Welcome to our service - 11 December
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 in church and live on Zoom. 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.
SERVICE
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
and blessed be his kingdom, now and for ever.
Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIr21lLgFpg
On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Come then and listen for He brings
Glad tidings from the King of kings.
2. Then cleansed be ev’ry heart from sin;
Make straight the way for God within;
Prepare we in our hearts a home,
Where such a mighty guest may come.
3. For You are our salvation, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward;
Without Your grace we waste away,
Like flow’rs that wither and decay.
4. To heal the sick stretch out Your hand,
Make wholeness flow at Your command;
Sins's devastation now restore
Earth's own true loveliness once more.
5. To Him who left the throne of heaven
To save mankind, all praise be given;
To God the Father, voices raise,
And Holy Spirit, let us praise.
Words: Charles Coffin (1676-1749) tr John Chandler (1806-76)
Music: from Musicalisches HandBuch
altered © 1986 Horrobin/Leavers
CONFESSION
In the name of God, who has delivered us from the dominion of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, we welcome you: grace to you and peace.
We are gathered together to proclaim and receive in our hearts the good news of the coming of God’s kingdom, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate with confidence and joy the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We pray that we may respond in penitence and faith to the glory of his kingdom, its works of justice and its promise of peace, its blessing and its hope.
A voice cries out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’ So let us listen, and turn to the Lord in penitence and faith:
God, through Jesus Christ,
will judge the secret thoughts of all:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Let anyone who has an ear
listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy
ABSOLUTION
The almighty and merciful Lord
grant us pardon and forgiveness of all our sins,
time for amendment of life,
and the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Alleluia.
COLLECT
God for whom we watch and wait,
you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son:
give us courage to speak the truth,
to hunger for justice,
and to suffer for the cause of right,
with Jesus Christ our Lord.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIDPd8d3oQE
Longing for light, we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, we turn to you.
Make us your own, your holy people,
light for the world to see.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in our hearts,
shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church
gathered today.
Longing for peace, our world is troubled.
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone has power to save us.
Make us your living voice.
Christ, be our light!
Longing for food, many are hungry.
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us your bread, broken for others,
shared until all are fed.
Christ, be our light!
Longing for shelter, many are homeless.
Longing for warmth, many are cold.
Make us your building, sheltering others,
walls made of living stone.
Christ, be our light!
Many the gifts, many the people,
many the hearts that yearn to belong.
Let us be servants to one another,
making your kingdom come.
Christ, be our light!
Bernadette Farrell © 1993 OCP Publications
READINGS
Isaiah 35. 1 – 10 New Living Translation
Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.
The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.
Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers
and singing and joy!
The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.
There the LORD will display his glory,
the splendour of our God.
With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
and encourage those who have weak knees.
Say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you.”
And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
and unplug the ears of the deaf.
The lame will leap like a deer,
and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,
and streams will water the wasteland.
The parched ground will become a pool,
and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.
Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish
where desert jackals once lived.
And a great road will go through that once deserted land.
It will be named the Highway of Holiness.
Evil-minded people will never travel on it.
It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways;
fools will never walk there.
Lions will not lurk along its course,
nor any other ferocious beasts.
There will be no other dangers.
Only the redeemed will walk on it.
Those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return.
They will enter Jerusalem singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
and they will be filled with joy and gladness.
Matthew 11: 2- 11 New Living Translation
John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”
Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.”
As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces. Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,
‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way before you.’
“I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!
Talk - Rachel Crossley
Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?
John the Baptist sends his followers to enquire of Jesus. John who spent his ministry baptising people and pointing to the one who was greater than he and would baptise with fire. John who when Jesus comes to be baptised tries to talk him out of it saying I am the one who needs to be baptised by you.
John knew, didn’t he? If anyone ‘got it’ it was John. Yet here he is asking - are you the one?
Personally, I find it reassuring that even John the Baptist had his doubts, his moments where he stumbled and felt unsure. If John is allowed to have a wobble, then it means it’s OK for me to have my own doubts and struggles. If we pay attention to what was going on in this story it becomes easy for us to sympathise. When John sends his disciples to ask Jesus ‘are you the one’, he is in prison.
