The Journey Goes On

Text of the Week: “Those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.” Exodus 16:18.

Welcome to our services today and a special welcome to any worshipping with us for the first time. Where has your journey brought you to today? Where’s your journey taking you from today? What do you need for the journey?  Those are questions our readings from Fresh From the Word prompt us to ask in the next couple of weeks. They take us to the book of Exodus and the long, winding way through the wilderness the people of Israel took on their journey to the promised land. Today they are on the verge of despair as they don’t have what they need for the journey. It is at that moment that God provides. Not too much. Not too little. Simply what they need. On the journey that lies ahead God will provide. Not too much. Not too little. Simply what we need.   Today it’s great to welcome back to Highbury members of the Livingstone Fellowship, the youth group that flourished at Highbury from 1954 to 1971. For the journey the prayer they made their own is a prayer we each can share: Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee as Thou deservest; to give, and not to count the cost; to fight, and not to heed the wounds; to toil, and not to seek for rest; to labour, and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do Thy will. Amen. Next week sees the start of Christian Aid Week – do see Iain and Laura MacLeod or Louise Middleton if you can help with the collection. Next Sunday we are having a Big Brekkie – a Christian Aid Breakfast served from 9-15 – don’t miss it!

Welcome and Call to Worship

7 Holy, holy, holy

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

Who’s the greatest?

You would have thought they would have learned by now! But they hadn’t – they were forever doing it. They argued!

Do you ever argue?

They argued about who the greatest was – they just didn’t get it!

Reading: Matthew 18:1-5

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, asking, 

“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”

So Jesus called a child, made him stand in front of them, and said,

“I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child. And whoever welcomes in my name one such child as this, welcomes me.”

In God’s eyes everyone is just as important as everyone else. All of us count.

Together as a fellowship where everyone is just as important as everyone else we all matter – it’s together that we can draw on the light of God’s presence in Christ, the strength of God’s power in the Holy Spirit. We are encircled with the love of God –

The sensor stick – lights up as we link hands – break the link and the light goes out!

Link hands around the table – around the church.

Song: the Family of God

1          We're all part of the family of God
            Living in God's wide world,
            Linking hands in the family of God,
            Living in God's wide world.
            God, you're my strong father
            Yet gentle as a mother,
            Jesus, I'm your sister,
            Jesus, I'm your brother.

2          We're all part of the family of God
            Caring for God's wide world,
            Linking hands in the family of God,
            Caring for God's wide world.
            Chorus

3          We're all part of the family of God
            Working in God's wide world,
            Linking hands in the family of God,
            Working in God's wide world.
            Chorus

4          We're all part of the family of God
            Loving in God's wide world,
            Linking hands in the family of God,
            Loving in God's wide world.
            Chorus

Heather Johnston (born 1943)
© 1999 Stainer & Bell Ltd
Used By Permission. CCL Licence No. 3540

Activities for all over 3

The Journey goes on

Tristram Shandy is one of the very first novels in the English language. Its zany off-beat humour is the humour of the Goon Show, Do Not Adjust Your Set, Monty Python’s Flying Circus all rolled into one.  There’s a moment when Tristram Shandy who is telling his life’s story reflects on the journey he’s taken so far.

It has not been a straightforward journey by any means.

He plots it on the page –

How would you plot your life’s journey?

Where has your journey brought you to today?

How has your journey brought you to this place on this day at this time?

A time to share with each other and with us all

We are sharing in reading the Bible using Fresh from the Word . Today we begin three weeks of readings in the Book of Exodus. It’s a book of journeying and of a long winding way through the wilderness.

It’s a journey with a beginning a middle and an end.

The journey begins in the presence of God. Faced with the horrors of all that is happening to his people Moses does something which fills him with horror and forces him to flee. His journeying takes him far from the land he grew up in, far from his own people.  But it is there in the most unexpected of places that he has a sense of the presence of God with him.

