Welcome to our service - 21 March
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
We are really pleased to announce that public worship will resume in the church building this Sunday, 11:30 am, for a service of Holy Communion. Please do join us if you are able.
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=Xp2qNGx2tlE
Sing to God new songs of worship –
all his deeds are marvellous;
He has brought salvation to us
with his hand and holy arm:
He has shown to all the nations
righteousness and saving power;
He recalled his truth and mercy
to his people Israel.
2. Sing to God new songs of worship –
earth has seen his victory;
let the lands of earth be joyful
praising him with thankfulness:
sound upon the harp his praises,
play to him with melody;
let the trumpets sound his triumph,
show your joy to God the king!
3. Sing to God new songs of worship –
let the sea now make a noise;
all on earth and in the waters
sound your praises to the Lord:
let the hills rejoice together,
let the rivers clap their hands,
for with righteousness and justice
He will come to judge the earth.
From Psalm 98
© Michael Baughen/Jubilate Hymns
Music: L Van Beethoven
EXHORTATION
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we gather to hear God’s word we must recall the promises and warnings given to us in the Scriptures. Let us therefore examine ourselves and repent of our sins. Let us give thanks to God for his redemption of the word through his Son Jesus Christ, and as we remember Christ’s death for us, and receive this pledge of his love, let us resolve to serve him in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life.
CONFESSION
Man born of woman has but a short time to live. We have our fill of sorrow.
We blossom like a flower and wither away.
We slip away like a shadow and do not stay.
Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
In the midst of life we are in death;
where can we turn for help?
Only to you, Lord,
Who are justly angered by our sins.
Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
Shut not your ears to our prayers,
but spare us, O Lord.
Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
You know the secrets of our hearts;
Forgive us our sins.
Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
Eternal and merciful judge,
both in life and when we come to die,
let us not fall away from you.
Holy God,
holy and mighty,
holy and merciful Saviour,
do not abandon us to the bitterness of eternal death.
ABSOLUTION
May the father of all mercies
cleanse you from your sins, and restore you in his image
to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
COLLECT
Gracious Father,
you gave up your Son
out of love for the world:
lead us to ponder the mysteries of his passion,
that we may know eternal peace
through the shedding of our Saviour’s blood,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84YASWe3_2Q
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide:
the darkness deepens;
Lord, with me abide:
when other helpers fail,
and comforts flee,
help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
earth's joys grow dim,
its glories pass away;
change and decay in all around I see;
O thou who changest not,
abide with me.
I need thy presence every passing hour;
what but thy grace
can foil the tempter's power?
Who like thyself my guide
and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;
ills have no weight,
and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting?
Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.
Hold thou thy cross
before my closing eyes;
shine through the gloom,
and point me to the skies:
heaven's morning breaks,
and earth's vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
H.F. Lyte (c) public domain
READINGS
Ephesians 6:11-17 New International Version - UK
Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
2 Corinthians 10:1-5 New International Version - UK
By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you – I, Paul, who am ‘timid’ when face to face with you, but ‘bold’ towards you when away! I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be towards some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Matthew 3:16-4:11 New International Version - UK
As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’
Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written:
‘“He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”’
Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”’
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
This is the word of the Lord,
Thanks be to God.
Talk by Alistair Stevenson
This morning we are coming to the end of our series on prayer. Personally, I have been so grateful for this series. The book, the talks and the evening course have had a big impact not only on my prayer life, but on how I pray.
As I said at the beginning of this year and as we started this course, my hope and prayer was that each one of us, at the end of this course, could all say that our prayer life has grown and flourished. Has this been the case for you?
This morning, we finish with one of the most challenging aspects of prayer: spiritual warfare. I want to split this talk into three sections that will help us be effective in this kind of prayer:
1. You must know your enemy.
2. You must know your authority.
3. You must know how to fight.
For, firstly - you must know your enemy.
‘There is no neutral ground in the universe,’ says C.S. Lewis. ‘Every square inch, every split second, is claimed and counterclaimed by Satan.’
