song: 'My lighthouse'  H/S

Judi will say it is time for

(the younger children leave for their own activities.  Hy-Waves & Hy-Tide remain)

Judi will invite Gwyneth to come back to to continue the reading

Reading:  Psalm 104:13-26 (Gwyneth)

From the sky you send rain on the hills,

and the earth is filled with your blessings.

You make grass grow for the cattle

and plants for human beings to use,

so that they can grow their crops

and produce wine to make them happy,

olive oil to make them cheerful,

and bread to give them strength.

The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain —

the LORD's own trees, which he planted.

There the birds build their nests;

the storks nest in the fir trees.

The wild goats live in the high mountains,

and the rock-badgers hide in the cliffs.

You created the moon to mark the months;

the sun knows the time to set.

You made the night, and in the darkness

all the wild animals come out.

The young lions roar while they hunt,

looking for the food that God provides.

When the sun rises, they go back

and lie down in their dens.

Then people go out to do their work

and keep working until evening.

LORD, you have made so many things!

How wisely you made them all!

The earth is filled with your creatures.

There is the ocean, large and wide,

where countless creatures live,

large and small alike.

The ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan,

that sea monster which you made.

Hymn:  'God is great, amazing'  (in Graham Kendrick book)  H/S

Talk:  by Richard

The words of the first seven verses of Psalm 95 tell us why it’s so important to praise God and they also tell us how to do it. And they are wonderful words.

It’s getting closer!

We’ve been making the journey from Cheltenham to Bridgend and back quite a lot for quite a time.

And the countryside is beautiful.

I’ve grown up knowing South Wales and over the last thirty years we have been to the Gower Peninsula and had the most wonderful holidays there.

The Congregational Federation has a wonderful holiday cottage – quite reasonably priced – Rachel Jacques has been going recently – over the years we have gone time and again.

It’s on the road to Rhossili and the Worm’s Head at a place called Pilton Green.

From the cottage you can walk to the coast

And as you reach the sea you are above one of the most wonderful spots in Britain and one of the most historic. It is where the oldest human remains to be found in Britain were discovered. Known wrongly as the Red Lady of Paviland they were found in a cave from the time whgen the Bristol channel was a stretch of land where the mammoths roamed and the caves in the cliffs were our ancestors lived. And this is one of them.

It’s a wonderful spot.

Looking in there’s hardly any sign of a cave

But from inside, looking out it’s a place that feels secure, a place that feels safe. From the storms, from the winds there is security here there is safety here.

This is the rock that provides a home that is safe.

Why praise God – because it is in his presence that we are safe – safe from the storms, safe in his safe-keeping.

Sing joyful songs to the Lord!

    Praise the mighty rock [a]

    where we are safe.

Why praise because in God’s presence we are safe.

And how should we praise?

2 Come to worship him

with thankful hearts

    and songs of praise.

It’s a wild and rugged place where you touch the beauty of God’s creation in all its splendor.

That suggests the Psalmist, is the second reason to give God our praise – it’s because he is the God of creation.

he Lord is the greatest God,

    king over all other gods.

4 He holds the deepest part

    of the earth in his hands,

    and the mountain peaks

    belong to him.

5 The ocean is the Lord’s

    because he made it,

    and with his own hands

    he formed the dry land.

6 Bow down and worship

    the Lord our Creator!

It’s in our time in Cheltenham that I have become passionate about geology. Olga gave me two books on Glos geology by William Dreghorn, a friend and colleague of her father’s.

Marvellous sketches. So when I found a book on Welsh geology in the same series I snaffled it up.

It says of the road from Bridgend over the tops to the Rhondda that it is one of the most beautiful mountain roads in Britain for its wonderful geology – and its glacial cirques.

As you emerge at the top, known as the Bwlch, the gap – there’s the most wonderful view over to Treorchy and my family grave. And at your feet a plaque.

And the words of the plaque are the words of Psalm 104

LORD, you have made so many things!

How wisely you made them all!

The earth is filled with your creatures.

