Welcome to our service - 24 January
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
Faithful one, whose word is life:
come with saving power
to free our praise,
inspire our prayer
and shape our lives
for the kingdom of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv2BqFgm6_M
O worship the King,
all-glorious above;
O gratefully sing
His power and His love;
our shield and defender,
the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendour,
and girded with praise.
2. O tell of His might,
O sing of His grace,
whose robe is the light,
whose canopy, space;
His chariots of wrath
the deep thunder-clouds form,
and dark is His path
on the wings of the storm.
3. The earth, with its store
of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy power
hath founded of old:
hath ‘stablished it fast
by a changeless decree,
and round it hath cast,
like a mantle, the sea.
4. Thy bountiful care
what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air,
it shines in the light,
it streams from the hills,
it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distills
in the dew and the rain.
5. Frail children of dust,
and feeble as frail,
in Thee do we trust,
nor find Thee to fail:
Thy mercies, how tender,
how firm to the end,
our maker, defender,
Redeemer, and friend!
6. O Lord of all might,
how boundless Thy love!
while angels delight
to hymn Thee above,
the humbler creation,
though feeble their lays,
with true adoration
shall sing to Thy praise.
Words: Robert Grant (1779-1838)
Music: William Croft (1678-1727)
CONFESSION
God shows his love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Let us then show our love for him by confessing our sins in penitence and faith.
Most merciful God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we confess that we have sinned
in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
In your mercy
forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be;
that we may do justly,
love mercy,
and walk humbly with you, our God.
Amen.
ABSOLUTION
May the God of love and power
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by his Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
COLLECT
God of all mercy,
your Son proclaimed good news to the poor,
release to the captives,
and freedom to the oppressed:
anoint us with your Holy Spirit
and set all your people free
to praise you in Christ our Lord.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h10GlC47Ut8
Shout for joy and sing,
let your praises ring;
see that God is building a kingdom for a King.
His dwelling place with men, the new Jerusalem;
where Jesus is Lord over all.
And we will worship, worship,
we will worship Jesus the Lord
We will worship, worship,
we will worship Jesus the Lord.
2. A work so long concealed,
in time will be revealed,
as the sons of God shall rise and take their stand.
Clothed in His righteousness,
The church made manifest,
Where Jesus is Lord over all
And we will worship, worship,
we will worship Jesus the Lord
We will worship, worship,
we will worship Jesus the Lord.
3. Sovereign over all,
Hail Him risen Lord.
He alone is worthy of our praise.
Reigning in majesty,
ruling in victory,
Jesus is Lord over all.
And we will worship, worship,
we will worship Jesus the Lord
We will worship, worship,
we will worship Jesus the Lord.
Dave Bilbrough © 1983 Thankyou Music
READINGS
Revelation 19:6-10 New International Version - UK
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
‘Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.’
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ And he added, ‘These are the true words of God.’
At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.’
John 2:1-11 New International Version - UK
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’
‘Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour has not yet come.’
His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from eighty to a hundred and twenty litres.
Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realise where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
This the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
TALK by Catherine Stevenson
Today we’re considering the story of Jesus’ first miracle: turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. On one level, this is a story about a man - the bridegroom at a wedding - being saved from a really embarrassing situation by the kindness and power of Jesus. In a culture where hospitality was regarded so highly, it would have been a great embarrassment to the bridegroom for the wine to run out. So in this miracle, Jesus saves his host from humiliation by providing more wine for the guests. But in performing this miracle, he also reveals something of his divine identity to his disciples who, as we read in v11, believe in him.
The two things I love about this miracle are the quality and the abundance.
An old friend of my brother’s is a guy called Dan Bowring, who is a professional magician, and also a Christian. 14 years ago he came to my brother’s wedding and at the reception afterwards, he went from table to table performing tricks for the guests. I have to say he was pretty impressive, and I still don’t know how an object in his hand ended up in my Uncle’s pocket. But he didn’t attempt any transformations. Fortunately, we didn’t run out of wine, but if we had, I don’t think Dan could have helped. In fact, I don’t believe any human could have helped. So the simple fact of Jesus’ miracle: turning water into wine, was and is astonishing.
But what completely blows my mind is that Jesus doesn’t just change a bottle or jug of water into wine. That in itself would have been amazing. But he transforms 6 huge jars containing 20-30 gallons of water, into wine. These jars were used to hold water for ceremonial washing, so they were huge. To put this into context (based on smaller, 20 gallon jars) that would equate to 545 litres of wine, or 726 of our standard sized bottles of wine.
I’ve been to a fair few weddings, but I don’t think any of them would have had anything close to that much wine. Whilst it is important to remember that weddings in Jesus’ time usually went on for a few days, Jesus performed this miracle sometime into the wedding feast, after the bridegroom’s supply of wine had been finished. So the quantity he supplied was incredible, and probably much more than they needed. This reminds me of the abundant generosity of Jesus. It also tells me that Jesus liked a good party. He loved having a good time and enabling others to do the same. He is pointing to the eternal party that is to come.
