Welcome to our online service - 24 July
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 services, 10am, live on Zoom and in the church and 11:30am in church. Even if you have never been to St Gabriel’s before we would love you to join us. Please get in touch with the vicar Alistair (vicar@saintgs.co.uk) and he will send you the Zoom details.
Please join us for public worship in the church building this Sunday at 10am or 11:30am.
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Praise the Lord.
The Lord’s name be praised.
HYMN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTKIqmdfHSk
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.
PRAYER OF PREPARATION
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
CONFESSION
The gospel calls us to turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.
As we offer ourselves to him in penitence and faith, we renew our confidence and trust in his mercy.
God our Father, we are sorry for the times when we have used your gifts carelessly, and acted ungratefully.
Hear our prayer, and in your mercy:
forgive us and help us.
We enjoy the fruits of the harvest, but sometimes forget that you have given them to us.
Father, in your mercy:
forgive us and help us.
We belong to a people who are full and satisfied, but ignore the cry of the hungry.
Father, in your mercy:
forgive us and help us.
We are thoughtless, and do not care enough for the world you have made.
Father, in your mercy:
forgive us and help us.
We store up goods for ourselves alone, as if there were no God and no heaven.
Father, in your mercy:
forgive us and help us.
ABSOLUTION
The Lord enrich us with his grace,
and nourish us with his blessing;
the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil;
the Lord accept our prayers,
and absolve us from our offences,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen.
COLLECT
Generous God,
you give us gifts and make them grow:
though our faith is small as mustard seed,
make it grow to your glory
and the flourishing of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rPGn_KTYuU
ABBA FATHER, let me be
Yours and Yours alone.
May my will forever be
Ever more Your own.
Never let my heart grow cold,
Never let me go.
Abba Father, let me be
Yours and Yours alone.
Dave Bilbrough.
Copyright © 1977 Thankyou Music.
READINGS
Psalm 85
LORD, you poured out blessings on your land!
You restored the fortunes of Israel.
You forgave the guilt of your people—
yes, you covered all their sins.
You held back your fury.
You kept back your blazing anger.
Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.
Put aside your anger against us once more.
Will you be angry with us always?
Will you prolong your wrath to all generations?
Won’t you revive us again,
so your people can rejoice in you?
Show us your unfailing love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.
I listen carefully to what God the LORD is saying,
for he speaks peace to his faithful people.
But let them not return to their foolish ways.
Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
so our land will be filled with his glory.
Unfailing love and truth have met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed!
Truth springs up from the earth,
and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
Yes, the LORD pours down his blessings.
Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.
Righteousness goes as a herald before him,
preparing the way for his steps.
Luke 11: 9 – 12
“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
“You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
This the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
TALK written by Alistair Stevenson
I wonder whether you agree with this statement?
“Within every human being is an inbuilt sense of justice”?
Do you agree? Do you think that a sense of equality is naturally imprinted onto our social DNA? The 17th century, the philosopher Thomas Hobbes, disagreed, describing the natural condition of humanity as "every man against every man". Well at least you women are ok.
Well - there is one place where the inbuilt sense of equality - of justice - can be seen. It is of course queuing. Whether it’s waiting in traffic on the motorway, or in line at the checkout in the supermarket, or waiting for our name to be called at the doctors surgery, every single one of us recognises the unquestionable, innate and inherent equality of the queue and the huge injustice that takes place when someone skips the queue or pushes in.
If you have ever driven to Manchester from Sheffield you will have likely gone through Glossip. Well as you leave Glossop you have to climb a hill to the road that eventually leads to the M67. I think it’s the final part of the A57. At the top of the road the two lanes split with the outside lane leading to the motorway. It’s a long road to the top of the hill and there is nearly always a queue on the outside lane. But, of course, cars try to go up the inside lane and nip in. I just can’t stand it. Every part of me cries out for justice.
It is a captivating argument, this idea that a sense of equality is naturally imprinted onto our social DNA - that instinctively, we expect fair treatment. Instinctively, we recoil against exploitation and injustice.
This morning I want to focus on a couple of verses from our Psalm where we see the nature of the justice of God.
The New Living Translation of verse 10 says:
“Unfailing love and truth have met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed!”