We need to, at the outset, establish or remind ourselves of the reality that we are in the midst of a spiritual war. The Bible is quite clear that we are at war - that there is a battle raging around us between the Kingdom of God and the tyranny of a cruel insurgency. But I would suspect that many of us really struggle to even believe that there is an evil force at work opposing the will of God.
I am aware that any talk of Satan, demons, fallen angels and some kind of end of times battle between cosmic forces of light and darkness, will sound completely unbelievable - maybe even to many Christian - let alone those outside the church who will likely think we're talking about something from Star Wars.
Particularly in the West we have, for the most part, replaced biblical cosmology with an enlightened, humanist understanding. The darkest words and evil actions of humanity are attributed to a societal or clinical cause. However - our society remains acutely aware of evil at work in our world and the evil actions of others. The murder of Sarah Everard once again brings this to afore. Moreover, any person with an inch of self-reflectiveness will know that within them dark shadows lurk - our own shocking capacity to hate, to hurt, to use and to abuse others.
Many good books and films portray a war between good and evil, light and dark - likely because it touches a reality that we know to be true deep within us.
‘Humankind is losing faith in the liberal story that dominated politics in recent decades’, says the liberal historian Yuval Noah Harari in his best-selling 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.
The Bible does not give us much wriggle room in this area, unless we really start to Tippex out the bits that we find uncomfortable. Even if we choose to focus on the life and words of Jesus we find he was as serious as anyone about the reality of the enemy and the spiritual battle that we face. Most significantly because he continually faced and confronted this battle. As we heard this morning, after 40 days of fasting in the wilderness he faced the devil. He regularly encountered demons and set people free from their control. He rounds off the Lord’s prayer asking for deliverance from evil. He warns Peter at the Last Supper that ‘Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat, but I have prayed for you… that your faith may not fail’. Jesus acted against and spoke often of the spiritual forces opposed to the Kingdom of God.
It is often in the poorest parts of the world that there seems to be a much more heightened awareness of spiritual forces and the supernatural. Having travelled to East Africa that was definitely my experience and I’m sure others at St Gabriel’s who have lived and spent extended periods in some of the poorest parts of the world would testify to this. In contrast, consumerism is a brilliant distraction tactic of the devil here in the West. If we are less aware of spiritual darkness we will likely not look for the spiritual light.
Take a moment to consider your own views of the devil? Have you ever experienced a spiritual force that was opposite to the will and love of God? How would you describe evil in the world? The Bible gives us a framework of belief for evil in a world that struggles to understand or may prefer instead to simply ignore. Our ignorance and unbelief in the devil gives him more power, not less.
Secondly, we need to know our authority.
‘Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’
If we have established who our enemy is, we need to know the authority that we have to fight. Paul tells us to put on the full armour of God. We are able to wear this armour because of Jesus. Earlier in his letter to the Ephesians Pauls has established that we have access to the same power that raised ‘Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.’ (Eph. 1: 20 - 21)
We are in Christ - a term Paul uses 164 times instead of ‘Christian’. So when we pray we exercise authority from above, as those seating with Christ, ruling and reigning with him. When we engage in spiritual warfare, like putting on a uniform ready for work, or a sports shirt ready to play with our team, we put on the mantle - the armour that we have been given as sons and daughters of the King. We step onto the battlefield of prayer against the enemy with the power and authority of Jesus.
But if this is the case, why don't see more power, more miracles, more healing when we pray. Why does the battle still rage and often seems like we are losing?
On 23 June 2018, a monsoon flooded the Tham Luang Nang Non Cave in Northern Thailand. Tragically, 12 members of a junior football team and their coach were three miles inside the cave when the monsoon completely trapped them. More than nine hundred police officers, one hundred divers and two thousand soldiers gathered with the world’s media at the mouth of the cave, but for nine days no one could find the boys.