Secondly, Jesus could have made the wine drinkable but nothing particularly special. As we read in the passage, it was normal for the best wine to come out at the beginning of the feast, with the cheaper wine being saved for “after the guests have had too much to drink”. But as the master of the banquet says in v10, just after he has had some of the transformed wine, “you have saved the best till now”. It’s clear from this, that the wine Jesus created was even better than the best wine provided by the bridegroom. When Jesus performs a miracle, heaven and earth intersect with each other and we get a glimpse of the beauty and abundance of our heavenly home. We could say that in this instance, perhaps the wedding guests even got a flavour of what is to come. When Jesus blesses people, he doesn’t scrimp, or give just enough – he blesses abundantly and wholeheartedly.
As I’ve said, this was the first of Jesus’ miracles, which the author, John refers to as signs. He calls them signs because they point us towards something; the truth of who Jesus really is. In fact, the whole gospel of John was written with a single purpose in mind, and we can read this in John 20:31:
“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
Every miracle Jesus performed pointed people towards his identity as the Son of God, and like the disciples in v11, many believed.
But the greatest of Jesus’ miracles centres on his death and resurrection. In v4 of our passage today Jesus tells his mother that ‘the hour’ has not yet come. He speaks of ‘the hour’ again in Ch7v30 and Ch8v20, each time pointing us forwards to a sign which has not yet occurred. Then in Ch12 as he reaches Jerusalem, Jesus declares “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” In the days that follow Jesus is arrested, tortured, crucified and dramatically rises from the dead. The transformation of water into wine is an astonishing miracle, yet it is just a small foretaste of the transformation to come: when Jesus is transformed from death to life. When Satan is defeated and the power of sin is broken. When all people have access to God through Jesus, and can receive the transformational power of his forgiveness and love. This miracle of water into wine points to the abundance and perfection of the most remarkable miracle of all time – when Jesus made a way for us to have access to God.
Although Christmas might seem like a long time ago, it’s only been a month since we were reminded of the events leading up to Jesus’ birth. If we remember the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary, her meeting with Elizabeth, the visitation of the shepherd and wise men, the events in the temple and the angelic dreams, Mary had good reason, even before Jesus was born to believe in him. She was told he would be the Son of the most high, the Son of God. So it’s perhaps not surprising that at the wedding in Cana she has confidence in who Jesus is, believing what others have yet to grasp. In v5 of our passage she tells the servants at the wedding to “Do whatever he tells you”.
There probably aren’t many people in your life for whom you would do whatever they tell you. But if anyone should command that kind of authority in our lives, Jesus should. And the more we get to know him, the more we read accounts of him in the Bible, the more we see the impact he has on the lives of those around us, the more we come into his presence in prayer, the more we see who he really is, and the more we know we can trust him. Jesus is good. Jesus is kind. Jesus is gracious, and he is full of love for us. We can trust him, and the more we trust, the more we will be willing to follow Mary’s wise words in verse 5: “Do whatever he tells you”.
Theologian, Tom Wright says that this story in John 2 “is about transformation: the different dimension of reality (a heavenly reality) which comes into being when Jesus is present and when, as Mary tells the servants, people do whatever Jesus tells them.”
Transformation comes when Jesus is present, and when his people do what he asks them to do. So what does Jesus want us to do? He wants us to follow him and experience life in his name. How do we follow him? By doing the things he did.
If we want to live out this miracle of Jesus we need to ask ourselves: Are we generous in the quality and abundance of what we give to others? When we give is it out of our first fruits or just the bit at the end; whatever we have left? Just as Jesus’ miracles were signs, pointing us to the truth of who he is, our lives can also be signposts to him. so that when people are blessed through our actions, they see the love of Jesus, and give glory to him.
Jesus showed kindness and compassion to all who were suffering. He reached out to those at the margins of society who were shunned by others. He challenged the corrupt authorities and spoke out for the poor and the sinners. He spent time with people. He cared for the sick. He blessed children. He loved people.
This lock down has restricted our capacity to do lots of things, but perhaps we can think creatively about ways in which we can support, love and be a blessing to those around us. As a church we continue to look for ways to bless our community. This week the Bless Greystones Team delivered free Wellbeing Packs to 50 families in our community, who’s signed up to receive one through Greystones Primary School.
But there’s things we can do as individuals too. Who has God put in your life, that you can be a blessing to? By caring for others, can we somehow reflect that abundant, transforming love of Jesus? Transformation comes when Jesus is present, and when his people do what he asks them to do. 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 Gemma Withers
As we come into this time of prayer, I would encourage each of you to just take a minute, come into a time of quiet, to focus on God. Perhaps you may wish to open up your hands, as a sign of our willingness to open up to God, as we invite the Holy Spirit into this space.