The Kings James Bible translates these verses:
“Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
Within the character God we see that mercy and love and peace are held together with righteousness and truth and justice.
Take a look at this dipication by the artist William Blake, currently on display on the V&A in London.
People often criticise the Bible suggesting that the God of the Old Testament is different to the God of the New Testament. That the God of the Old Testament is angry and full of wrath, but the God of the New Testament, seen through Jesus, is a God of mercy and love.
While it’s not the time to go into an answer to this question, I think it highlights that we struggle to believe in a God who demands justice and truth but who is also unconditionally loving - full of mercy and grace.
Do we see God as a bit like Lady justice. With a pair of scales in one hand to show her balance and measuring of a case's arguments and a sword representing authority and to convey that justice can be swift and final. A blindfold to show her impartiality. Is God like this?
The Psalmist exemplifies this tension here in our passage:
“Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.
Put aside your anger against us once more.
Will you be angry with us always?
Will you prolong your wrath to all generations?
Won’t you revive us again,
so your people can rejoice in you?
Show us your unfailing love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.
I listen carefully to what God the LORD is saying,
for he speaks peace to his faithful people.”
Righteousness speaks of the nature of a holy God that is without sin, who demands justice. Scripture makes it clear, because of God’s holiness, sin cannot survive in His presence. God is holy and pure.
Coupled with God’s righteousness is his longing and desire to forgive and pardon. The love of God for humanity produces within Him a burning desire to draw us back to himself, to forgive us and enable us to have access to our heavenly father.
This Psalm points forward to the person of Jesus. In him we see that unfailing love and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed through the person of Jesus and his death on the cross.
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” says Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:21. The righteousness of Christ satisfies the holiness and justice of God. As the apostle Peter declares: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” The passionate love of God for us caused Him to send His own Son, to make a way for us to live forever. “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” says the first chapter of John’s gospel.
Often, we think that love and justice are opposed. We often struggle to understand God’s wrath and anger in light of his love. The cross demonstrates that sins deserve to be punished. At the cross the justice of God meets the love and mercy of God. God’s holiness and justice said “Punish them”. God’s love said, “Pardon them”. The cross demonstrates how far humans could go in rebellion to God but it also demonstrates how far God was willing to go to reconcile us back to him.
God’s love is saturated with his holiness.
It is the calling of God’s people to display this, possibly dualistic, character of God to the world. He is always loving and always holy. Often though, Christians tend to emphasise or lean more towards one to the detriment of the other. We are called to both.
Maybe you have been to a church, for example, that really emphasises the justice of God and the value of truth. Everything, including the interpretation of the Bible, needs to be correct. There is a strong sense of right and wrong. A strong sense of sin and maybe a regular reminder that we are sinful. It is about right behaviour and right believe. What’s interesting is that these churches will also emphasise the nature of undeserved grace - that it is through grace alone that we can be saved.
On the other side, maybe you have been to a church that emphasises the love and mercy of God. Unconditional love is regularly communication. The church will have a strong sense of making sure that everyone feels welcome and included and involved no matter who they are or what they have done. People are accepted for who they are but maybe not particularly encouraged to change or confront their sin. Sin is not mentioned often, if at all. But again, what is interesting is that these churches will often have a strong desire to seek social justice and tackle inequality in the world.
Of course, in one sense both churches are getting it right. They are both displaying characteristics of God. But is it possible to have a church - a people of God - who emphasise both the truth and justice and righteousness of God - his holiness and his unfailing love and peace and mercy?
When we track the way that God related to his people throughout the Biblical story, I wonder whether he revealed certain characteristics of who he is, dependent upon the situation and need of his people. When they needed to know God’s holiness, his desire for justice and righteousness he, usually through his prophets, revealed this part of his character. On the other hand, when they needed to experience God’s unfailing love and mercy and peace, God revealed this part of his character. Maybe God knew exactly what he was doing and related to his people in the right way and at the right time that would take them that step further in their growth and understanding of him.
I would suggest that Jesus did this again and again. Jesus was full of mercy. He constantly showed love - to the outcast, the marginalised, the broken and hurting. He showed unconditional compassion to the woman caught in adultery. He healed the lame, restored sight to the blind, and forgave sins. Those who needed to experience the love, and mercy and peace of God found it in Jesus.