On 2 July, after more than 6 hours of searching, a diving team discovered the boys barely alive, huddled together high on a shelf in a cavern called ‘The Hidden City’. Despite the joy and celebration of being found, the ordeal was far from over. Getting the boys out would be extremely dangerous, taking 8 days and with tragic consequences.
On the 14th day, 5 days after they were discovered and the day before the evacuation would start, a former Thai Navy SEAL named Saman Kunan, drowned while delivering oxygen tanks to the boys. The very next day the first of the boys was sedated, given oxygen, and started the five-hour journey, much of it underwater. This dangerous process was repeated for each boy over the next three days. Having been lost since 23 June, and found since 2 July, the last boys were only finally rescued on 10 July, more than two weeks after entering the cave.
The Bible teaches, and I’m sure every one of us could testify, that we live in the now and not yet - the dark days of hope between 2 and 10 July. Jesus has come, his death and resurrection started the salvation process - we were found. Light came into our world. Hope invaded the earth. Love came down and rescued us. Salvation had come. But our captivity, our days of darkness, are far from over.
Like those boys, waiting a further 8 days to be freed, our waiting may feel endless and often we might think impossible. The boys no doubt started to picture what awaited them upon their release - a greeting family, hot food and a warm place to sleep. But they will have also experienced great frustration and fear in the waiting. Deep sadness for the man who’d died saving them and fear of the hugely risky 5-hour trip to be finally freed.
As Jesus declared on the cross: ‘it is finished’ he did so declaring an end to death, freedom from sin and rescue for the lost. We were saved by the sacrifice of another. And yet we still wait, suffer and anticipate the complete freedom to come. We still pray - ‘deliver us from evil’.
The theologian Tom Wright says that ‘To pray “deliver us from evil” is to inhale the victory of the cross, and thereby to hold the line for another moment, another hour, another day, against the forces of destruction within ourselves and the world.’
While we carry the armour given to us by Christ - with his power and authority - we know that we step onto a battlefield of prayer against an enemy that still has very dangerous weapons and tactics. We know the battle will be won but there is still much fighting to be done before victory can be fully declared and experienced.
Finally, then we must know how to fight.
Before we explore some of the tools or weapons available to us. I just want to say a few words about the language that we are using. I completely appreciate that language of battles, war, armour, fighting, can seem aggressive and far from the peace, humility and compassion exemplified by Jesus and expected of his followers. I would say however two things. Firstly Jesus doesn’t mince his words when he talks about the devil and also those - usually the religious elite of the time - who are most opposed to the Kingdom that he was bringing forth. As Jesus declared in Matthew 10: “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
Secondly, such language would normally be associated with being more masculine. I am usually wary about making any gender stereotypes, but I just wonder if our limited use of such language and our earring towards portraying a Jesus all meek and mild may be linked to why they are not more men in the church. I’m not sure.
Ephesians 6, as we heard this morning, is the most often quoted passage of scripture related to spiritual warfare. Pauls encourages us to put on the full armour of God. Nearly all the hardware is defensive except for the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. As the writer of Hebrews observes, ‘the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword.’ In the wilderness, being tempted by the Devil, it is the sword of the Spirit - the word of God - that Jesus employs to fight the enemy. We must do the same.
In those times when we feel under attack, when we feel tempted by the Devil, we must go first to the Bible. Through it we remind ourselves of who God is and who we are in him. When the devil went to Jesus in the wilderness twice he said to Jesus: ‘if you are the son of God’. The enemy will always go first to our identity - to get us to question our identity as children of God. To tempt us to question the promises of God. The devil will tell us lies and leave us doubting ourselves and God. It is through the Bible that God’s spirits remind us again and again of who God is and who we are.
Three times in this passage from Ephesians Paul uses the word stand: “stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then”.
Pete Greig says:
“You take a stand against the Enemy every time you preach the gospel, forgive an enemy, stand up to a bully, care for the poor, create something beautiful, behave with integrity, practise civil disobedience for the sake of righteousness, or take a stance that defies his insidious systems of control.”