John’s message was not an easy one, he challenged people on how they lived, calling for people to change. And his pointing to the expected Messiah made those with power nervous. So, we find him jailed waiting to find out what the authorities are going to do with him. If there is ever a time when we might expect doubt to set in, for John to have a crisis of confidence, now is it.
However, I think this is more than a wobble in response to a difficult time in his life. Here, I believe we find John struggling to match the ministry of Jesus with his own expectations. Last week in our Growth Groups (which met during the 10am service) we read about John’s preaching - its startling language with talk of the ‘axe of God’s judgment being poised and burning the chaff with a never-ending fire’. John had put a lot of effort into warning the people of the need to repent, to change their behaviour and warning them of the consequences. He expected the Messiah to be the one that brought about God’s judgment. So here, looking at Jesus’ ministry, he appears to be wondering what’s going on. Matthew records Jesus having at this point called his first disciples, giving the sermon on the mount, healing people, and calming the storm. Not only is there a lack of axe and fire but he doesn’t even fast! Matthew 9 records another conversation between Jesus and the disciples of John where they ask him why he doesn’t fast. Clearly this is not the first time John has had questions about God’s plan and Jesus’ role as the Messiah. Jesus fails to match John’s expectations. And how does he respond? Does he scald John for a lack of faith? Does he reassure him with a clear of course I am? Does he change his work to match what John expects of him?
Well at first it appears that Jesus does not even directly answer the question. (He seems to do this a lot doesn’t he). Instead, he tells John’s disciples to go back and tell him ‘what you have seen and heard.’ He then describes some of his miracles: healing blindness, the lame being made to walk, the dead raised to life. However, this is more than Jesus listing his greatest hits. It is also a call back to the prophet Isaiah that we heard earlier……. In referencing Isaiah Jesus is drawing John’s attention to the fact that the Messiah’s role is bigger than he could ever have imagined. Jesus reminds us to watch our expectations, to not let our presumptions cause us to stumble or fall away. God’s plans will be fulfilled, even if we don’t see how right away.
What are we to do when we wonder if what’s going on is part of the plan? Or when we have our own doubts and struggles? We are to tell of what we have seen and heard. We continue to look for signs of God at work and share them with those around us.
Jesus then turns his attention to the crowd gathered around him. Questioning why they went to hear John speak in the wilderness. He asks them three rhetorical questions, were they looking for a reed swaying in the wind? Or someone dressed in expensive clothing? Or a prophet? Many commentators observe that the reed was a symbol of Herod who had arrested John the Baptist. The reference to those living in expensive clothes living in palaces would seem to support this. Jesus reminds the crowd that John was to announce the coming of the Messiah. That the thing they were looking for, longing for, is here now. He is once again pointing to himself as the messiah, and again refers to an Old Testament prophet…. to help the people make the connection. John’s role was to point to his coming so that they would be ready for the work he was to do. But again, it is a warning to the crowd that things might be different to what they expected. Not to become so comfortable with what they think they know that they fail to recognise God at work in their midst. Something new has begun.
I wonder where it is we feel our expectations are not being met? What situations make us wonder what God is up to? We look at the news and people are still being persecuted, nations still oppress others, the political classes still sway and bend according to the wind. The recent discussion around the National Census may make us feel downhearted at how the church appears to be losing its effectiveness. That the kingdom doesn’t seem to be growing. I’m sure that over the next few weeks and months people will continue to analyse these results and discuss what the causes are and make many suggestions as to what we need to do. However, I think this passage provides us with a hint. We are to tell of what we have seen and heard.
In only the last few months I have heard of people offering homes to refugees from Ukraine, I have heard of people recovering from long COVID, I personally have found myself surrounded by amazing support and help as I have begun training for ordination, as I have taken steps out in trust God has been faithful in making sure I could get through all the changes and worries. Last week at the launch of At The Table we saw nearly 50 people, including many people who do not currently attend a Sunday service, come and eat together and hear a Christian message. I am also sure that if we went around the room now many of us would also have other stories of things we have seen and heard that can only be described as God at work.
