Welcome to our online service - 25 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.
Loving God, we have come to worship you.
Help us to pray to you in faith,
to sing your praise with gratitude,
and to listen to your word with eagerness;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
HYMN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwuDSw-9cUQ
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty!
early in the morning
our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy! - merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
2. Holy, holy, holy!
All the saints adore Thee,
casting down their golden crowns
around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim
falling down before Thee,
which wert, and art,
and evermore shall be.
3. Holy, holy, holy!
though the darkness hide Thee,
though the eye of sinful man
Thy glory may not see;
only Thou art holy,
there is none beside Thee,
perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.
4. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy name,
in earth, and sky, and sea:
Holy, holy, holy! - merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Words: Reginald Heber (1783-1826)
Music: John Bacchus Dykes (1823-76)
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
Jesus says, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’ So let us turn away from sin and turn to the Lord, confessing our sins in penitence and faith.
God our Father, long-suffering, full of grace and truth,
you create us from nothing and give us life.
You give your faithful people new life in the water of baptism.
You do not turn your face from us, nor cast us aside.
We confess that we have sinned against you and our neighbour.
We have wounded your love and marred your image in us.
Restore us for the sake of your Son, and bring us to heavenly joy, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
ASOLUTION
Almighty God,
who in Jesus Christ has given us
a kingdom that cannot be destroyed,
forgive us our sins, open our eyes to God’s truth,
strengthen us to do God’s will
and give us the joy of his kingdom,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
COLLECT
Lord God,
your Son left the riches of heaven
and became poor for our sake:
when we prosper save us from pride,
when we are needy save us from despair,
that we may trust in you alone;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBppKZ0eJlQ
As the deer pants for the water,
So my soul longs after You.
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You.
You alone are my strength, my shield,
To You alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You.
2. I want You more than gold or silver,
Only You can satisfy.
You alone are the real joy-giver
And the apple of my eye.
You alone are my strength...
3. You're my Friend and You're my Brother,
Even though You are a king.
I love You more than any other,
So much more than anything.
You alone are my strength...
Words and Music: Martin Nystrom
Copyright © Restoration Music Ltd/Sovereign Music Ltd (1983)
READINGS
Psalm 145:10-19 New International Version - UK
All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfils the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
John 6:1-21 New International Version - UK
Sometime after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing those who were ill. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming towards him, he said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, ‘It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!’
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’
Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, ‘It is I; don’t be afraid.’ Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
This the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
TALK written by Peter Smithers
Let’s look together at John’s account of how over 5,000 people were miraculously provided with a meal. But first, I’d like to clear the decks a little…
When I was at school I had a really great Religious Education teacher. He was younger and less formal than our other teachers. He was easy to listen to and to learn from - and he was an ordained vicar. BUT he didn’t believe in miracles. So when we came to this account he told us that what probably happened was that most of the 5,000 had actually brought food with them, but had been reluctant to take it out and start eating when no-one else was. When the boy got out his meal, they all got out theirs and tucked in together. This wasn’t just my teacher’s view but it is also the view of quite a few theologians.
But as time’s gone on I’ve found it harder to believe this theory than to believe in the miracle. This account is from John’s gospel. In his own gospel Luke tells us that all twelve disciples were there. So John was there and we are dealing with the account of an eye-witness. It’s not a story that’s been embellished or misunderstood as it was passed on from one teller to another. John saw it unfold right in front of him. He was even involved in the distribution of the bread and fish and in the collection of the left-overs. Also note that not one of the twelve disciples had brought even a snack with them, so why should everybody else? John was a fisherman. He knew what fish looked like! Other people might have brought olives or roasted lamb. Some would certainly have brought wheat bread, rather than barley bread. But what he saw was only fish and barley bread. I could go on…
I want us to look at three elements in this story. Let’s start with…
The bread
There are four accounts of this miracle - one written by Matthew and others written by Mark, Luke and John. They all mention the bread, but only John includes the detail that it was barley bread. In Palestine at that time two sorts of bread were generally available - wheat bread and barley bread. Barley bread is more chewy and not so pleasant to eat. Barley sold at about a third to half the price of wheat. So barley bread was the poor man’s bread. Others would eat it at times, but it was definitely second best. The loaves would probably have been like small pitta breads or chapattis.
There were only five of these loaves. Just fine for a little boy’s meal, but totally insignificant when it came to feeding over 5,000 people.
The fish
Again the two fish were mentioned in all four of the gospels. Matthew, Mark and Luke use the standard, common word for “fish”. John uses a different, rarer word - opsarion. The -arion at the end meant “small” - a bit like the English word “duckling”, where the “-ling” at the end indicates small. John, as we mentioned, was a fisherman so he distinguished between different sizes of fish in the way that the other gospel-writers didn’t. So… these fish were small - more like sardines or anchovies than a cod or haddock. They would have been either sun-dried or pickled to prevent them going off quickly. Small, boney fish like these were again the food of poor people. Richer, more discerning diners would prefer larger, filleted fish. Again, these two fish were totally insignificant when it came to feeding 5,000 people.
The boy
As you’ve probably picked up from Jewish bar mitzvahs, boys in that culture were thought of as becoming adults at around thirteen. Any boy younger than this would have been been called “a child”. But in John’s description of him he too has -arion added at the end. So he wasn’t just a boy, he was a “little boy” - seven to nine years old, I would guess. Surrounded by 5,000 adult men, this little boy seemed totally insignificant - so much so that Matthew, Mark and Luke don’t even mention him at. We don’t know this little boy’s name, his age or where he was from.
