Welcome to our service - 19 February
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. 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.
Notices
Due the current lockdown the PCC have decided to suspended public worship for the foreseeable future. We are also unable to offer private prayer in the church building.
Please don’t hesitate to ring Alistair (07769 213 581) if you have any questions or would like support.
SERVICE
Opening
Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.
Blessed are those who have endured temptation;
they have stood the test and will receive the crown of life.
Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpkEeXWtWg0
Lead us, heavenly father, lead us
through this world’s tempestuous sea;
guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us –
You our only help and plea;
here possessing every blessing
if our God our father be.
2. Saviour, by your grace restore us
all our weaknesses are plain;
You have lived on earth before us,
You have felt our grief and pain:
tempted, taunted, yet undaunted,
from the depths you rose again.
3. Spirit of our God descending,
fill our hearts with holy peace;
love with every passion blending,
pleasure that can never cease:
thus provided, pardoned, guided,
ever shall our joys increase.
Words : James Edmeston © Jubilate Hymns
Music: Geraldine Latty © Kingsways Thankyou Music
CONFESSION
TSince we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, looking to Jesus in penitence and faith.
As we acknowledge our human frailty, we call to mind our sins of word, deed and omission, and confess them before God our Father.
Father eternal, giver of light and grace,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in what we have thought, in what we have said and done, through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We have wounded your love, and marred your image in us. We are sorry and ashamed, and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past; and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen.
ABSOLUTION
Almighty God,
who forgives all who truly repent,
have mercy upon us, pardon and deliver is from all our sins,
confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and keep us in life eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
COLLECT
Holy God,
you know the disorder of our sinful lives:
set straight our crooked hearts,
and bend our wills to love your goodness
and your glory
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zN0XfOTC8U
BE STILL AND KNOW that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God.
I am the Lord that healeth thee … (etc.)
In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust … (etc.)
READINGS
Deuteronomy 32.1 – 9
“Listen, O heavens, and I will speak!
Hear, O earth, the words that I say!
Let my teaching fall on you like rain;
let my speech settle like dew.
Let my words fall like rain on tender grass,
like gentle showers on young plants.
I will proclaim the name of the LORD;
how glorious is our God!
He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.
Everything he does is just and fair.
He is a faithful God who does no wrong;
how just and upright he is!
“But they have acted corruptly towards him;
when they act so perversely,
are they really his children?
They are a deceitful and twisted generation.
Is this the way you repay the LORD,
you foolish and senseless people?
Isn’t he your Father who created you?
Has he not made you and established you?
Remember the days of long ago;
think about the generations past.
Ask your father, and he will inform you.
Inquire of your elders, and they will tell you.
When the Most High assigned lands to the nations,
when he divided up the human race,
he established the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number in his heavenly court.
“For the people of Israel belong to the LORD;
Jacob is his special possession.
John 1. 43 – 51
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s home town.
Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”
Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”
Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”
Thanks be to God.
TALK taken from Chapter 7 of ‘e-booklet’: Deuteronomy: Wellness God’s Way from ‘Burning Heart’
Blessings and curses
As Moses begins to draw his farewell sermon series to a close, he gives the people of Israel some instructions for a grand drama.74 Once they have entered the promised land, half of the tribes of Israel are to gather on one mountain, called Mount Gerizim. The other half of the tribes are to gather on the hill opposite, called Mount Ebal. Once there, those on Mount Gerizim are to proclaim blessings over Israel, and those on Mount Ebal are to proclaim curses.
It must have been quite an occasion when they actually did it. The Levites declared blessings and curses and then all the people in their hundreds of thousands thundered back “Amen.” I think God would give Hollywood a run for their money when it comes to spectacle and drama!
In this final chapter we’re going to be looking at the last chunk of Deuteronomy – chapters 27-34. It’s a bit of an eclectic collection – this drama, a bit of preaching, a song, some final blessings, and then an account of Moses’ death.
The theme of blessings and curses is the thread that runs through all these chapters though. At one point Moses sums it up like this: “this day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life... .”
In some ways this is quite an unsurprising ending – modern scholars have discovered that ancient treaties often ended with ceremonies of blessing and cursing. There’s an element of this that would therefore have felt familiar to the Israelites. This was a treaty, or covenant, between God and Israel.
As we’ll see though as we explore this in the rest of this chapter, this treaty comes with a twist. Unexpectedly, devastatingly, it comes with the expectation of failure. The emphasis is not on the blessings, but the curses. As Moses looks far into the distant future, he prophesies catastrophe and judgement. But then – even more surprisingly – through the clouds of disaster and darkness, he speaks a note of hope and restoration, of the saving grace of God.
Standing at the crossroads
These final chapters of Deuteronomy begin with a choice. It is a choice between walking with God and following in his ways on one hand, and walking away from God and doing things differently on the other.