You won’t stand there long before being joined by one of the Rhondda’s residents.

A sheep!

Which takes us back to Psalm 95 and the last reason.

It’s not just because we are safe.

It’s not just because we look to the God of creation.

It is because God cares for us with the deepest possible love.

The Lord is our God,

    and we are his people,

    the sheep he takes care of

    in his own pasture.

Lake is going to announce the next hymn

To lead into our prayers we’re going to stay sitting down to sing

‘The Lord’s my shepherd’

Hy Spirit lead the singing of the Lord’s my shepherd

Prayers of Concern

Let us pray …

Loving Lord Jesus, we give you thanks that you care for us

as a shepherd cares for his sheep.

Look after all those who are lonely,

All those who are sick,

All those who are sad

All those who are without a home

Lord God, our heavenly Father,

we give you thanks for the wonder of your creation.

Thank you for the wonderful world you have given us to live in

Be with those who live in places where there are earthquakes

and in places where there are volcanoes,

Be with those who live in places where there is drought

and in places where there are floods

Keep them safe, we pray

Help us to look after your world and to care for it in all that we do.

God of all creation,

we give you thanks that you are always there for us,

a rock to keep us safe.

Keep us and our families and friends safe now and always.

This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour,

Amen.

Let’s join together in singing our last hymn,

Hymn: CH804   'You shall go out with joy'  ORGAN

Words of blessing – Richard to lead

A Journey of Faith 6 - Reading the Scriptures Through the Eyes of Jesus

Text for the Week: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set free the oppressed and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people.” Luke 4:18-19

Welcome to our services today and a special welcome to any worshipping with us for the first time. Today is Sunday Special and so our young people are meeting for a late breakfast and activities from 10-15 and for the first part of our service. All the best TV dramas begin each episode with that tantalisingly brief collection of snippets from previous episodes that enables you to catch up with the story. So, in that tradition, Previously … we began on Easter Sunday in the very last chapter in Luke’s Gospel on the Emmaus Road when Jesus opened up the Old Testament to two of his followers. That evening he did the same with the rest of his followers back in Jerusalem. From that day on they ‘got it’: they now began to read the Old Testament Scriptures in the way Jesus had opened up for them. Reading through Luke’s story of the beginning of the Church in Acts we’ve seen that the first followers of Jesus drew on the insights Jesus shared with them in their reading of the Old Testament: we’ve seen it in the speeches of Peter, Stephen, Philip and Paul. It’s is as if Luke in Acts is getting us to see that as followers of The Way, as Christians, we are to read the Old Testament through the eyes of Jesus and see in Jesus that all it stands for is brought to fulfilment. The story finishes in Acts with Paul under house arrest in Rome preaching about the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking with all boldness and freedom. All the best TV dramas come to an end with a taster of what’s in store. Having accompanied Paul on so many of his travels and arrived with him in Rome, Luke went on to draw on the researches he had already started to commit to writing the story of Jesus and the movement he started. And so today we go back to the very beginning of the story he had to tell … and we’ll discover a thread running through the story that shows how Jesus read the Old Testament. This, I believe, is one of the pressing stories of our time: how we read our Bible. In Acts, as we have seen, and in Luke as we are going to see there are pointers that can transform the way we read some of the most difficult bits of the Bible.

Welcome and Call to Worship

213 Every new morning

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

Back to the beginning

All the best TV dramas begin each episode with that tantalisingly brief collection of snippets from previous episodes that enables you to catch up with the story. So, in that tradition, Previously … we began on Easter Sunday in the very last chapter in Luke’s Gospel on the Emmaus Road when Jesus opened up the Old Testament to two of his followers. That evening he did the same with the rest of his followers back in Jerusalem. From that day on they ‘got it’: they now began to read the Old Testament Scriptures in the way Jesus had opened up for them. Reading through Luke’s story of the beginning of the Church in Acts we’ve seen that the first followers of Jesus drew on the insights Jesus shared with them in their reading of the Old Testament: we’ve seen it in the speeches of Peter, Stephen, Philip and Paul. It’s is as if Luke in Acts is getting us to see that as followers of The Way, as Christians, we are to read the Old Testament through the eyes of Jesus and see in Jesus that all it stands for is brought to fulfilment. The story finishes in Acts with Paul under house arrest in Rome preaching about the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking with all boldness and freedom.