On the other hand, Jesus spoke fairly extreme words of judgement and condemnation. Jesus wasn’t always meek and mild. In Matthew 23 Jesus declares 7 woes on the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. Concluding that they were ‘Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgement of hell?’ He said of the Jewish leaders in John 8: ‘For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does.’ So condemning were the words of Jesus that he eventually was arrested and sent to the cross.
Jesus acted and responded exactly to the needs of the person in front of him.
Does Jesus reveal himself to us in the same way? When we need to experience his love, his mercy, his grace, he pours it out upon us. But also, when we need to hear his words of truth and discipline - possible rebuke he speaks in that way? The reality is that I know which voice and word of Jesus I prefer and so it can be easy to only hear one side of the character of God.
I wonder today, for you, what side of God’s character do you need to hear?
Unfortunately, the church has got it wrong so many times trying to be the voice of God. It has condemned and judged in a way that has caused people to turn away and reject the church and reject God. We need to do better.
Is it possible - just maybe - to be a church that is - in some likely imperfect way - able to show both sides of who God is?
The lifestyle of Christians should be reflected in a life of truth and mercy, righteousness and peace - we hold these tensions together.
Our hearts should break and cry out for injustice and inequality - a righteous anger at the way we see people being exploited, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Our hearts should break at the nature of sin and its ability to corrupt the human heart. We should be aware of our own sin and brokenness but then be transformed by the mercy and grace of God who welcomes us through Jesus. We should help others be released from their sin - to break its chains.
We should be a community of deep hospitality who welcomes and includes people as they are - whoever they are, no matter what they have done, their lifestyle. But a community who comes back to the holiness of God. God loves us so much that he accepts us no matter who we are or what we have done but he loves us so much that he doesn’t want to leave us that way.
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 –
Let us by prayer and intercession with thanksgiving
make our requests to God.
Gracious God,
we pray for peace, justice and reconciliation throughout the world.
We pray for the honouring of human rights,
and for the relief of the oppressed.
We give thanks for all that is gracious in the lives of men, women and children.
We pray for the renewal of the Church in faith, love and service.
We pray for N our bishop and for the life of this parish/community.
We give thanks for the gift of your word,
the grace of the sacraments
and the fellowship of your people.
We pray for this local community
and for all people in their daily life and work.
We pray for the young and the elderly,
for families, and all who are alone.
We give thanks for human skill and creativity
and all that reveals your loveliness.
We pray for those who are in need;
for the sick, sorrowful and bereaved.
We pray for all who bring comfort, care and healing.
We give thanks for human love and friendship
and for all that enriches our daily lives.
Let us commend ourselves, and all for whom we pray,
to the mercy and protection of God.
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=J3iB30gCqAc
Lord, the light of your love is shining,
In the midst of the darkness shining,
Jesus Light of the world shine upon us,
Set us free by the truth You now bring us,
Shine on me, shine on me.
Shine, Jesus, shine
Fill this land with the Father's glory,
Blaze, Spirit, blaze
Set our hearts on fire,
Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth Your word Lord
And let there be light.
2 Lord, I come to Your awesome presence
From the shadows into Your radiance,
By the blood I may enter Your brightness,
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness
Shine on me, shine on me.
Shine, Jesus, shine...
3 As we gaze on Your kingly brightness
So our faces display Your likeness,
Ever changing from glory to glory
Mirrored here may our lives tell Your story,
Shine on me, shine on me.
Shine Jesus, shine...
Graham Kendrick (c) 1987 Make Way Music/Thankyou Music
© 2001 Kingsway's 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.
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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDeiy9-t2GE
Blessèd assurance, Jesus is mine:
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of Salvation, purchase of God,
born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Saviour all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Saviour all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture burst on my sight;
angels descending, bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
This is my story……
Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Saviour am happy and blest;
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
This is my story…
Fanny Crosby
CCLI: 22324
BLESSING
Almighty God, who raised Jesus from the dead and exalted him to your right hand on high: may we know your resurrection power in our daily lives and look with hope to that day when we shall see you face to face and share in your glory, Father, Son and Holy Spirit: one God, now and for ever. Amen.
And blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen