Two services are included, 15th and 29th June:

Please find below the content of our worship service held on Sunday 29th June 2008. It contains the full text of the sermon and of the prayers together with details of the hymns sung and music used during the service. If you wish to get in touch to comment on or discuss anything about the service, please make contact via the website e/mail.

Introit   ‘Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house...’                 Eric H Thiman

Call to Worship

“Happy the people who have learned to praise You, who walk in the light of your countenance O Lord. In Your name we rejoice all the day long...You are yourself the strength in which we glory.” (Psalm 89; 15-16a, 17).

Hymn   64 (Hymns & Psalms)   ‘God has spoken by His prophets...’ 

Prayers of Praise & Adoration

We give thanks and praise to God. You said, ‘let there be light and there was light’, your Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us, your Word continues to speak to us of your love and your power, your mercy and your grace, your forgiveness. For all of this we give you thanks. We thank you that still you are speaking to us, telling us what we need to hear. Your Word, more powerful than any two-edged sword, speaks peace to our hearts. We give you thanks and praise for what we able to share with one another concerning your love for us. In worship we are able to express our love for you, to rejoice in your presence, praising your most holy name. As we gather here today, let us hear what we need to hear; words of comfort and consolation, words of strengthening and encouragement, words of forgiveness and love. Let your voice be heard above all others, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us when praying to say, ‘Our Father...’

1^st Reading       Matthew 10, verse 32-42

Hymn   181 (Mission Praise)     ‘God forgave my sin in Jesus’ name...’

Chant   861 (Hymns & Psalms) Psalm 85

2^nd Reading      Jeremiah 28, verses 1-9

Anthem            ‘There’s a wideness in God’s mercy...’             Maurice Bevan                       

Sermon

‘Thus Saith The Lord’

“...Only hear what I have to say to you and to all the people:...” (Jeremiah 28, 8). “...Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will be given a prophet’s reward...” (Matthew 10, 41a). “Sin shall no longer be your master, for you are no longer under law, but under grace” (Romans 6, 14).

Tell them what you want them to hear, tell them what they want to hear, or tell them what they need to hear; an age old dilemma, either the inability or the disinclination to resolve it being one of the reasons why advertising is as lucrative as it is, why journalism so idiosyncratic, why politics is regarded with increasing cynicism by so many. But it is also particularly acute as far as the preacher is concerned. If we believe that preaching involves declaiming the ‘voice of God’, then surely it ought to be to do with what they/we need to hear, but then even preachers are only human; it is so easy to fall into the trap of proclaiming what we want them to hear, or at least what we imagine they want to hear. Our readings today give us two examples of how stark the contrast between these approaches might be. Hannaniah, the prophet from Gibeon, told the people what he wanted them to hear; what they themselves wanted to hear – that Babylon would be defeated, Nebuchadnezzar deposed, the people returned from exile, and their rightful king restored. Bread and circuses all round, they could even eat cake if they wished. Jeremiah, whose name has become synonymous with ‘a prophet of doom’, and who had prophesied that the fall of Jerusalem was God’s judgement on a sinful people, replied that promises such as those given by Hannaniah would only be believed after they had been shown to be true. Why, because they sound too good to be true. Experience shows that anything that does sound too good to be true, really is just that. The worst thing that any one of us can do is try to second – guess one another; we have to be able to tell it as it is. But for this to happen, we have to be able to believe one another, and belief relies on trust. All of us would quite rightly be suspicious of the words of a stranger. Hence preaching is never just preaching – it relies on a relationship of trust established between the preacher and the congregation; trust itself a product of emerging mutual and reciprocal respect – each for all, and each for the other – that allows the preacher to say what is necessary to be heard, without fear or favour, whatever the preacher deems it necessary to say on any particular occasion. Hannaniah had sought to win the people’s trust by promising them the earth. He wanted their trust and would do anything to gain it. Jeremiah’s trust was in God, a God whom he knew to have entrusted him with a particular message, a message that God knew that the people needed to hear. It won him no friends, only enemies – but as he had himself said, it was only after Hannaniah’s promises came to nothing, only after what Jeremiah had said had been proven to be right, that the people realised who it was who was properly deserving of their trust, but by then it was too late. Matthew records Jesus’ words to the disciples before sending them out to speak in His name; not peace but a sword, a source of division, a call to service, a call to sacrifice. Not, one imagines, the accepted way to win friends and to influence people, yet this was what Jesus wanted said – in effect don’t tell them what you think they want to hear, don’t even tell them what you want them to hear, rather tell them this because this is what they need to hear. And of course, what Jesus said has proven itself to be true. The Gospel, ideally, is that around which all people can be united, but in reality it is a source of deep division within society, even among and within families. All people everywhere need to hear the Gospel, but not all want to hear it. The Gospel invites us to put our trust in God, come what may, an active response to God’s entrusting Himself to us. Jesus trusted the disciples to be faithful to the message he had entrusted to them, whatever the reaction. A commitment to live the Christian life is the response required of us. This requires us to be prepared to accept that living Christianly is the only authentic way to live. To be true to ourselves, we have to be true to God, and this we can only do if we are prepared to entrust our lives to God. If we are prepared to do this, then we will be prepared to hear what God has to say to us; what God wants us to hear, precisely because it is what we need to hear. God is the source and giver of life; as such an authentic lifestyle is one lived out according to what God has to say to us. And so we come full circle. As Paul puts it in the letter to the Romans, ‘how can anybody believe unless they have heard?’ There are times when I feel like a Jeremiah; feeling led to say that which you know isn’t going to go down that well; that which you know that nobody in their ‘right’ mind would choose to hear, yet it has to be said. You know it will be hard to hear, that it will hurt, but nevertheless, unless it is said, there can be no moving on, no going forward. So easy to take the easy way out, to play safe – construct a few pious platitudes, make a few bland observations, draw a few banal conclusions – and we can all go home and think nothing more of it. We who have ears to hear, let us hear; let us hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.