Still, in the presence of God, he stands on holy ground and in a bush that burns and yet is not consumed with fire, he feels the presence of God calling him - there’s a real sense of mystery in the presence of the God whose name is filled with mystery. It is a name that cannot be uttered.  It is a name that defies understanding. I am who I am – I will be who I will be – I am – this is nothing less than the God who is present at every moment of the journey.

And so Moses returns to speak out for his people against the horrors of the world they find themselves trapped by. And that world will not listen.

Then it is we reach the mid-point of the story.

And in the middle of the story once again we encounter the presence of God.

So strong is that sense of the presence of God with them in the Passover meal the people celebrate on the night before their deliverance from the horrors of their world that they vowed ever after to share in a Passover meal to remember that moment.

That moment of the presence of God with them.

For them the journey was just beginning but it would take them to the Promised land and again to the presence of God with them.

Whatever it is that brings us to this place on this date and at this time, may it be in some way the presence of God that meets us here. What is this God like? The God who meets us here is the God who is the God of Love – it is the God who in Christ values each one of us, the God for whom each one of us matters the world.

In Jesus we meet with the God who is love.

480 Lord God, your love has called us here 1,3,5  Tune: Mozart

1          Great God, your love has called us here,
            as we, by love for love were made.
            Your living likeness still we bear,
            though marred, dishonoured, disobeyed.
            We come, with all our heart and mind
            your call to hear, your love to find.

2          We come with self-inflicted pains
            of broken trust and chosen wrong,
            half-free, half-bound by inner chains,
            by social forces swept along,
            by powers and systems close confined,
            yet seeking hope for humankind.

3          Great God, in Christ you call our name
            and then receive us as your own,
            not through some merit, right or claim,
            but by your gracious love alone.
            We strain to glimpse your mercy seat
            and find you kneeling at our feet.

4          Then take the towel, and break the bread,
            and humble us, and call us friends.
            Suffer and serve till all are fed,
            and show how grandly love intends
            to work till all creation sings,
            to fill all worlds, to crown all things.

5          Great God, in Christ you set us free
            your life to live, your joy to share.
            Give us your Spirit's liberty
            to turn from guilt and dull despair
            and offer all that faith can do
            while love is making all things new.

Brian Wren (born 1936)        
© 1975, 1995 Stainer & Bell Ltd

Where’s your journey taking you from today? What do you need for the journey?  Those are questions our readings from Fresh From the Word prompt us to ask in the next couple of weeks. They take us to the book of Exodus and the long, winding way through the wilderness the people of Israel took on their journey to the promised land.

Today they are on the verge of despair as they don’t have what they need for the journey.

It is at that moment that God provides. Not too much. Not too little. Simply what they need. On the journey that lies ahead God will provide. Not too much. Not too little. Simply what we need.

Exodus 16:1-18

The presence of God made real in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. The God who provides that daily bread.

Not too much, not too little.

The prayer we are invited to pray asks just that.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Not too much, not too little.

Simply what we need.

So much in our society in the journeys we take has to do with getting on – we measure all sorts of things by success – success in our own lives, success of our children, our grandchildren too.

Maybe the wonder of this moment is that this is the moment that counts – and in this moment the presence of God meets the need we have.

May that be our prayer for each moment that lies ahead of us.

How important that we then seek to meet the needs of others around us whatever their need may be. Next Sunday marks the start of the 60^th Christian Aid Week – Christian Aid had started twenty years ealier just after the second world war as a response to a Refugee Crisis such as the world had not seen before. In the middle of a refugee crisis of those proportions – maybe it is salutary for us to seek to share what is needed just as we receive what we need too.

It is good to welcome back to Highbury members of the Livingstone Fellowship. That was the youth group that met here at Highbury from 1954 to 1971. Something has drawn people back – and still does.

Maybe things were shared, things happened, lives were formed, faith was found at that time.