After each prayer I will allow for some time of quiet where I invite you either out loud or in your hearts, to add your own personal prayers to God.
God in this chaotic world we currently live in, we ask for your peace and clarity in our lives. We ask that we feel your presence in our day to day lives, in our work places, and in our homes. We pray that you will draw near to us and give us the energy to continue when we feel tired from our days and when we feel overwhelmed by the news we hear around us. God we pray for those in Government across the world that you will give them wisdom to lead our nations in peace, and to bring us safely out of this current pandemic. God we thank you for the peaceful transition of power in America, and we ask that you remind us that you are above all worldly governments, and that whatever division and corruption there may be in this world, remind us that you hear our worries and that God you will come again to over come it all. We also pray for your protection over the earth as the environmental crisis continues, and we ask for support in how to tackle the issues faced due to global warming. We take time to pray for the world now, addressing those issues that matter most to us.
God we pray now for guidance and energy in the current COVID-19 pandemic. God we ask for strength for all those working in our NHS, for all healthcare workers who continue to support patients, for staff that grow continually weary and are low on energy as we approach nearly a year of additional pressures on our hospitals and as they carry the extra burden of the loneliness of patients who cannot see their families during time spent in hospital. God we pray that you would heal the sick and that you would support their families in these difficult times. God we also give thanks for the vaccinations that are now in place and we pray for the continual smooth delivering of these to those in need. We also pray for all teachers, and families whose work has completely changed in light of homeschooling. We pray that you will give parents the encouragement of your love for them and give them the patience to teach their children whilst also trying to do their own work at home.
God we now lift our own personal prayers to you, lifting up the names of the sick in our lives, and those under particular pressures due to the pandemic.
We pray for those in need in our nation, and across the world, we pray for those who are homeless, or live in fear of war or violence, for those who go hungry and for those who feel lonely or isolated, and those living in poverty. God whether this be in our own city, our country, or somewhere else across the world, We pray that you will be with those people, bless them, protect them, and remind them of your love. God we pray you will open our heart for those in need, and that you will speak to us about those people you wish for us to help, and those areas of mission that we can support. God we pray you will open up opportunities for us as a church to support those in our local community that are in need, and that you will continue to help us engage with Bless Greystones, and use this to show people your character and bring people to know you. We lift our own areas of concerns to you now, and ask you speak to us about who you wish us to bless in the coming weeks.
Finally, God we thank you for your unconditional love for us, the amazing miracles that you have done in our lives, and for sending your son to save us. We are sorry for the times we have lost our way and we thank you for welcoming us back into your arms. We pray that our relationship with you deepens, that you are able to speak to us through these church services, and our own personal time with you during the week. We pray for those in alpha that you will help answer those burning questions and help create a greater understanding of you. And we ask that you will support our leaders to guide us and encourage us in our journeys of faith with you God. We take a moment to just be in your presence God, and thank you for being with us today.
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=jABSW-UuT1o
My Jesus, my Saviour,
Lord, there is none like you;
all of my days I want to praise
the wonders of your mighty love.
My comfort, my shelter,
tower of refuge and strength,
let every breath, all that I am
never cease to worship you.
Shout to the Lord all the earth,
let us sing power and majesty,
praise to the King;
mountains bow down and the seas will roar, at the sound of your name.
I sing for joy at the work of your hands,
forever I'll love you, forever I'll stand;
nothing compares to the promise I have in you.
(C) 1996 Kingsway 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=BIszhvHjBxQ
Lo! he comes with clouds descending,
once for favoured sinners slain:
thousand thousand saints attending,
swell the triumph of His train;
Hallelujah! hallelujah, hallelujah!
God appears on earth to reign.
2. Every eye shall now behold Him
robed in dreadful majesty;
those who set at nought and sold Him,
pierced, and nailed Him to the tree,
deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing
shall the true Messiah see.
3. Now redemption, long expected,
see in solemn pomp appear!
All His saints, by man rejected,
now shall meet Him in the air.
Hallelujah! hallelujah, hallelujah!
see the day of God appear.
4. Yea, Amen! let all adore Thee
high on Thy eternal throne;
Saviour, take the power and glory,
claim the kingdom of Thine own
Hallelujah! hallelujah, hallelujah!
everlasting God come down!
Words: Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Music: 18th C English melody
FINAL BLESSING:
May God the Father,
who led the wise men by the shining of a star
to find the Christ, the Light from light,
lead you also in your pilgrimage to find the Lord.
Amen.
May God the Son,
who turned water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana,
transform your lives and make glad your hearts.
Amen.
May God the Holy Spirit,
who came upon the beloved Son
at his baptism in the river Jordan,
pour out his gifts on you
who have come to the waters of new birth.
Amen.
and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be upon you and remain with you always.
Amen