Hymn:  454 (Hymns & Psalms) ‘The God who sent the prophets...’

Prayers for Others & Ourselves

Who does know what is best for us? There are so many suggestions. Everybody has an opinion on everything, yet it is as if nobody is listening. How do we know what is best for us? There are so many ideas. There is an answer for everything, yet it is as if nobody really cares. We know what we want, in truth we know what we need. We know what we want to hear, in truth we know what we need to hear. We know what we want to do, in truth we know what we need to do. We need to be honest with ourselves, to ourselves, about ourselves. We need to open our hearts, our minds, and our lives to that which is necessary for us.

Let us pray for all who are too easily persuaded by others.

Let us pray concerning those who abuse the power of persuasion.

Let us pray for those seduced by power, those who will say anything and do anything to remain in power.

Let us pray for victims of the powerful, the power hungry, the power crazed.

Let us pray for those who find it impossible to decide between what they want, and what they need.

Let us pray for those who are living beyond their means, and for those whose limited means are so easily exploited by others.

Let us pray for those who are the prophets in our generation, who tell it as it is, who tell us what we need to know.

Let us pray for the church, for this congregation, as we seek to proclaim God’s good news within, among and beyond ourselves, for this is what we all need to hear.

Lord, you had much to say. You always said what was needed to be said. There were times when you could have said what others wanted you to say, but you remained faithful come what may. In eloquent defiance you proved that actions speak louder than words. Accordingly God vindicated all you said and did, declaring that even death has to succumb to your power filled love. Give us honesty to say what needs to be said, courage to do what needs to be done, and may all we say and do be motivated by love.

Hymn   806 (Hymns & Psalms) ‘What shall our greeting be...’

Blessing

As surely as this place echoes to the praises of God’s people, let us leave with the voice of God ringing in our ears; with peace in our hearts, joy and love abounding – through Jesus Christ our Lord...

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Please find below the content of our worship service held on Sunday 15th June 2008. It contains the full text of the sermon and of the prayers together with details of the hymns sung and music used during the service. If you wish to get in touch to comment on or discuss anything about the service, please make contact via the website e/mail.

Introit   ‘O Thou who camest from above...’                  S.S. Wesley

Call to Worship

“The Lord loves those who hate evil; He keeps His loyal servants safe and rescues them from the power of the wicked. A harvest of light has arisen for the righteous and joy for the upright in heart. You that are righteous, rejoice in the Lord and praise His holy name.” (Psalm 97, 10-12).

Hymn   7 (Hymns & Psalms)     ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty...’ 

Prayers of Praise & Adoration

We give praise to God for all His goodness towards us. He blesses us in many and various ways. He meets all our needs. He is indeed the source and giver of every good and perfect gift. Most precious of all is the gift of life, the opportunity afforded to each one of us to share something of the glory of God’s creation. Our proper response is to join with all people everywhere in giving praise to God’s glory. We give thanks to God for the gift of His son, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus who through his life, death and resurrection, makes possible forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with God and between ourselves, and a hope that is eternal; this is indeed life in all its fullness, and for this we give thanks to God. We give thanks too for the gift of the Holy Spirit, He who shares the life of God with each one of us enabling us to live according to God’s unfolding will and purpose, for us and for the world. For all of this we give our thanks and praise to god, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us when praying to say, ‘Our Father...’