But then what happens?
The boy brought his insignificant, very plain contributions. Andrew looks at them and says “how far will they go among so many?” a real put-down and dose of reality for this poor lad. But then “Jesus took the loaves”. From this point everything changed. And he didn’t just take these paltry gifts, he “gave thanks”. He told God how grateful he was for them. Then he “distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.” Jesus took this little boy’s simple act of kindness and made it into something wonderful - something that helped thousands of people.
But it didn’t stop there. The people seeing this divine provision of food thought back into their own history, and remembered the account of the miraculous manna and quails that God had provided when the nomadic Israelite nation wandered through the deserts of the Sinai peninsula. It had all happened under Moses’ leadership. They cast their minds back to what Moses had said in the book of Deuteronomy “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him” (Deut 18.15-19). They began to question whether Jesus might be much more than a wonder-working rabbi. Might he be the promised Prophet like Moses? John tells us ‘After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ (John 6:14)
Then the very next day, Jesus used the stir that started with this little boy’s bread as his jumping-off point as he spoke in the synagogue. He invited his hearers to come to him and to believe in him: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty… I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live for ever.” (John 6:35, 48-51)
Look how far those five little loaves and those two little fish went!
Do you, maybe like that little boy, feel small and insignificant? Your resources are so limited, so second-rate, so plain and ordinary. You have so little to offer. Let Jesus take what you have and use it - maybe to help others in practical ways, maybe to encourage in spiritual ways, maybe something completely different. I don’t know what this will mean for you. That’s between you and Jesus. Just let him take your gifts into his hands and use them for good.
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
These prayers are based on the song ‘The Blessing’ written by Chris Brown / Steven Furtick / Cody Carnes / Kari Brooke Jobe
The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you…
Lord we thank you for your graciousness in our lives, we thank you for the forgiveness that you show us daily that enables us to have a relationship with you. We pray that we won’t take this for granted and that we would strive for a closer relationship with you each day. We pray that our eyes would be opened to your presence in our lives, and to thank you for your active work in our lives.
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace…
God in times of trouble we pray that we would also turn our face towards you. We pray for peace over the uncertainty in our lives, and if any of us are going through painful times God we lift them up to you now and ask for a peace to come over them, place a calming hand on their heart, and let them know your peace in their lives and that you will overcome these difficult times with them.
May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And Your family and your children
And their children, and their children…
God we pray for our children and teachers during the summer holidays, protect them and give them rest from the stress and business of the past term. We pray for the preparations for the kids club, that you will help the organisation go smoothly, and that you will be preparing the hearts of the children due to come to be open to learning more about you. We also pray for all our own families as we enjoy more times with them with restrictions lifting, and we lift those family members to you now we feel particularly need your blessing and favour now..
May His presence go before you
And behind you, and beside you
All around you, and within you
He is with you, He is with you…
God as some of us may continue to be uncertain about the current COVID-19 situation, and with the sudden acceleration of easing restrictions as well as increasing cases, God we pray that we will feel you presence and wisdom to know how to act in different situations, and how to continue to think of those who are more vulnerable, or nervous of how the world may look after 18 months of living in a pandemic. God continue to protect our NHS and those who are still testing positive or requiring hospital treatment, And help us remember that you have gone before us to prepare the way and that you walk beside us through it all.
In the morning, in the evening
In your coming, and your going
In your weeping, and rejoicing
He is for you, He is for you…
God in each of these times we thank you that you are with us, and God we pray that we will come to you in these events, in the morning or evening, in sadness or in joy, and connect with you. Help us to pause and reflect with you daily whatever the busyness we have going on and we thank you for your blessings and that whatever is going on we can bring it to you, and you will listen and you are for us.
The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace. Amen, amen, 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=tUqfdaCLm0Y
There is a Redeemer
Jesus, God's own Son,
precious Lamb of God, Messiah,
holy One.
Thank you, O my Father,
for giving us your Son,
and leaving your Spirit
till the work on earth is done.
2. Jesus, my Redeemer,
name above all names,
precious Son of God, Messiah,
Lamb for sinners slain:
Thank you, O my Father...
3. When I stand in glory
I will see his face,
and there I'll serve my king for ever
in that holy place.
Thank you, O my Father...
Melody Green (c) Word Music (UK)
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=GaoV5w2Qfag
Thine be the glory,
risen, conquering Son,
Endless is the victory
Thou o'er death hast won;
angels in bright raiment
rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes,
where Thy body lay.
Thine be the glory,
risen, conquering Son,
Endless is the victory
Thou o'er death hast won.
2. Lo! Jesus meets us,
risen from the tomb;
lovingly he greets us,
scatters fear and gloom;
let the Church with gladness
hymns of triumph sing,
for her Lord now liveth;
death hath lost its sting.
Thine be the glory...
3. No more we doubt Thee,
glorious Prince of life;
life is nought without Thee:
aid us in our strife;
make us more than conquerors,
through thy deathless love:
bring us safe through Jordan
to Thy home above.
Thine be the glory...
Edmond Louis Budry (1854-1932)
tr Richard Birch Hoyle (1875-1939)
BLESSING
Father of lights, from whom comes every good and perfect gift: keep us in the light of Christ, to shine in your world, that all may believe in you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
May God the Father, Judge all-merciful, make us worthy of a place in his kingdom. Amen.
May God the Son, coming among us in power, reveal in our midst the promise of his glory. Amen.
May God the Holy Spirit make us steadfast in faith, joyful in hope and constant in love. Amen.
And blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen