Sunday Service - 17 May

Welcome to our Service - 17 May

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.

To the right is Alistair’s talk. It can be watched separately or as part of the rest of the service.

If you are able, we would also like invite you to join us for our main Sunday service, 10am, 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.

OPENING

Let everything be said and done in the name of the

Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through Jesus Christ.

Sing psalms, hymns and sacred songs:

let us sing to God with thankful hearts.

Open our lips, Lord:

and we shall praise your name.

HYMN

HALLELUJAH! SING TO JESUS;

His the sceptre, His the throne;

Hallelujah! His the triumph,

His the victory alone.

Hark, the songs of holy Zion

Thunder like a mighty flood:

‘Jesus out of every nation

Hath redeemed us by His blood.’

Hallelujah! not as orphans

Are we left in sorrow now;

Hallelujah! He is near us,

Faith believes, nor questions how.

Though the clouds from sight receivedHim

When the forty days were o’er,

Shall our hearts forget His promise,

‘I am with you ever more’?

Hallelujah! Bread of heaven,

Thou on earth our food, our stay;

Hallelujah! here the sinful

Flee to Thee from day to day.

Intercessor, Friend of sinners,

Earth’s Redeemer, plead for me

Where the songs of all the sinless

Sweep across the crystal sea.

Hallelujah! sing to Jesus;

His the sceptre, His the throne;

Hallelujah! His the triumph,

His the victory alone.

Hark, the songs of holy Zion

Thunder like a mighty flood:

‘Jesus out of every nation

Hath redeemed us by His blood.’

William C. Dix (1837–98)

CONFESSION

Lord God, our maker and our redeemer, this is your world and we are your people: come among us and save us.

We have wilfully misused your gifts of creation;

Lord, be merciful:

Forgive us our sin.

We have seen the ill-treatment of others

and have not gone to their aid;

Lord, be merciful:

Forgive us our sin.

We have condoned evil and dishonesty

and failed to strive for justice;

Lord, be merciful:

Forgive us our sin.

We have heard the good news of Christ,

but have failed to share it with others;

Lord, be merciful:

Forgive us our sin.

We have not loved you

with all our heart,

nor our neighbours as ourselves;

Lord, be merciful:

Forgive us our sin.

ASOLUTION

May God who loved the world so much

that he sent his Son to be our Saviour

forgive us our sins and make us holy to

serve him in the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

COLLECT

Risen Christ,

by the lakeside you renewed your call to your disciples:

help your Church to obey your command

and draw the nations to the fire of your love,

to the glory of God the Father. AMEN

SONG

JUBILATE, EVERYBODY,

Serve the Lord in all your ways,

And come before His presence singing,

Enter now His courts with praise.

For the Lord our God is gracious,

And His mercy’s everlasting.

Jubilate, Jubilate, Jubilate Deo.

Fred Dunn.

READINGS

Acts 17:22-31 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: ‘People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship – and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

24 ‘The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 “For in him we live and move and have our being.”[a] As some of your own poets have said, “We are his offspring.”[b]

29 ‘Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.’

Reading: Luke 14:15-25 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, ‘Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.’

16 Jesus replied: ‘A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, “Come, for everything is now ready.”

18 ‘But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, “I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.”

19 ‘Another said, “I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.”

20 ‘Still another said, “I have just got married, so I can’t come.”

21 ‘The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.”

22 ‘“Sir,” the servant said, “what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.”

23 ‘Then the master told his servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”

This the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

TALK written by Stuart Ibbotson (see the video above)

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.

PRAYERS - written by Sue James

So we come in prayer to the God who made the world and everything in it, the Lord of heaven and earth and the one who invites us to the banquet.

Bountiful God

We thank you for the abundance in the world you have created:

for the beauty of spring, the abundance we see as nature bursts forth into life:

the greening of the trees, the fullness of the blossom

the brightness of the green fields

the colour and the variety of flowers

We thank you that you have created such a beautiful world for us to enjoy.

We ask your forgiveness for the way we have damaged the environment that you have given into our care. In this time of lockdown we have taken note of how our pollution levels have reduced and nature has thrived .We pray that when things get back to normal there may be careful consideration by scientists and governments of the damage we do to our world that more may be done to protect it and that each of us may be willing to live in a more eco friendly way.

Lord hear our prayer

We have been reminded this morning of how God’s love reaches out to us all but especially to those who are in need

We pray for those who find themselves in need because of the coronavirus outbreak.

God of compassion, be close to those who are ill, afraid or in isolation.

In their loneliness, be their consolation;

in their anxiety, be their hope;

in their darkness, be their light;

through him who suffered alone on the cross, but reigns with you in glory, Jesus Christ our Lord.

We pray for those on the frontline in caring for those who are unwell.

Gracious God, give skill, sympathy and resilience to all who are caring for the sick, and your wisdom to those searching for a cure.

Strengthen them with your Spirit, that through their work many will be restored to health; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

As we have been reminded today of Jesus invitation to the banquet we pray for people on the margins of our society:

Loving Lord,

We bring before you those who are so often not included in our society

The homeless

Those in prison

Young offenders

People caught up in addiction

People from other countries who feel unwelcome

People who feel lonely

Lord we pray that your invitation to love and the fullness of life will reach those who so often are not included in community life.

May our churches be places where all feel welcome.

Bless the ministries of those who reach out to people on the edge.

Help us all to know how we can play our part in bringing your message of love to those in most need.

Lord hear our prayer

We pray for ourselves as we consider Jesus’s invitation to the banquet

Loving Father, we thank you for the life of Jesus here on earth and that he taught us of a God who draws us to himself and longs for us to share in his kingdom.

You offer us life in abundance but we so often choose our own path and turn from your way of goodness.

Forgive us for the excuses we make when we fail to do what you ask of us.

Help us to listen to your call and open our hearts to your abundance

In the name of our saviour, 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

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

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;

As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided,

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness...

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness...

Thomas O. Chisholm (1866–1960)

BLESSING

The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,

that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always.

Amen

Stuart Ibbotson preaches on Luke 14:15-25.

Click here to access plate template for activity during Zoom Service