Paul’s emphasis here is on courageous resistance and it is often the most powerful thing we can do to stop the enemy. Like the infamous words of Gandalf at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm in Lords of the Ring. We declare: ‘You shall not pass’! We stand our ground against the enemy who is seeking to claim every person, every place, every situation for his own. Instead, we declare God’s Kingdom come, His will be done for every person, every place, every situation.
And so: ‘stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Amen.
Let us affirm our faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God:
Though he was divine,
he did not cling to equality with God,
but made himself nothing.
Taking the form of a slave,
he was born in human likeness.
He humbled himself
and was obedient to death,
even the death of the cross.
Therefore God has raised him on high,
and given him the name above every name:
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow,
and every voice proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
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 Gemma Withers
This week’s prayers are based on the lamenting prayer of Psalm 13.
“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? “
“But I trust in your unfailing love my heart rejoices in your salvation”
Search our hearts to reveal those we hide our faces from, the outcast, the stranger or the homeless. Change our hearts, that we may turn our faces towards these people and see them as your beloved children.
We pray for those groups in society who feel isolated or persecuted. At this time particularly we think of the friends and families of the 8 women killed in America in what’s thought as an anti-Asian attack, and for the many who live in worry of attack, violence and war. We continue to pray for the world as we respond to issues raised after Sarah Evarards death. We ask that we are able to find support for women across the world and that God you help us find a way to help those women who live in fear of sexual harassment.
“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?”
“But I trust in your unfailing love my heart rejoices in your salvation”
We pray for those who wrestle with sorrow, that they may know your victory over those dark thoughts which currently seem to triumph. This week as we join together to do a national day of reflection to mark the past year where millions have died in the COVID-19 pandemic, we pray for all those who are mourning for loved ones lost. We give thanks for the successful rolling out of the vaccine, but God we ask for comfort from the pain and grief that so many have faced with friends and family passing away, not being able to attend funerals, or not being able to visit those loved ones while in hospital. We pray that on Tuesday we will be able to come together to find peace in the chaos and that God you will show your love to those who mourn.
“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? “
“But I trust in your unfailing love my heart rejoices in your salvation”
We pray for those who feel forgotten and unseen, may they know that they are remembered and seen by you God. Help us to partner with you to remember the forgotten or the lonely in this world. We pray for those we know who struggle with mental illnesses, anxiety and depression. We pray that there will be resources released to help, enough staff employed and finances given towards mental health services nationally. Help us to be a friend and a listening ear to those who suffer. Fill us with compassion and wisdom for others.
“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?”
“But I trust in your unfailing love my heart rejoices in your salvation”
God as our focus moves towards Easter, preparing for Holy Week and reflecting once again on the death and resurrection of your son, we pray that you speak to us and help us to connect to you in these coming weeks. We pray that you are with Alistair and those prepaying services and reflections to run throughout Holy Week. We also ask that those in our lives who don’t know your love may be able to engage with church or conversations with us this Easter. God we thank you for the incredible sacrifice of Jesus, which means that we can know that the worldly pain and suffering will not last forever. We thank you that Jesus defeated death, and experienced such pain so that we can experience true love and relationship with you, now and in eternity.
“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?”
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
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=czxd5oa-gi0
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in His wonderful face;
and the things of earth
will grow strangely dim
in the light of His glory and grace.
Keep your eyes upon Jesus,
let nobody else take the place;
and hour by hour
He will give you His power
till at last you have won the great race.
© 1950 Singspiration/MPI Ltd
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=6jOyaGULqzU
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 for ever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!
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!
2 Summer and winter, and spring-time 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...
3 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...
Words: Thomas O Chisholm (1866-1960)
Music: William M Runyan (1870-1957)
Copyright © (1923) 1951 Hope Publishing Co.
FINAL PRAYER:
God of compassion, through your Son Jesus Christ
you have reconciled your people to yourself.
As we follow his example of prayer and fasting, may we obey you with willing hearts and serve one another in holy love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.
Amen