Welcome to our online service - 10 July
This service sheet can be used individually or with households.
We would encourage you to say (or even sing) hymns and songs out loud.
Prayers, other liturgy or readings can be said out loud or silently, corporately or individually.
If you are able, we would also like invite you to join us for our main Sunday service, 10am, live on Zoom and in the church. Even if you have never been to St Gabriel’s before we would love you to join you. Please get in touch with the vicar Alistair (vicar@saintgs.co.uk) and he will send you the Zoom details.
Please join us for public worship in the church building this Sunday at 10am or 11:30am.
OPENING
OPENING
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
Alleluia.
He has defeated the powers of death.
Alleluia.
Jesus turns our sorrow into dancing.
Alleluia.
He has the words of eternal life.
Alleluia.
HYMN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPbD2G3i-7Y
Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down,
fix in us Thy humble dwelling,
all Thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
pure unbounded love Thou art;
visit us with Thy salvation,
enter every trembling heart.
2. Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit
into every troubled breast;
let us all in Thee inherit,
let us find Thy promised rest.
Take away the love of sinning,
Alpha and Omega be;
end of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.
3. Come, almighty to deliver,
let us all Thy grace receive;
suddenly return, and never,
never more Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
glory in Thy perfect love.
4. Finish then Thy new creation:
pure and spotless let us be;
let us see Thy great salvation,
perfectly restored in Thee:
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before Thee,
lost in wonder, love and praise.
Words: Charles Wesley (1707-88)
Music: William P Rowlands (1860-1937)
PRAYER OF PREPARATION
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
CONFESSION
Jesus Christ, risen Master and triumphant Lord, we come to you in sorrow for our sins, and confess to you our weakness and unbelief.
We have lived by our own strength,
and not by the power of you resurrection.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Lord, hear us and help us.
We have lived by the light
of our own eyes,
as faithless and not believing.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Lord, hear us and help us.
We have lived for this world alone,
and doubted our home in heaven.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Lord, hear us and help us.
ABSOLUTION
May the God of love and power
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
COLLECT
Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church
is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry
they may serve you in holiness and truth
to the glory of your name;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggSjE26Iivw
The King is among us,
His Spirit is here:
let's draw near and worship,
let songs fill the air!
2. He looks down upon us,
delight in his face,
enjoying his children's love,
enthralled by our praise.
3. For each child is special,
accepted and loved -
a love gift from Jesus
to His Father above.
4. And now He is giving
his gifts to us all;
for no one is worthless
and each one is called.
5. The Spirit's anointing
on all flesh comes down,
and we shall be channels
For works like His own:
6. We come now believing
Your promise of power,
for we are Your people
and this is Your hour.
Graham Kendrick
(c) 1981 Make Way Music/Thankyou Music
READINGS
1 Peter 2: 4 - 10 New Living Translation
You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honour.
And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures say,
“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,
chosen for great honour,
and anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”
Yes, you who trust him recognise the honour God has given him. But for those who reject him,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.”
And,
“He is the stone that makes people stumble,
the rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
“Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”
Luke 10: 25 – 37 New Living Translation
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”
Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was travelling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Look after this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbour to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
The is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Sermon written by Hannah Sandoval
Good morning everyone. My name is Hannah Sandoval and I work for the Diocese of Sheffield as our Lights for Christ Enabler – it’s a bit of a funny job title but I hope the meaning will become clearer as I speak this morning. My role is to help people to apply their faith to their everyday life. I encourage people to think about how they can live out their faith from Monday to Saturday – not just on Sunday when they’re in church.
I wonder how many of us here have been baptised or christened?... perhaps many of us will have been confirmed in our faith too?... I wonder how many of us would consider ourselves to be disciples of Jesus?...
It may be that like me, many of you were baptised when you were children. I was baptised when I was six months old – I don’t remember it, of course, but I’ve seen the photos and I’m told there was a very good cake at the party afterwards. My parents have even still got the candle I was given during the service – a symbol of the light of Christ that I received that day, and continue to receive every day of my life. When someone is baptised in the Church of England, the priest says to them ‘you have received the light of Christ; walk in this light all the days of your life.’ The congregation then encourages them to ‘shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father’.
It wasn’t until I was much older that I began to discover what these words meant for me in my everyday life. I got confirmed, and these words about being a light for Christ were spoken over me again. I began to understand that I, too, was a disciple (or follower) of Jesus – that that word didn’t just apply to the people who followed Jesus when he was on Earth, but to everyone today who believes in Jesus and seeks to live by his teachings.