All the best TV dramas come to an end with a taster of what’s in store. Having accompanied Paul on so many of his travels and arrived with him in Rome, Luke went on to draw on the researches he had already started to commit to writing the story of Jesus and the movement he started. And so today we go back to the very beginning of the story he had to tell … and we’ll discover a thread running through the story that shows how Jesus read the Old Testament. This, I believe, is one of the pressing stories of our time: how we read our Bible. In Acts, as we have seen, and in Luke as we are going to see there are pointers that can transform the way we read some of the most difficult bits of the Bible.

Who knows … and there are all sorts of possibilities.

The one I’m drawn to is the one that goes back in the mists of time to the early traditions of the church – that Luke and Acts were written by Luke the beloved physician who was a travelling companion of Paul.

It’s in Acts 16:10 that the narrative in Acts changes to the first person – I’m persuaded that’s when Luke joins Paul. Luke is with Paul in those bits that are in the first person plural.

Acts 16:10-17 in Philippi. The next parts of the story are in the third person until 20:5 when it’s ‘we’ again. What’s telling is that we are back in Philippi at that point. It looks as if Luke stayed in Philippi when Paul moved on. 20:5-16, Paul in Luke’s company travels to Miletus where Paul summons the leaders of the church in Ephesus and shares with them his message again. Then Luke accompanies Paul on his fateful journey to Jerusalem as he takes the collection there. Luke is with Paul in Jerusalem …  21:1-19 but we don’t have any more of the ‘we passages’ until and the decision to sail to Rome – but the implication of 27:1 is that Luke has by now joined Paul in Caesarea. That suggests that Luke is around in Jersualem and then Caesarea for the couple of years this covers. Then he is with Paul on the journey to Rome and with him in Rome.  27:1-28:16.

IN my imagining Luke has taken the opportunity while in Jerusalem and Caesarea to meet with people who had been around with Jesus and get the story of Jesus. It is at this point maybe that he begins to turn his hand to the task of putting the gospel together. It could be that that is in the 60’s. It maybe he continues to do his research and it takes him into the 70’s.

It’s at this point having followed the story through Acts we can return with Luke to the way he tells the story … and as we do that we are on the look out for the way in his telling of the story he notices how Jesus himself has a way of reading the Hebrew Scriptures we think of as the Old Testament that is apparent in that story as it unfolds.

Luke’s gospel begins as Luke explains how he is going to write. Is he writing to a particular person called Theophilus or to anyone who is a Theo Philos – a friend of God. I rather like the idea – because I think of him as writing for me!

Reading: Luke 1:1-4 – Gwyneth

Dear Theophilus:

Many people have done their best to write a report of the things that have taken place among us.

Interesting that right at the beginning Luke acknowledges that he is drawing on other accounts of Jesus. There’s a very strong argument to be had that Luke draws on Mark and on a collection of sayings of Jesus – and if you map out all the verses of Luke’s Gospel and set it alongside Matthew and Mark you can demonstrate that pretty effectively. We had the chart on the wall in our Sixth Form RE room at school. It was given me out of the blue by James. I found it on the wall of David Wenham who teaches NT in Oxford when we had that shared mission with St Luke’s and Holy Apostles and I have used it in my teaching ever since.

 2They wrote what we have been told by those who saw these things from the beginning and who proclaimed the message.

What’s interesting is that Luke also says that those people were drawing on eye-witness accounts that he also makes use of. I am persuaded of that too. Felicity and I went to the Hay  Festival and when Romola’s daughter chaired a panel discussion with four short listed for the Templeton prize for a religious book. I found myself in conversation with the winner in an Evensong service later that evening and bought the book. He makes a convincing argument from close study of the frequency of names in Jewish communities around the Mediterranean that those who are named in the Gospels have names that are characteristic of Palestine. He suggests they are named because they were the ones who told their story –Zachaeus is the one I always think of, Bar Timaeus is another.