1^st Reading       Exodus 19, verses 2 - 8

Hymn   25 (Hymns & Psalms)   ‘He’s got the whole world in His hands...’

Chant               868 (Hymns & Psalms) Psalm 100

2^nd Reading                  Matthew 9, verse 35 – 10, verse 8

Anthem                        ‘Teach me Lord...’                               Attwood                     

Sermon

Out Beyond Ourselves

“...You will be to me a kingdom of priests, my holy nation...” (Exodus 19, 6a). “...These twelve Jesus sent out...” (Matthew 10, 5a).  “...Such hope is no fantasy...” (Romans 5, 5a).

To describe ‘life’ as a journey is a cliché. But that is how it is. Each individual life has its origin in God. As surely as God brought the whole of creation into being out of nothing, so God has brought you and me into being out of nothing. If it were not for God we would be nothing. Consequently we cannot understand life, human life, our own life, apart from God. Each, every, all human life is inextricably bound up with the life of God. Life begins with God, and will end, ultimately, with God. Our essential destiny is to be with God in eternity. Humanly speaking we describe ‘life’ in terms of conception/birth and death, but when understood theologically – life in all its fullness – it is bounded by inception and reception. The Bible makes much of journeying; Exodus, as well as being one of the most exciting stories in the Bible, describing as it does a series of actual, historical events is also a powerful metaphor for appreciating the nature and purpose of human life. In the way the story unfolds, we have illustrations of what life is actually like, however it is lived, by whom and wherever:

·        We are always travelling away from someone/thing/where, and towards someone/thing/where.

·        Sooner or later we will inevitably break new ground.

·        At times we will feel as if we are wandering in the wilderness.

·        We always journey in anticipation of reaching a destination.

·        We can never be prepared for everything we are likely to encounter along the way.

·        We have to rely on what is innate to us, and on what we learn along the way.

What makes life the life it is, what makes us who we are is the actual ‘going out’. Hence the significance of the missionary dimension that attaches to the Christian faith, to the way we live as Christians. God is a missionary God. God goes out from God in the process of creation. Every creative act initiated by God involves God going out from God – supremely evidenced in the act of incarnation; the Word becoming flesh – God in Christ; the man Jesus embodying eternity within time and space. In this context we appreciate the symbolic significance of the ascension, the one who went from God, being received back to God; encouraging each one of us to believe that as surely as in our inception we go out from God, life becomes a journey into God, the God who will receive us into the Divine presence. But we are also missionary people. It is in going out from ourselves that we are enabled to realise who it is we really are. Our real identity remains hidden to us unless we are prepared to step out from within ourselves in order to be identified. Most profoundly this entails taking a ‘step of faith’, or what is better described as a ‘leap of faith’, out from within ourselves and onwards toward God. The ‘gift’ of faith allows us to know ourselves as God knows us. It entails us being prepared to allow mystery and vulnerability to displace actuality and certainty, but only if are willing for this to be so will we realise who we are; what is the meaning of life as we live it; essentially mysterious, and necessarily vulnerable. What is true for us as individuals is also true for us as a Church. We have to be a missionary congregation. Jesus’ sending out of the disciples is again a metaphor for us as a congregation, the disciples of today. They would only realise the true significance of Jesus’ teaching in their sharing that teaching with others. Just to remain with Jesus would give them a false understanding of Jesus’ ministry. We too have to be prepared to be sent out, not just for the sake of those whom we will inevitably encounter, ‘out there’, but for the sake of ourselves. To realise what it means to be a disciple of Jesus we have to go out beyond ourselves, beyond the Church. Indeed, all that Jesus said and did only makes real sense when understood from the perspective of the self beyond the self, the world beyond the Church. So, we are on a journey. Life is just that. Our individual life, a particular journey; our life together, a pilgrimage. How do we find our way? What is there that can help us navigate our way through life? Moses was given God’s law to act as map and compass; a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night kept them going in the right direction. In Christ, God encourages us to fulfil that same law in the way we live; loving God, and loving our neighbour as ourselves. The cross is ever before us, the Calvary road is open ahead of us, and the challenge to take up or cross daily, to follow him is always with us. The tomb is empty, endless future possibilities are before us. Though it might seem that our ultimate destination remains always just over the horizon, not visible by sight, but through the eyes of faith, we sense that it is there, the Promised Land. A final homecoming awaits us – so, let us leave self behind that we might enter in to the joy of the Lord.

Hymn:  281 (Hymns & Psalms) ‘Come Down O Love Divine...’