This calling to be lights for Christ is common to all of us who have been baptised… all of us who follow Jesus. It doesn’t matter how young or old you were when you got baptised. We come from different backgrounds and traditions, have different gifts and skills, but all have this same vocation to shine as a light in the world to the glory of God. In our reading today we heard that God has ‘called [us] out of darkness into his wonderful light’ – that despite our differences, we are now made into one people by our shared belief and calling. We have moved from ignorance into knowledge of God’s love and mercy. Peter reminds us that our purpose as this chosen people, this holy nation, is to glorify and ‘declare the praises’ of God.
How can we live out this calling in a practical way? Our response to God’s call is to live as his disciples, to build our normal, everyday lives upon the foundation that is Jesus and his teachings. We heard in our reading that Jesus is the cornerstone, the living Stone upon which everything is to be based – the thing we keep referring back to again and again. I don’t know much about building houses, but I can see why a cornerstone is the most important part of a structure – the part on which everything else depends. Perhaps you remember the story Jesus told of the wise and foolish builders: the person who hears Jesus’ teachings and lives by them is like the wise man who builds his house upon the rock.
A life lived in response to God’s call can have different names. Some people might call it simply ‘being a Christian’, others might say they are a disciple, a follower, or an apprentice of Jesus. Some might say they are being a ‘light for Christ’. Whatever you call it, the fundamental thing is that we are all on a journey of getting to know Jesus and becoming more like him. His teachings become the lens through which we are to view every aspect of life – even the boring, mundane bits that we think aren’t important. Every part of our lives is relevant to God – when we’re at work and at home, at rest or at play. This calling to be lights for Christ isn’t an optional extra – it’s an integral part of our Christian life. Jesus didn’t say to his followers ‘You could be the light of the world’ – he said ‘you ARE the light of the world’!
It’s easy to feel inspired by this idea of being lights for Christ, but it can be more difficult to know how to put it into practice. How might we take an abstract idea and put it into practical, tangible action? As part of our diocesan Lights for Christ initiative, we’ve identified three key areas of discipleship to help people think about this question. They are receiving Christ’s light, walking in Christ’s light, and reflecting this light to others. I’ll say a little bit about each of these three areas.
Receiving Christ’s light is all about how we spend time being with Jesus. We might do this through prayer, by taking part in worship and Holy Communion at church, or reading the Bible. A lot of people I’ve spoken to have said that they receive the light of Christ by spending time in nature and admiring the work of God in Creation. Different people receive from God in different ways, but the important thing is that we are intentional about including this in our everyday life, because we must first receive Christ’s light before we can walk in it or reflect it to others.
The second key area of being a disciple is walking in Christ’s light – this is about becoming more like Jesus and trying to live by his teachings. To be a disciple means to follow someone in order to learn from them – the Bible tells us that as we trust in and learn from Jesus, who is the Living Stone, we too become living stones, being built into a spiritual house. Biblical scholar, Jeff Cavins, says that ‘imitation is the foundation of discipleship.’ As we try to imitate Jesus’ character and make his teachings the basis for our words and actions, we learn how to relate to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ and to live more generously – not just with our money, but with our time and skills, too. Walking in Christ’s light is also about balancing work and rest, and enjoying the good gifts that God has given us.
As we receive Christ’s light and walk in it in our daily lives, we will begin to reflect this light to those around us, even if we don’t realise it. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us to ‘let [our] light shine before others, that they may see [our] good deeds and glorify [our] Father in heaven.’ Reflecting Christ’s light is about how we can show the love of God to everyone we meet by trying to do as Jesus did.
You might like to think about how you are already doing these things, and how you might be intentional about doing more of them… receiving Christ’s light, walking in it, and reflecting it to others. Considering how these ideas fit into your life at the moment might help you to work out the next step in your journey of following Jesus. Perhaps you could decide on one new thing to try for each of these three areas and make it part of your daily or weekly routine.
To help people to do this, the Diocese of Sheffield has put together a series of resources on developing a Personal Rule of Life. This is a simple set of habits and practices that can help to structure a person’s journey of discipleship. An important thing to note about a Personal Rule of Life is that it is specific to you and your context – we’re encouraging people to develop habits that are helpful for them at their current stage of life. I’ve brought some copies of the resources with me today, so please do have a look. There are also workshops happening across the Diocese to help people explore developing a Personal Rule of Life – there are workshops happening in Ecclesall deanery on 13th July and 7th September. If you’d like more information about anything I’ve spoken about today, please do come and talk to me after the service.