Last week we had our Gift Day – it is one of those special moments in our church calendar when we ask people to give a special gift. We have a mission project to employ a children’s worker. Andrea introduced our service last week, spoke of the focus of her work on outreach through things like Messy Church and Film Club – sharing something of that presence of God, the God who in Jesus is love, with the next generation. It is so important to support our children and our young people – so they come to know the difference that love of God can make in their lives and in their futures – so that the presence of God is there on the journey.

525 Lead us heavenly Father

The LF Prayer

Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee as Thou deservest;

to give, and not to count the cost;

to fight, and not to heed the wounds;

to toil, and not to seek for rest;

to labour, and not to ask for any reward,

save that of knowing that we do Thy will. Amen.

Prayers of Concern

528 Guide me O thou great Jehovah

Words of Blessing

On Eagles' Wings

Text of the week:

those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,

   they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,

   they shall walk and not faint.

Welcome to our services today … and a special welcome to any worshipping with us for the first time.  Next Sunday is a special day in our church calendar as it is our Gift Day. As a church we do not have any source of funding from beyond our own church. Our Gift Day is one of a couple of occasions in the year when we have the opportunity to make a special gift for the mission project we have undertaken for a number of years now, employing our Children’s worker, Andrea. Please remember all we do as a church in your prayers and make a special gift for our Gift Day. If you are able to you can Gift Aid your gift by placing it in a Gift Aid envelope and filling in the details. We will be joined in the morning by Mark and Denise Evans and Samuel. It’s the start of the Christian Arts Festival with a wonderful array of events through the town in the next fortnight. Francophonia, the first of our films is on Tuesday evening. On Thursday morning we will be hanging an exhibition of art works from one of the classes that meets at Highbury and previewing the show on Friday at 7-00. On Saturday afternoon Marguerite is hosting a felt-making workshop from 2-00 to 4-00.

Welcome and Call to Worship

Praise and Worship

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

On Eagles’ Wings

Introducing the Christian Arts Festival – Mary has been working with Cooler – share their picture – with prayer activity.

Reading: Isaiah 40:28-31 – Kate

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
   his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
   and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
   and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
   they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
   they shall walk and not faint.

A Hy-Spirit Song

Activities for all over 3

Resurrection Power

Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23 - Marguerite

Did you have a good Easter?

Lots of chocolate? Time with the family?

Easter is about hope … what is the hope of Easter for you?  What is the hope of the cross and the resurrection?

A moment or two to introduce yourself, say hello to someone near you – and then share – what for you is the Easter hope?

A couple of minutes of sharing.

Hold on to those thoughts for a moment or two.

You look and look but don’t see – one of my frustrations when I was little.  Look, there it is!  But I can’t see it!

The Lady of Snowdon

It really is as vivid as that.

It was when I was a child.

It still is!

Once you have seen it you always see it!

Maybe you can think of something – can you see?  No, I can’t.  There it is – yes! I can see it.

It’s what Jacqui shared when she shared her paintings – just for Easter and into the art exhibition we are having from Friday –

What do you see in a painting – comments about her painting – lots of things she has put in …

I love the way Paul writes to the Christians in Ephesus from his imprisonment in Rome …

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.

In my mind’s eye I see Paul praying for us … giving thanks for the faith we have in the Lord Jesus and for the love we have for each other.  That’s encouraging.

Then Paul makes his prayer for the people in Ephesus

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,

What did you come up with when you shared – what was that hope you sensed you had.

Time to feed back some of those thoughts about Easter Hope

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,

I love that phrase … may he give you ‘a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened …

One of our students is ministering in hospital chaplaincy and in church ministry in Dundee, I think it is. She shared with us at our course just before weekend a song by a singer-songwriter Godfrey Birtill, a friend of hers. It was just before Easter and it seemed so powerful …

What do you see in the cross?

What do you see in the blood of Jesus?

What do you see in Easter and the resurrection.