Prayers for Others & Ourselves

Time passes; with the same monotonous regularity, time passes. For some it passes too quickly, and for others too slowly. The watch the clock, the diary, the calendar – all essential tools of the trade as far as living is concerned. Life is measured out in time; three score years and ten, and then some more...Too often we are content to put off until tomorrow what we should do today, in spite of knowing that tomorrow never comes. We waste too much time just waiting for the right moment. We need to seize the day, to take the opportunity, to grasp the nettle, to do what is necessary. We need to find the wherewithal whereby our lifetime, really is the time of our life. We need to forego indecision, to eliminate inactivity, to condemn idleness and to banish hesitation.

Let us pray for those whose journey of life begins today.

Let us pray for those struggling to read map and compass.

Let us pray for those wandering in the wilderness; for those blown off course, for those deliberately misdirected.

Let us pray for those who feel they can go no further.

Let us pray for those who realise that the journey is coming to its end.

Let us pray for all who feel far away from home, for refugees, for those seeking asylum, for economic migrants, for victims of trafficking.

Let us pray for all who journey alone.

Let us pray for the Church, this congregation, as we journey out beyond ourselves; journeying with others, that strangers might become friends, that we might come to acknowledge our common humanity as children of God.

Lord, during your earthly ministry you travelled extensively. You went to many places, you met many people, you did many things. We sense that you never wasted a moment, never missed an opportunity. Create within us a sense of urgency, a desire, even a hunger, than not one moment be wasted. Let life for us, however short or long, be filled up with good things for the sake of your glory.

Hymn   778 (Hymns & Psalms) ‘O God our Father, who dost make us one...’

Blessing

“Always be joyful; pray continually; give thanks whatever happens; for this is what God wills for you in Christ Jesus – he who calls us is faithful, He will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5; 16-18, 24).

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Please find below the content of our worship service held on Sunday 8th June 2008. It contains the full text of the sermon and of the prayers together with details of the hymns sung and music used during the service. If you wish to get in touch to comment on or discuss anything about the service, please make contact via the website e/mail.

Introit   ‘O taste & see...’

Call to Worship

“Praise the Lord, all nations, extol Him, all you peoples; for His love protecting us is strong, the Lord’s faithfulness is everlasting. Praise the Lord.” (Psalm 117)

Hymn   396 (Hymns & Psalms)  ‘O God, by whose almighty plan...’

Prayers of Praise & Adoration

Loving God, we give you thanks and praise for your care and protection of us. You will not allow anything to separate us from the love shown to us and to the world in Jesus, and for this we give you thanks. We thank you for your love which is a power filled love. Nothing can withstand the power of your love – not even death. We give you thanks for this love is ours to experience, each one of us. We thank you that this same love is ours to share one with another; this love which acts to forgive, to reconcile, to restore and to heal. Loving God, as we offer you our praise and our worship, so speak to our hearts that we might reach out to you, to one another, and to the world in love, that we might indeed be, ‘all one in Christ Jesus’. For His sake we ask these things as we pray together, ‘Our Father...’

1^st Reading       Matthew 9, verses 9-13, 18-26                       

Hymn   598 (Mission Praise)  ‘Peter & John went to pray...’

Chant   859 pt. A, (Hymns & Psalms), Psalm 80, verses 1-7

2^nd Reading                  Hosea 5, verse 15  –  6,  verse 6.        

Anthem                        ‘Jesu, joy of man’s desiring...’               J.S. Bach        

Sermon

You will be healed

“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us, but He will heal us, He has wounded us, but he will bind up our wounds.” (Hosea 6, 1). “It was not through law that Abraham and his descendants were given the promise that the world should be their inheritance, but through righteousness that came from faith.” (Romans 4, 13). “It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick.” (Matthew 9, 12b).