Essentially Moses places Israel at a crossroads. It’s a crossroads where the final destinations for each route are clearly signposted and marked out. On the one hand they are told: “blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God.
Moses then gives a series of beautiful and poetic blessings. There’s a lovely little wordplay on ‘fruit’ at one point with promises of abundance in blessings on the fruit of the land itself (flowers and crops and plants), in the fruit of their animals (as their flocks and herds increase), and in the fruit of their own bodies (the promise of children). Blessings everywhere!
This is what wellness, God’s way, would like for them.
The signpost in the other direction is equally clear though. Moses tells them: “if you do not obey the LORD your God...curses will come on you and overtake you.”77 What follows here is then actually far longer than the blessings just before. It is a series of curses inverting the earlier blessings, but then also expanding on them. At times the curses of Deuteronomy 28 are very difficult to read, as Moses promises the downfall and destruction of the nation in graphic and harrowing detail.
Singing a song of judgement
The reason for this is that God always knew what path Israel would ultimately take. In chapters 29 to 32 that is spelt out, as Moses prophesies how Israel will walk away from God, and what that means.
As is often the case when something significant is happening in the Old Testament the prophecy actually comes twice. First there is a simple prose account and then there is a song.
I find the poetry of the song, which comes in chapter 32, really brings this all to life for me. It can feel quite jarring, because much of it is about judgement, and judgement isn’t normally something we want to sing about! Even so, it’s beautiful and evocative word pictures help me to grasp what is going on, and why.
The song begins with a declaration of the greatness and goodness of God:
I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just.
I love that image of God as the rock – solid, secure, unshakeable in his greatness, but also pure and good and perfect. I think it’s so important that we start here – because so often when we go wrong, it’s because we lose sight of who God is. We forget about his goodness and greatness and so we seek elsewhere and wander away from God.
But Moses doesn’t stop here. As he continues, he begins to speak of God in more personal times – he speaks of love:
God shielded Israel and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young
It’s an image of such tender and loving strength, as God watches over and protects Israel.
And yet, Israel turns away. Moses continues:
They abandoned the God who made them and rejected the Rock their Saviour.
In many ways this is the key moment in the song because it is here that the song turns to judgement.
Spreading poison
Earlier in the prose bits, Moses describes turning away from God as “a bitter poison.”81 Most of my experience of poison comes from gardening. Liz and I love gardens and are really blessed to have one of our own - but we’ve had some issues with weeds, and had to resort to weedkillers. They can look very innocuous, but they’re not. They’re poison, and if you spray them in the wrong place, everything they touch will die.
Most weed killers apparently work by getting the plant to absorb them, and then blocking off the life-giving nutrients the plant needs to survive. In Moses’ song we see something very similar happening as the people turn away from God. Moses sings that they:
“made God jealous with their foreign gods.”
This isn’t just about the people abandoning God for a competitor though. These other gods – or any other thing we may turn to for meaning or purpose other than God – are actually a mirage, a fake. Moses calls them out as:
“false Gods, which are not God,”
and later simply says they are “worthless.”
Worse, as the people turn to these idols, they turn away from God. Like dying plants swapping nourishment for poison, they are cut off from the source of all life and goodness and wellness – or in the language of Deuteronomy, all blessing.
That actually challenges and imperils the grace and blessings of God to all of them, and his plans through them to bless us all. And so, he acts. He acts to stop the spread of the poison. He acts in judgement.
Judgement foretold
The song continues:
“a fire will be kindled by my wrath,
one that burns down to the realm of the dead below. It will devour the earth and its harvests
and set afire the foundations of the mountains
I will heap calamities on them.”
I find it very interesting though that this word of hot anger and judgement isn’t spoken in the heat of the moment. There’s nothing impetuous or ill-considered about God’s anger. We actually find it spoken here in prophecy centuries before the judgement it speaks of will fall on Israel.
I think that that is key to understanding it. In many ways that is actually the key to understanding the whole Old Testament law. In the chapter before God tells Moses why he has given him this song to sing: “this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them.”85
Moses’ song is actually given to him for the sake of their descendants, and for all those who come after – us. It is designed to show us that all along God knew what would happen.
No plan B
For me, this completely changes how I see the Old Testament law. Too often I think we see the history of God’s dealings with his people as a sort of Plan A and Plan B.
In this thinking, Plan A is the law. God gives Israel the rules and instructions they need in order to be good, and to earn the ongoing blessings of God. But Israel fluffs it – they get it all wrong, as the rest of the Old Testament shows us. God then brings judgement on them and sends them into exile. At that point God initiates Plan B – which is grace, which is Jesus.
Here in Deuteronomy though, even as God through Moses was still giving Israel the law, we see that his plan was always grace through Jesus. God tells Moses: “I know what they are disposed to do [and what’s going to happen], even before I bring them into the land.” So, it seems Plan A, was never actually the plan at all – God knew that they would turn away from him, and that judgement would follow.