As we listen and reflect on these words

May we we come to know him so that with the eyes of our hearts enlightened we may know what is the hope to which he has called us …

Video – When Ilook at the blood

How can we hold on to this hope?

There’s more to Paul’s prayer

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know … what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,

We can’t do it on our own. It’s too hard sometimes … the eyes of our hearts are not enlightened, we cannot see the hope … but we are not alone. We are surrounded by one another. We have each other – the support of one another. The tremendous riches of the people of God around us – real support, real strengthening from each other and the fellowship. That’s the importance of fellowship together.

And more …

There is a strength from beyond ourselves to draw on.

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.

The immeasureable greatness of his power – a power and a strength from beyond ourselves.

What a prayer – to have the eyes our hearts enlightened to see

The hope

The support of the fellowship

The power from beyond ourselves we need day by day.

And how can we be certain of all this?

God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

                          Song: Before the throne of God above     

 

Prayers of Concern - Felicity

Praise and Worship

Words of Blessing

Retiring Collection

Being There ... on the Day of Resurrection

Easter Sunday Morning

Jesus Christ is risen – he is risen indeed!

Jesus Christ is risen – he is risen indeed!

Jesus Christ is risen – he is risen indeed!

Hymn 155 Jesus Christ is risen today – Alleluia

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

They were scared that first Easter Sunday Morning.

They thought what had happened to Jesus might happen to them.

They were scared stiff.

And when they found the tomb was empty the women who went there were even more scared.

As we follow those women out to the tomb where Jesus was laid let us think of ourselves as being there. There in the garden. There beside the Tomb. There with the women.

Let’s feel their fear … we’re going to read the story from Matthew – a bit like the red letter Bible with the words of Jesus in red.

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 

But the angel said to the women,

‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ 

So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them and said,

‘Greetings!’

And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. 

Then Jesus said to them,

‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’

What a wonderful word from Jesus – do not be afraid –

Think of things in the future that make you frightened.

Wherever you go – know that the risen Christ will be with you

In our mind’s eye picture that sense of God with you – in the Galilee of your fears

Hy-Spirit Song – maybe         be bold, be strong

The women knew a fear in the hearts and discovered in Christ a love to take all fear away.

Judi passed on this powerful poem by Gideon Heugh for us to read this morning.

Devastating beauty

On Friday my hope died.

The sky wept itself dark

the ground broke apart

and all creation cried 

for the bloodied innocence 

hammered into a tree.

There were whispers 

of a torn curtain,

but they didn’t reach my ears

or mend my mangled heart

or stem the bitter tears

as we took 

the body

down.

On Saturday we grieved,

hiding from the troops

whom we’d once believed

would be overthrown 

by the carpenter’s boy,

who had preached and fed

and healed,

and was now dead.

But then on Sunday – 

The devastating beauty

of that Sunday – 

when time and space

were blown out of shape

and angels wrapped in electric grace

rolled the impossible away

'He is not here'
they proclaimed
for glory had risen
our failings were forgiven
and the rules of life
and death were rewritten
as an empty tomb declared,
‘Love is alive.’

There’s something missing – we always exchange our Easter Greetings – we’re going to do something different.

You were given a flower as you came in – I want us to come forward with your flower and together we are going to transform our church and bring colour and life and the hope that comes with the flowers.

Not everyone wanted the Easter Message to be heard and passed on.

They wanted to Hush It Up.

While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, ‘You must say, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.” If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Jews to this day.

The Easter message is to share – that’s what we have done for Easter – the story of Easter – a story to share – the story we have told outside goes back a lot further than Easter.

It’s one that’s been passed on.

Show the video Super Cool Story of Jesus.

STL 21 I danced in the morning

 I am with you always

The message to share

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them,

‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Making disciples

Baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you

I am with you always

That presence of Christ made real in our hearts, made real in our lives – and made real in a very special way as we do exactly as Jesus did all those years ago.

Easter Communion

How do we make that presence real? In our Lives – how do we keep the memory going.