Within Christian circles, what is meant by, ‘healing’ is a seemingly unanswerable question. Most obviously it is to do with ‘physical healing’. Jesus is recorded as having healed many from their ‘diseases’. Paul describes ‘the gift of healing’ as one aspect of charismatic ministry. Christian history is littered with examples of healing miracles. Every generation, not least our own, contains at least some who will testify to such an experience, and who are we to deny them? Yet why then are so few healed? Why is it that so many prayers go unanswered? Why do we have to endure pain and suffering, of self or of loved ones? The crass response from some quarters is to dare to suggest that God wants to heal everybody, and if somebody isn’t healed, it isn’t God’s fault, it’s theirs – no faith, no healing. I believe we do God a disservice, and we fail to understand the Biblical record, and we misconstrue personal experience, if we limit our understanding of ‘healing’ to the merely physical. Healing, under God, may include physical healing, but that is incidental to the real nature of the healing that God offers to each of us, and to the world. Healing, properly understood, from a Christian perspective is all to do with making whole that which has disintegrated, restoring that which has been lost, reconciling that which has become broken, forgiving that which has brought about separation, resurrecting that which has died. In short it is all to do with relationships. It is all to do with one’s relationship with God, one’s relationship with oneself, and one’s relationship with others. None of us is immortal. Sooner or later we will die. Treatment will prevent us from dying from a multitude of ills, but sooner or later something will happen to each one of us that will be the cause of our death. The medical profession possesses gifts, talents and abilities which are to be used to the full; more than that we are surely right to invest our wealth in medical research, training and delivery of services. We ought to take care of ourselves. But what is more important is to ensure that while we are alive, whatever the state of our health, and the state of our health can never be an excuse in this regard, to ensure that our relationships are right. We need to be right with God – hence Paul so often talking about righteousness, right standing with God. God made it possible for us to be right with him, simply by believing in him to such an extent that we are prepared to trust God in everything, even in matters of life and death; when everything else fails us, having the faith to believe that God will never fail us. We need too, to be at peace with ourselves. Even if it is our fault, never blaming ourselves; even though we know we did wrong, being prepared to forgive ourselves. And we need to be in harmony with each other. Emotional distress is far more painful than physical injury; the scars go deeper, the wounds take so much longer to heal. A broken heart is more likely to cause us to stop living than any purely physical cause of death. So, what do we mean by, ‘a ministry of healing’? It is to encourage one another, whatever the state of our health, to deal with those aspects of our life that otherwise prevent us from benefitting from those relationships that are ours to enjoy if only we would realise it. This will mean dealing with those aspects of our character and personality, so often exacerbated at times of crises such as a serious illness, that affect our ability to relate – anger, frustration, bitterness, denial, self-pity, resignation – and this will be so not just for the one who is physically ill, it will be necessary on the part of those who love and who care as well. It means that we support one another in our care for one another, just being there. It will mean praying with and for each other – not in a simplistic, naive way seeking after that which we know cannot be – but rather that in our care with and for each other, that sense of God’s care and protection would be ours to know; looking to God to provide that which only God can give; a peace that the world cannot give, a peace that is beyond our understanding. God promises that His presence will be ours to know come what may. God pledges that nothing will be allowed to separate us from the love which is His to share with us and with the world, a love exemplified in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. God declares that nothing that characterises the human condition can of itself sever that sense of relatedness that is essential to our being human. We are made by God, and to God we will return, by whatever means – in dying we are born to eternal life. We are made to be the person we are, and sooner or later we will know ourselves for who that person is. The Christian’s most eloquent testimony is this, that God has healed me, though I die, God has healed me. Even death itself finds its resolution according to the love of God exemplified in the crucified, yet risen Christ, by whose stripes we are healed. 

Hymn:  398 (Hymns & Psalms) ‘Your will for us and others, Lord...’    

Prayers for Others & Ourselves

All of us wish to be well. None of us can bear being ill. Sickness and injury take their toll of us; we never seem to recover fully. We abhor pain and we fear death. We want to be healed, yet we accept that this cannot always be so. Help us to realise that the healing process is more than just making us physically well. Cause us to appreciate that for which healing can become a reality. Let us seek to be reconciled to God, within ourselves, with one another. Let us desire for that which is broken to be mended, that which has been lost to be restored, that which has died to be raised to life, come what may, that we might indeed be healed.

Let us pray for all who are physically unwell.

Let us pray for those for whom there is no prospect of recovery.

Let us pray for those who are dying.

Let us pray for family, friends and loved ones sharing life with those are so ill.

Let us pray for those who are sick in mind and spirit.

Let us pray for those who are suffering the consequences of broken relationships.

Let us pray for those who feel estranged from God.

Let us pray for those who feel divided within themselves.

Let us pray for those who feel alienated from others.

Let us pray for the healing of the nations, resolution of conflict, and peace with justice for all.

Let us pray for the Church, this Church, as we engage in a ministry of healing.

Lord, you came to heal. In and through your life, death and resurrection you hold out before us the promise of true healing. According to the sacrifice of your love, you will reconcile us to God. According to the presence of your Spirit you offer to reconcile us to ourselves. In the power of your most precious name you invite us to be reconciled one to another. And then, we are healed.

Hymn   402 (Hymns & Psalms)  ‘For the healing of the nations...’

Blessing

“The Lord is near; do not be anxious, but in everything make our requests known to God in prayer, with thanksgiving. Then the peace of God which is beyond all understanding will guard our hearts and our thoughts in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians, 4, 5b-7[alt])

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