And so, as we continue with our worship today, let’s thank God for calling us out of darkness and into his wonderful light. I’ll leave you with the words that describe our common calling: ‘shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father.’ Amen
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth
I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand
of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen
O LORD, HEAR MY PRAYER,
O Lord, hear my prayer:
When I call answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer,
O Lord, hear my prayer:
Come and listen to me.
Jacques Berthier/Taizé.
Copyright © 1982 Ateliers et Presses de Taize (France).
PRAYERS - written by Christine Carney
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your tremendous love for each one of us. Thank you for the beauty of the world you created, for the food we eat, and for your provision for us in so many ways. Please fill us with your love – so that we might reach out to others – not just our neighbour who lives next door, but people we meet at the shops, at work, on the bus, those in other countries who need our support.
Thank you, Father, for each of our families. Thank you, too, that we are part of a Church family: older people, children, teenagers. Please bless each of the new growth groups as they meet together. Help us to grow in our love for you, Lord, and our love for one another. We thank you for Alistair and Catherine and their leadership of the Church; please bless them and Ethan, Isabella and Benjamin, inspire them and encourage them. We pray for healing for those in the Church and in the wider community who are ill or frail, for those who are depressed and those who are fearful for the future.
Thank you for the local community in Greystones and for the Bless Greystones initiative. Thank you for Cuppa and Cake, for those who come to chat and those who make such wonderful cakes. We pray for the Holiday Club: for your blessing on Catherine and the organisation involved, that lots of children will come and that each child will feel loved and accepted and have a great time. We pray for the Headteacher and staff of Greystones School that you will give them rest and recuperation after the stress of the Ofsted Inspection. We also pray for your blessing on the barn dance in September.
Heavenly Father, we commit to you our government and we pray for wisdom that comes from you in all the decisions that are made, including that of choosing the next Prime Minister.
We pray for healing and encouragement for those, across the world, with COVID, those struggling with Long COVID and those suffering poverty as a result of COVID…. Heavenly Father, we cry out to you for an end to the war in Ukraine, for safety for the Ukrainian people and for your provision for the Ukrainians who have had to flee their country. We pray for safety for all refugees fleeing from conflict, and that they will find kindness and support in the countries they have gone to.
On this Sea Sunday we give thanks for all those who work at sea, in boats and on oil rigs, and those who volunteer for the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, for their courage and their skill in the face of difficulty and danger. We pray, too, for safety for those going on holidays to the seaside and for protection for refugees in small boats. We commit to you, Lord, the problems of over fishing and pollution in the sea and we pray for wisdom for those trying to solve these issues.
We pray in the name of Jesus.
Amen
LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08utbDFP9AE
Beauty for brokenness,
hope for despair,
Lord in Your suff'ring world
this is our prayer.
Bread for the children,
justice, joy, peace,
sunrise to sunset
Your Kingdom increase.
2. Shelter for fragile lives,
cures for their ills,
work for the craftsmen,
trade for their skills.
Land for the dispossessed,
rights for the weak,
voices to plead the cause
of those who can't speak.
God of the poor,
friend of the weak,
give us compassion we pray.
Melt our cold hearts,
let tears fall like rain.
Come change our love
from a spark to a flame.
3. Refuge from cruel wars,
havens from fear,
cities for sanctu'ry,
freedoms to share.
Peace to the killing fields,
scorched earth to green,
Christ for the bitterness,
His cross for the pain.
4. Rest for the ravaged earth,
oceans and streams,
plundered and poisoned,
our future, our dreams.
Lord end our madness,
carelessness, greed.
Make us content with
the things that we need.
God of the poor….
5. Lighten our darkness,
breathe on this flame,
until Your justice burns
brightly again;
until the nations
learn of Your ways,
seek Your salvation
and bring You their praise.
God of the poor………
Words and Music: Graham Kendrick
(Copyright © 1993 Make Way Music)
OFFERTORY - Take a moment to consider how you are going to continue to give to the life of the church and support other aid agencies and mission organisations.
SAY:
Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power,
the glory, the splendour, and the majesty;
for everything in heaven and on earth is yours.
All things come from you,
and of your own do we give you.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of4l5bTdZ8M
Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee;
take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2. Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of thy love;
take my feet, and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee.
3. Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King;
take my lips, and let them be
filled with messages from thee.
4. Take my silver and my gold,
not a mite would I withhold;
take my intellect, and use
every power as thou shalt choose.
5. Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
take my heart, it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.
6. Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store;
take my self, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.
Words: Frances Ridley Havergal, 1874
Music: Mozart, Hollingside, Festus, Consecration, Ives
BLESSING
God, who through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us the victory, give you joy and peace in your faith; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always. Amen