We go back to the first Easter, the first day of resurrection … two friends heard what the women had to say but they couldn’t believe it.

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

As they walked the talked with each other. The two friends shared their hopes and their fears. And Jesus shared so much with them too.

Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’

So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. They recalled those words he had shared at that Last Supper on the Thursday …

Take, eat; this is my body.

A Prayer of Blessing and the Bread is shared

They remembered how he had broken bread with them only three nights before. How he had taken a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying,

‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’

 A Prayer of Blessing and the Cup is shared

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’

That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them,

‘Peace be with you.’

To us Jesus says, Peace be with you.

Hy-Spirit – See what a morning

Easter Prayers - June

Hymn: Thine be the glory

Words of Blessing

Lord Jesus Christ,

Go with us into all that lies ahead

Go with us come what may

Go with us to the end of the age

Be in our hearts

Be in our minds

Be in our thoughts

Be in our homes

Be in our world

Now and forevermore.

Amen.

Being There - on Easter Morning

Early on Easter morning we gathered together on Cleeve Hill where we walked to a wonderful limestone quarry, not unlike the limestone quarries of Jerusalem and to the top of the hill where you feel on top of the world. The sin shone brightly, the sky larks were in full voice and we celebrated Easter together. Then we returned to Highbury for bacon butties and our Easter celebrations ...

Being There

An Easter Celebration

On this, the day of resurrection, as we follow the women to the tomb and the disciples to the mountain top in Galilee let us think of ourselves as Being There: one of the women, one of the disciples … in Christ.

In the secret, in the quiet place,

In the stillness you are there.

In the secret, in the quiet hour I wait

only for you

'cause I want to know you more.

I want to know you,

I want to hear your voice,

I want to know you more.

I want to see you,

I want to see your face,

I want to know you more.

I am reaching for the highest goal,

that I might receive the prize.

Pressing onward, pushing every

hindrance aside, out of my way,

'cause I want to know you more.

Andy Park (born 1957) (CCLI 3540)

To a spot near the Tomb

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said,

 ‘Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, “After three days I will rise again.” Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, “He has been raised from the dead”, and the last deception would be worse than the first.’

Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.’

So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

To the Tomb

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.

But the angel said to the women,

‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’

Ch:       Blessed be the name of the Lord    x3

            On high

v1        You are my rock in troubled times

            You are my Rod and Staff too

            You are my shelter from the storm

            Let’s give the glory that’s due

            to Your name

Ch:       Blessed be the name of the Lord    x3

            On high

v2        You came from heaven to save us

            Came down to earth to serve

            You bore our sins upon the cross

            Gave us Love undeserved

            By Your Grace

Ch:       Blessed be the name of the Lord    x3

            On high

So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Back to the spot near the tomb

Suddenly Jesus met them and said,

‘Greetings!’

And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him.

Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’

Part way up the hill

While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, ‘You must say, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.” If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’

So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Judaeans to the point when Matthew was writing the account.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

To the top of the hill

When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted.

And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Before the throne of God above

I have a strong, a perfect plea:

A great High Priest, whose name is Love,

Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,

My name is written on His heart;

I know that while in heaven He stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart.

No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair,

And tells me of the guilt within,

Upward I look, and see Him there

Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Saviour died,

My sinful soul is counted free;

For God, the Just, is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me.

To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there! the risen Lamb!

My perfect, spotless Righteousness,

The great unchangeable I AM,

the King of glory and of grace!

One with Himself, I cannot die;

My soul is purchased by His blood;

My life is hid with Christ on high,

With Christ, my Saviour and my God.

With Christ, my Saviour and my God.

Charitie L De Chenez (1841–1923)

Go with us into all that lies ahead

Go with us into our town,

Go with us into our church

Go with us into our homes

Go with us into our world

Be in our hearts

Be in our minds

Be in our thoughts

Be in our homes

Be in our world

Now and forevermore.

Amen.