 3And so, your Excellency, because I have carefully studied all these matters from their beginning, I thought it would be good to write an orderly account for you.

Luke has made a study – interesting he should research … so his book is not just random. It has a basis in serious research. And then it is ordered. Interestinly in that chart you can demonstrate that he treated his sources carefully and accurately, quoting Mark when he used him … and slotting in other material he came across without spoiling the passages he has used form Mark.

He writes with a clear purpose he states at the outset.

 4I do this so that you will know the full truth about everything which you have been taught.

We know where we are with Luke – and we are with someone who has done his research.

And so he begins his story. What’s apparent is that the first two chapters are very long, they tell the story of how Jesus came to be born and of his birth … they also link him with the birth of John the Baptist his cousin … and they include an account of the birth that’s also unique to Luke.

Luke has the best Greek of the New Testament. He knows what he is doing as he writes.

And the style of these two chapters is different.

They almost read as if they are written in the style of the Old Testament.

It is almost as if they are rounding off the Old Testament to bring us into the New Testament.

Whether it’s the Priestly tradition of the Temple or the tradition of the Prophets or the ways of the Psalmists in writing their Psalms it’s all there in the first two chapters of Luke.

As so often happened in the telling of the story of Israel at key points a song or a psalm shows you the significance of what’s happening.

And that happens here as well. With three songs, psalms traditionally known as canticles that give the message behind the story.

So the birth of John the Baptist is announced, the birth of Jesus is announced, Mary visits Elizabeth and then Mary’s song of praise brings out the significance of all that’s happening.

And it’s wonderful to sing …

86 Tell out my soul

Then we come to the birth of John the Baptist and Zechariah’s prophecy – and it’s this psalm or song that brings out the significance of John’s ministry and the way it relates to Jesus.

HTC 599 O bless the God of Israel

Now that we know the significance of what’s going on Luke tells us of the birth of Jesus, of the shepherds and the angels, of the way Jesus is named and of the way Jesus is presented in the Temple.

There is that a woman, the prophetess Anna, becomes the first to speak about the child to all who were waiting for God to set Jersualem free – a woman the first to declare the Good news. Never let it be said the Bible prohibits women from preaching and speaking!

Or older people for that matter.

For it is Simeon who has recognized Jesus for who he is just before.

And his song is one of the most wonderful of all – and it reminds us of the significance of this little one.

HTC 55 Faithful vigil ended

Listening and Asking Questions

Jesus then returns to Nazareth where the child grew and became strong; he was full of wisdom, and God’s blessings were upon him,. ~And the we jump to the point at which he comes of age, as it were. The age of the Jewish Bar Mitzvah. And we find the Boy Jesus in the Temple. Or at least his parents find him after he goes missing for three days in the temple among the teachers of the law. They find him listening and asking questions.

Reading: Luke 2:41-52

Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. 42When Jesus was twelve years old, they went to the festival as usual. 43When the festival was over, they started back home, but the boy Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. His parents did not know this; 44they thought that he was with the group, so they travelled a whole day and then started looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45They did not find him, so they went back to Jerusalem looking for him. 46On the third day they found him in the Temple, sitting with the Jewish teachers, listening to them and asking questions. 47All who heard him were amazed at his intelligent answers. 48His parents were astonished when they saw him, and his mother said to him, “My son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been terribly worried trying to find you.”

49He answered them, “Why did you have to look for me? Didn't you know that I had to be in my Father's house?”50But they did not understand his answer.

51So Jesus went back with them to Nazareth, where he was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 Jesus grew both in body and in wisdom, gaining favour with God and people.

That’s the classic Jewish way of reading the Scriptures.

There’s a tendency among especially Protestant Christians to narrow the meaning down of a passage of Scripture and say ‘this is what it means’. The Jewish way of reading the Scriptures is always to ask more questions.