During advent as we remember the story of how God chose to enter this world as a baby to offer us a new relationship with him, we also look forwards with hope to the future coming of Jesus when things will be made new. We need to keep looking for signs of God at work and especially when things are difficult and dark help those around us to notice them. Sometimes it can be hard to see Jesus in the messiness of life. But like John the Baptist we need to remember our role is to keep looking and keep pointing to Jesus. We need to keep telling of what we have seen and heard. Amen
THE BENEDICTUS:
You will guide us with your counsel, O God, and afterwards receive us with glory.
Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,
who has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets God promised of old
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,
To show mercy to our ancestors,
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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 Linda Chambers
The Old Testament reading today is headed ‘Hope for Restoration’. Our nation and our world desperately need hope at the moment, so our prayers follow a simple pattern. The response at the end of each section is: God of Hope / Encourage us today.
But we start with Thanksgiving. Lord God, we thank you for all the many ways you have blessed us individually and as a church. Thank you for our friends and families, our homes and neighbourhoods and all the little things we take for granted. Thank you also for our growing congregation and the gifts and personalities they are contributing to our life and worship. Thank you for those who work faithfully with our children and young people each week.
We pray - for Hope for the homeless and disadvantaged of our city – and the many charities and foodbanks who support them … Hope in local and national government in these uncertain times … Hope for those across our nation affected by industrial action, farmers and growers concerned about the food supply crisis … Hope for those in our city and nation, yet to grasp the real reason we celebrate Christmas.
God of Hope … Encourage us today.
We pray - for Hope for the people of Ukraine coping with ongoing missile strikes and power shortages … Hope for those caught up in unrest in Iran and China, gang warfare in Haiti … Hope where there is conflict in the world and in those nations housing refugees - Columbia, Lebanon, Poland and many others … Hope for the people of Somalia and Madagascar facing extreme poverty and potential famine.
God of Hope … Encourage us today.
We pray – for Hope for those anxious about the rising cost of living, those weary of life with all its challenges, those fearful of the future … Hope for young people and adults caring for others at home, in hospital or care home … Hope for those debilitated by long Covid or other long term illnesses … Hope in the darkness of loss and grief.
God of Hope … Encourage us today.
We pray - for Hope among our church family and in our relationships with the wider Greystones community … Hope for the local shops and businesses in these challenging times and for local school communities at the end of term … Hope for those who will celebrate Christmas with us in church, on zoom or online – and especially for those who come to St. Gabriel’s ‘At the Table’ this evening.
God of Hope … Encourage us today.
Lord God, give us hope in our hearts during Advent as we prepare to celebrate again the first coming of Christ and anticipate his coming again in glory. 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=-MmRGSEG2LM
Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness.
Opened my eyes, let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You
Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me
2. King of all days
Oh, so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came
To the earth You created
All for love's sake became poor
Here I am to worship…
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross (rep.)
Here I am to worship…
Tim Hughes ©2001 Thankyou 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.
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=YksTeR61O1I&t=43s
From the squalor of a borrowed stable,
by the Spirit and a virgin’s faith,
to the anguish and the shame of scandal
came the saviour of the human race.
But the skies were filled with the praise of heaven,
shepherds listen as the angels tell
of the gift of God come down to man
at the dawning of Immanuel.
King of heaven now the friend of sinners,
humble servant in the Father’s hands,
filled with the power of the Holy Spirit,
filled with mercy for the broken man.
Yes, he walked my road, and he felt my pain,
joys and sorrows that I know so well;
yet his righteous steps give me hope again –
I will follow my Immanuel!
Through the kisses of a friend’s betrayal,
he was lifted on a cruel cross;
he was punished for a world’s transgressions,
he was suffering to save the lost.
He fights for breath, he fights for me,
loosing sinners from the claims of hell;
and with a shout our souls are free –
death defeated by Immanuel.
Now he’s standing in the place of honour,
crowned with glory on the highest throne;
interceding for his own beloved
till his Father calls to bring them home!
Then the skies will part as the trumpet sounds,
hope of heaven or the fear of hell
but the bride will run to her lover’s arms, giving glory to Immanuel.
Stuart Townend © 1999 Thankyou Music
FINAL BLESSING:
Christ the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you,
scatter the darkness from before your path,
and make you ready to meet him when he comes in glory;
and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.