Yet that was never going to be the end of the story. Plan A was always Jesus. Plan A was always grace and forgiveness and salvation – and there was never a plan B at all.
Just when you think as you read it that the song has finished, it continues unexpectedly:
“The LORD will vindicate his people and relent concerning his servants when he sees their strength is gone.”
It’s a stunning and glorious reversal, as God acts now not in judgement but mercy. When all their pretence is gone, and the emptiness that they followed has been exposed, and no-one and nothing is left to look to, save only God himself, he carries on:
“See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me.
I put to death and I bring to life,
I have wounded and I will heal.
After all that has been said in the song, and its prophecies of Israel’s failure and judgement, Moses’s words in Deuteronomy then finish in the next chapter with a poem of blessing. For all the focus on judgement – it is grace and blessing that is ultimately the loudest and longest note as this book comes to a close. Israel will fail – but God’s grace will not.
Looking forward to Jesus
Deuteronomy just hints at how God will do this. For instance, the song finishes with an enigmatic promise that God will: “make atonement for his land and people.”
Elsewhere in these chapters Moses speaks of a saving transformation, how: “The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.”
There’s enough here that we can follow the story through to the end. Looking back, we can then see clearly what probably even Moses could only see hazily and in shadow. We can see a barren hill and new cut grave outside Jerusalem, where the Son of God himself would die and rise again for us and for our salvation. We can see an upper room of disciples praying, when with rushing wind and tongues of flame the Holy Spirit came and filled all those who were there.
This is our story – this is the gospel. This was always God’s plan A, God’s only plan.
What’s the point of the law?
But...why? Why if that was always God’s plan, didn’t God just send Jesus at this point? He could have done, and the whole sorry tale of Israel’s sins and failures would have been skipped.
This is actually something that Paul spent a lot of time wrestling with - what was the point of the law? If salvation comes through faith in Jesus, then why was the law necessary?
Like a many-sided diamond there are multiple angles and facets to the answer, some of which we’ve touched on in earlier chapters. A key one that Paul focuses in on echoes the lessons of these final chapters of Deuteronomy.
It is that the law is here to show us that we’re not as good as we think we are. We cannot obey God. We cannot be good. Paul explains in Romans 3v20: “through the law we become conscious of our sin.”
Think of this like a powerful spotlight on a blemished sheet. In the shadows of the half-light we can miss the flaws, but when the spotlight comes on, suddenly they are revealed for everyone to see.
Showing us our need for grace
Through all the ages our instinctive faith has always been that we can be good. We assume that the path to God, or the road to enlightenment, or a better world, is achievable by us. We believe that everything can be achieved by us being good, working hard, following the rules.
All the other religions of the world, from the pagans of old, to modern day faiths like Islam or Hinduism, have really always taught that. Even the more individualistic spiritualities or philosophies of today actually preach the same message. They tell us to ‘be true to yourself.’ They tell us the key thing is to ask; ‘what does your heart tell you?’ They tell us to look within yourself and, that when we do, we will find everything we need.
Except we won’t. That is the great lesson of the law.
The law begins with God rescuing and saving Israel and bringing them into a covenant relationship with him. Then after this perfect start, God gave them this law – this perfect blueprint for life, and he told them to follow it.
If ever there was a way to be good, a route to holiness, that we could achieve through our own efforts, then this was it. Yet, they couldn’t do it.
We think we can do it and that we can be good. Sometimes we even think that we are good - until God gives us the yardstick of the law. Then, under the harsh spotlight of the law and its standards, we’re exposed. We are finally forced to recognise our sin.
We see this in various different places in the law. For instance, the whole sacrificial system is really a response to sin. It is a gift from God to Israel to allow them to repent and receive his forgiveness.
Deuteronomy points to Jesus
In these final chapters of Deuteronomy, we begin to see that God’s plan was always bigger than the Law. The Law always pointed beyond itself to a real solution to all our sin. God knew that the people would not be able to follow his commands and keep his covenant with them.
He tells Moses in chapter 31v16: “these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.”
The blessings and curses, the prophecies of judgement, and the whole ending of this book of Deuteronomy, are here to show us that. These chapters turn us away from believing in ourselves or trusting in the other gods and beliefs of this world. They lay before us the consequences and disasters of a life (and world) without God.
Yet for all the darkness of these closing chapters, their ultimate intent is to point us towards the grace that will then dawn beyond them. They give us a glimpse of grace renewed – of atonement beyond judgement, and of transformation of the heart. These chapters are ultimately here to stir up in us a recognition of our need for God, that we may turn to him and be saved.
The End
That is seen very clearly in the final chapter. It’s a surprising chapter, written by a later narrator, probably long after the events it describes. It brings the book, and the whole Old Testament Law, to an end.