Luke then tells us of the Preaching of John the Baptist and his arrest not before he had shared in the Baptism of Jesus. We then learn of the  Ancestors of Jesus and the temptation of Jesus. And then Jesus’ ministry of teaching, and healing begins. It’s not long before he goes back to Nazareth where he is welcomed as a teacher in the Synagogue gathering that has been a part of his growing up. The place where people teach and people ask questions of the Scripture.

Luke has left us in no doubt by now that Jesus knows his Scriptures. No wonder he is asked to speak.

Words of Grace

Reading: Luke 4:16-22

Then Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath he went as usual to the synagogue. He stood up to read the Scriptures 17and was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind;

to set free the oppressed

19and announce that the time has come

when the Lord will save his people.”

20Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. All the people in the synagogue had their eyes fixed on him, 21as he said to them, “This passage of scripture has come true today, as you heard it being read.”

22They were all well impressed with him and marvelled at the eloquent words that he spoke. They said, “Isn't he the son of Joseph?”

The Good news Bible lets us down when it speaks of ‘the eloquent words that he spoke.”  Literally it can be translated ‘words of grace’ that he spoke.

I like that translation – that’s the point.

Jesus speaks wonderful words of grace – that was the message of Jesus Luke had absorbed from Paul – grace was at the heart of his understanding of the Christian faith. It is right here at the beginning.

Let’s join in singing a celebration of these words of grace …

Hy-Spirit – Only by grace

But something happens then that changes the atmosphere. In verse 22 everyone there is well impressed and marvel at those words of grace.

But by verse 28 the mood had changed and those there were filled with anger, filled with rage so much so they took him out of the town and tried to push him over a cliff. What happened to make them change?

Reading: Luke 4:23-30

He said to them, “I am sure that you will quote this proverb to me, ‘Doctor, heal yourself.’ You will also tell me to do here in my home town the same things you heard were done in Capernaum.24 I tell you this,” Jesus added, “prophets are never welcomed in their home town.

25 “Listen to me: it is true that there were many widows in Israel during the time of Elijah, when there was no rain for 3.5 years and a severe famine spread throughout the whole land.26 Yet Elijah was not sent to anyone in Israel, but only to a widow living in Zarephath in the territory of Sidon.27 And there were many people suffering from a dreaded skin disease who lived in Israel during the time of the prophet Elisha; yet not one of them was healed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

28When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were filled with anger. 29They rose up, dragged Jesus out of the town, and took him to the top of the hill on which their town was built. They meant to throw him over the cliff, 30but he walked through the middle of the crowd and went his way.

The powerful words from Isaiah 61 that Jesus reads from are like a manifesto statement of his mission. And it’s what the people want to hear.

There’s good news for the poor … but they really are only concerned about their own poor.

There’s liberty for the captives but it’s really only their own captives they are concerned for.

There’s sight for the blind so long as it’s their blind,

Freedom for the oppressed so long as it is their oppressed.

All that is taken for granted. And it’s so often how we feel. Charity starts at home. It’s those who are like us we are concerned for.

But Jesus then goes on to follow a classic Jewish way of teaching. He explains what is meant in those words from Isaiah by telling two stories. It is not insignificant that the first is a story of Elijah and the second a story of Elisha. Elijah was the first of the great Prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures who spoke God’s word to the powers that be of his time. And Elisha took up his mantle and followed on in his footsteps.

Elijah gave food to the Gentile widow of Zarepath and Elisha healed the Gentile commander of the enemy Syrian army Naaman.

Jesus left no one in any doubt hehad come to bring

Good News to the poor whoever the poor might be, Jew and Gentile.

Liberty for the captives whoever the captives might be, Jew and Gentile.

Sight to the blind whoever the blind might be, Jew and Gentile.

Freedom for the oppressed, whoever the oppressed might be, Jew and Gentile.

Here Jesus is offering an alternative way of reading the Scriptures they had not encountered before.

It opens them out to include all people.

And it is a powerful and radical way we need to hear today as well.

We live in dangerous times.

It’s our people that are all important.

No, says Jesus it is all people that are all important.

The first decade of the Twentieth Century was a time when people put us first – Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem in which he said with great pride East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet.

The Minister of one of our churches, who wrote poems and hymns under a pen name as John OXenham, wrote a hymn that was a riposte to that Me First way of thinking.

624 In Christ there is no east or west

Prayers of Concern

HTC 324 God of grace

Something to share

A Hy-Spirit Song

Words of Blessing

A Journey of Faith - Seeking Common Ground

Sunday 3rd June 2018

Text for the Week: The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all people life and breath and all things. Acts 17:24-25

Welcome to our services today and a special welcome to any worshipping with us for the first time. It’s a big, bustling modern city on the verge of being overwhelmed by air pollution. But Athens is also a wonderful ancient city opening up a window on to the world of the New Testament. Long ago I visited in the company of a good friend who went by the name of Paul. We made for a hill overlooking the Acropolis: was it somewhere nearby that another Paul had long ago debated with the philosophers and thinkers of that great ancient city? Now it’s in ruins: then it was in its splendour a wonderful temple to the goddess that gave the city her name, Athene. A remarkable feat of engineering, a remarkable design, it remains a wonder of the world. And yet it is nothing compared to the breath-taking views of sea and mountains that Paul and his travelling companion, Luke, must have enjoyed. The God of creation cannot be contained in buildings made from stone, for God is Lord of all and gives to all people life and breath and all things. Paul looks not just to the God of creation but to the God who in Jesus Christ comes alongside us and stays with us wherever the journey leads us.

Welcome and Call to Worship

182 Now thank we all our God

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

Paul’s Story

Reading: Acts 20:7-12

A Hy-Spirit Song

Activities for all over 3

A Focus on Jesus

How do you come to be here?

And I don’t mean, how did you get here?

Where did your journey of faith start?

Is it something that’s just grown, is it something that’s always been there, is it something that had a moment when it began?

Share with someone near you …

A time to share

And then a time to share with the rest of us too … if anyone wants to.

We first meet him under the name of Saul in Acts 8 looking after the cloaks of those who are stoning Stephen to death and he is approving of that brutal execution. The next we know something has happened to change him. And it’s not long before we know him as Paul. He’s had a new start.

There was an encounter

He saw in a new way

He had a new strength within

And he had a message.

And at the heart of it all was Jesus. He thought of it as a meeting with the risen Christ.

And it happened at that very moment when he was bent on pursuing the followers of Jesus and eliminating them from Damascus as he had endeavoured to eliminate them from Jerusalem.

It was life-changing.

It wasn’t just a flash of light he saw or a voice he heard it was the one he met that make a difference. IT was nothing less than the risen Christ.

It wasn’t just a healing he experienced – it was as if he had a whole new way of seeing things. And it came about not just through the faithfulness of Ananias but through that time of prayer Ananias was devoted to.

And then he had a strength from beyond himself in the Holy Spirit that filled him – and standing up he was baptized.

He stayed with the believers and went to the synagogues and he had something he did.

He has a message to share – for Gentiles and kings and the people of God

He began to preach that Jesus was the Son of God.

The focus was on Jesus. And it was to make a difference.

This was a message for Gentiles – and for Kings – this is a message for the Roman world – with the heart of the region in Damascus and the Roman province of Syria. It’s for Gentiles – who is son of god in that Gentile world but the Roman emperor – Tiberius has given way to Caligula and then to Claudius – but no Jesus is the one to look to. Straightaway a message that is to the powers that be.

But it is also for the people of Israel – who looked to their kings as sons of God to. But Jesus is the one to look for who demands our allegiance.

Look to Jesus – it’s the start – but it sets the scene for the rest of his life. He takes time out maybe as long as 14 years but then he begins – and he journeys a little way into Asia minor, Eastern Turkey today, then further afield and over into what we think of as Europe. And then Athens and Corinth – makes a collection to go to Jerusalem and finds himself arrested – on trial he tells his story twice more. Until finally, the shipwreck in Malta over, he makes it to Rome albeit under arrest. And Acts finishes with that wonderful statement.