You might think that it would close on a high note, but instead it finishes with Moses’ death. We are tantalisingly close to the Promised Land – in sight of it even, but short. Not only that, but the reason we are short of the Promised Land is because of Moses’s own failures. As God explains in Deuteronomy 32, Moses would not enter the land because he too had ‘broken faith’ with God.91 Even Moses, the great hero of the Old Testament, had dramatically and catastrophically fallen short at least once.
The narrator then turns to the future. At first his words seem positive, but the final words are more ambiguous. The narrator comments
“Since then, no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face”
While the narrator does then remind us of Moses’ greatness, it’s a surprisingly downbeat ending, written against the backdrop of both Moses’ and Israel’s failures. It seemingly dismisses the hope and victories to come in the Promised Land.
That changes though when you realise that the words about a prophet like Moses echo a promise made earlier in the book, in chapter 18. In it we are told that one day, “the LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you.”
When we realise that that is being echoes in chapter 34, we realise that Deuteronomy (and the whole Old Testament Law) actually finishes by pointing us to Jesus. He is the promised prophet like Moses that this points us towards.
And that’s the note that I want to end this booklet on too – because that is ultimately the main point and purpose of Deuteronomy. It is here to point us to Jesus, to show us our need for him, and hint at the promise of the grace and salvation that we receive in him.
It shows us that it is through him that we can experience life as God always intended it, that we can experience wellness...God’s way
What’s the point of Deuteronomy? What’s Deuteronomy all about? In a word – Jesus.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, as we reflect on Israel’s sins and failings, we are also so conscious of our own. We repent of them [you may want to think of specific sins you need to repent from here] and ask that you could forgive us for all that we do wrong.
And yet Lord, we rejoice in amazement at your grace and forgiveness. As we finish this series, we ask you to show us afresh the beauty of the cross, and the beauty of your grace and forgiveness.
Fill us afresh with your Holy Spirit – circumcise our hearts and draw us closer to you. Come Holy Spirit. 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 Liz Cannell
As we hear more about the situation in Turkey and Syria we pray for all those affected by the earthquake. We think of the families, friends and neighbours of those who have died, or who have been injured, or who are still unaccounted for. The sense of grief, loss, anger, and disbelief of the past weeks. We pray that more aid will reach the area with food, shelter, medicines, and warm clothing. We give thanks for the expertise of the international team of search and rescuers, for their readiness to travel and help in any emergency. We pray for them in such exhausting and heart-breaking work. We pray too for the relief agencies, and for the authorities, and that more urgent help will be forthcoming to help the survivors.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer
We pray for our own country, as more industrial action is being planned. We pray for a willingness for all sides to talk, listen and compromise, that a fair and just solution may be found to each of the continuing disputes.
We give thanks for all who are involved in health and social care, for all who work in the NHS, in hospitals, at home, in the community, those whose support enables others to live as normal a life as possible. We ask for your guidance on all those who have responsibilities in the organisation of the health services and the use of resources, in the face of medical advances, new treatments and the use of technology.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer
We lift to you the suffering caused by wars, conflicts and tensions between and within nations. We pray for your wisdom and guidance on all leaders and those in authority. We think especially of the situation in Ukraine, of the people who have left the country and of those who remain, and the impact on the families who are separated.
We pray for peace and justice throughout the world. 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=9SzM5lTyIjc
Jesus, stand among us
at the meeting of our lives,
be our sweet agreement
at the meeting of our eyes;
O Jesus, we love You, so we gather here,
join our hearts in unity
and take away our fear.
2. So to You we're gathering
out of each and every land,
Christ the love between us
at the joining of our hands;
O Jesus, we love You,
so we gather here,
join our hearts in unity
and take away our fear.
3.Jesus stand among us
at the breaking of the bread;
join us as one body
as we worship You, our Head.
O Jesus, we love You,
so we gather here;
join our hearts in unity
and take away our fear
Graham Kendrick
© 1977 Make Way Music/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=DXDGE_lRI0E
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
O my soul,
worship His holy name.
Sing like never before,
O my soul.
I'll worship Your holy name.
The sun comes up,
it's a new day dawning.
It's time to sing Your song again.
Whatever may pass,
and whatever lies before me,
let me be singing
when the evening comes.
Bless the Lord, O my soul….
You're rich in love,
and You're slow to anger,
your name is great,
and Your heart is kind.
For all Your goodness
I will keep on singing
ten thousand reasons
for my heart to find.
Bless the Lord, O my soul….
And on that day
when my strength is failing,
the end draws near
and my time has come,
still my soul will sing
your praise unending
ten thousand years
and then forevermore.
Bless the Lord, O my soul….
© Matt Redman & Jonas Myrin
FINAL BLESSING:
Christ give you grace to grow in holiness,
to deny yourselves, take up your cross, and follow him;
and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be upon you and remain with you always. Amen