He lived there for two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

And it all finds its focus on Jesus

No matter what our story, no matter what it is that brings us here – it is to Jesus we turn and to Jesus we look.

A Hy-Spirit song – focusing on Jesus

Common Ground

What Paul does is interesting – we find him there preaching of Jesus the Son of God. The words are interesting – he proclaims – it’s the proclamation of a herald – Jesus -the son of God we look to.

Paul teaches, he declares the good news, he preaches. But there’s one more thing we find Paul doing.

He argues, is one way of putting it. The word is the word we get dialogue from – he enters into dialogue. He does that in the synagogue with those who are Jewish and he draws on the Hebrew Scriptures – again he is influenced by the way of reading the Hebrew Scriptures the very first followers of Jesus have been directed to – they have at their heart, Jesus. He is the fulfilment of all those Scriptures.

The Hebrew Scriptures are the common ground he has.

But when he finds himself with people who do not have the Scriptures as their sacred text he seeks common ground. And again he enters into dialogue, he enters into discussions with them.

6While Paul was waiting in Athens for Silas and Timothy, he was greatly upset when he noticed how full of idols the city was. 17So he held discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentiles who worshipped God, and also in the public square every day with the people who happened to pass by. 18Certain Epicurean and Stoic teachers also debated with him. Some of them asked, “What is this ignorant show-off trying to say?”

So it is that he gives an account of himself.

He moves from discussion to declare the good news

Others answered, “He seems to be talking about foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching about Jesus and the resurrection. 19So they took Paul, brought him before the city council, the Areopagus, and said, “We would like to know what this new teaching is that you are talking about. 20Some of the things we hear you say sound strange to us, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21(For all the citizens of Athens and the foreigners who lived there liked to spend all their time telling and hearing the latest new thing.)

And he finds common ground with the people he is engaging with.

aul stood up in front of the city council and said,

“I see that in every way you Athenians are very religious. 23For as I walked through your city and looked at the places where you worship, I found an altar on which is written, ‘To an Unknown God’. That which you worship, then, even though you do not know it, is what I now proclaim to you.

He starts where they are … and leads them to new ground.

 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands. 25Nor does he need anything that we can supply by working for him, since it is he himself who gives life and breath and everything else to everyone. 26From one human being he created all races on earth and made them live throughout the whole earth. He himself fixed beforehand the exact times and the limits of the places where they would live.

A wonderful sense of the awe and majesty of the God of creation. A sense of seeking – maybe a common strand in so many people.

 27He did this so that they would look for him, and perhaps find him as they felt about for him. Yet God is actually not far from any one of us; 28as someone has said,

‘In him we live and move and exist.’

It is as some of your poets have said,

‘We too are his children.’

Paul finds the common ground – he quotes now from the works his audience are reading.

29Since we are God's children, we should not suppose that his nature is anything like an image of gold or silver or stone, shaped by human art and skill. 30God has overlooked the times when people did not know him, but now he commands all of them everywhere to turn away from their evil ways. 31For he has fixed a day in which he will judge the whole world with justice by means of a man he has chosen. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising that man from death!”

And now he turns to Jesus – and again the focus is on Jesus. The one who opens up a window on to God and discloses God to be the God of love.

32When they heard Paul speak about a raising from death, some of them made fun of him, but others said, “We want to hear you speak about this again.” 33And so Paul left the meeting. 34Some men joined him and believed, among whom was Dionysius, a member of the council; there was also a woman named Damaris, and some other people.

Among all the people named is one woman – named Damaris – the inspiration for an initiative that has used film as a starting point for discussion – maybe an area of common ground to explore further.

Common Ground

Reading: Acts 17:22-31

470 Jesus shall reign

Prayers of Concern

604 Holy wisdom, lamp of learning

Words of Blessing