Welcome to our service - 25 June 23
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.
OPENING
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.
HYMN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5D3LEjGF8A
Morning has broken
like the first morning;
blackbird has spoken
like the first bird.
Praise for the singing!
Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing
fresh from the Word!
2. Sweet the rain's new fall
sunlit from heaven,
like the first dew fall
on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness
of the wet garden,
sprung in completeness
where His feet pass.
3 Mine is the sunlight!
Mine is the morning
born of the one light
Eden saw play!
Praise with elation,
praise every morning,
God's re-creation
of the new day!
Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965)
(c) David Higham Associates Ltd
from The Children's Bells
published by Oxford University Press
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.
A time of silence - for reflection
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
May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
COLLECT
O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suTht0u2NiM
O LORD, GIVE ME AN UNDIVIDED HEART
To follow You.
O Lord, give me an undiminished love,
To see what You see, to do what You do,
O Lord, give me an undivided heart.
O Lord, give me an unrelenting mind
To seek Your face.
O Lord, give me an undefeated faith,
To see victory in all that I do,
To worship in spirit and truth.
To see less of me, and much more of You,
O Lord, give me an undivided heart.
O Lord, give me an undivided heart.
Chris Roe/Dave Markee.
Copyright � 1990 Thankyou Music.
READINGS
1 Corinthians 14: 20 - 33 (1336)
Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind. It is written in the Scriptures:
“I will speak to my own people
through strange languages
and through the lips of foreigners.
But even then, they will not listen to me,”
says the LORD.
So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers. Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy. But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”
Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will share some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.
No more than two or three should speak in tongues. They must speak one at a time, and someone must interpret what they say. But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately.
Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said. But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking must stop. In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged. Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.
John 10: 14 – 18 (p. 1244)
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
“The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Reflection on readings - Alistair Stevenson
Last week we looked at an outline of the spiritual gifts.
I would like to offer a possible categorisation of these gifts:
Spirit led ‘Insight’
knowledge, wisdom, distinguishing of spirit, prophecy
Spirit led ‘communication’
prophecy, evangelism, tongues, interpretation of tongues.
Spirit led ‘power’
Faith, miracles, healing
Spirit led ‘leadership’
Teaching, leading, apostleship, pastor
Spirit led ‘service’
Serving, showing mercy/kindness
Spirit led ‘life’
Giving, faith, exhortation/encouragement
In Ephesians 4 Paul also describes why these gifts are given to the church:
- Equip God’s people to do his work (v. 12)
- To build the church, the body of Christ – healthy and full of love (v. 12&16)
- Unity in our faith (v. 13)
- Knowledge of God’s son (v.13)
- Speak the truth in love (v. 15)
This morning we focus more on Spirit-led ‘communication’ but also how this interacts with spirit-led ‘insight’. Both of these require us to hear from God. To be in communication with his Spirit.
At the heart of the Christian faith is the concept that we don’t believe in a God that is dead, or distant, or detached from human lives and actions.
Our God is NOT dead, distant or detached. He is alive, he is here and he longs and seeks for relationship with us.
As with any relationship, God longs to be in communication with us. To speak to us through His Spirit. I believe that God is speaking to us all. The challenge is whether we have spiritual ears open to hear.
So let’s make it very clear at the outset. God wants to speak and communicate with us all. There is no special requirement, or position, or person who can hear. We don’t need any kind of conduit or go-between.
In the Old Testament, it was special people in special circumstances who heard from God. Through Jesus and with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, all of these barriers were broken.
So - if you have said ‘Yes’ to Jesus in your life. You can hear from God.
However, the New Testament, and Paul particularly seems to identify particular Spiritual gifts of hearing from God about particular situations, a group or an individual.
For example - in 1 Cor 12, Pauls says this:
“To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge…. And another the ability to prophesy.”
It is difficult to understand what Paul means by these 3 concepts. But they do seem distinctive in his mind. He goes on to talk in more detail about prophecy, as we heard in our passage today. Even so, what prophecy looked like for the early church is not completely clear.
But there does seems to be a difference between the spiritual gifts of:
Wise Advice
A message of special knowledge
Prophesy.
This might sound funny, but I think there is a danger that we over–spiritualise these - or at least the first two. For example, Paul explains that someone can have the spiritual gift of encouraging, or serving or kindness or generosity (see Romans 12: 6 - 8). These things can be done without the Spirits leading and we see them outworked by those who may not have a faith.
In the same way, wise advice and a message of special knowledge could be as simple as giving good wisdom and sharing good knowledge. The KEY distinction, again though, is that it is SPIRIT-led. And, as Paul goes onto say in 1 Cor. 13 - it is motivated, infused and ground-in LOVE.
SO, for example, we may be able to identify Christians in our lives who just seem to be full of wisdom. Through experience or circumstances, they seem to have that ability to speak into situations with clarity and insight. Or maybe those who have a thirst and desire for knowledge and are led by the Spirit to share that with others.
Often we use our understanding and knowledge of a situation or person and then are able to offer wisdom for that person as we glean from our own biblical understanding or faith experience. It seems like there is an intersection with God’s spirit and our personal knowledge or understanding.
Let me give you an example. Since I have been a Christian I have been a part of many home groups or small groups. There have been and continue to be really important places of support, encouragement, prayer and engagement with the Bible. Often, when we have been praying for one another, we will share a passage of Scripture or an experience in our own lives that really encourages the other person. It’s not like some booming, external, remote voice of God - but Christians, in a relationship offering wise advise and knowledge. Was it guided and led by the Spirit - nearly always?
And let’s always remember. God has spoken to us through Scripture. It is the Bible that we go to first and foremost and test everything that is said or shared by another.
Sometimes though, that wisdom and knowledge seem like they come from no experience or learning, but simply and only from God’s Spirit.
There have been times in my life where I just seem to be able to connect to the situation of another person and then able, by God’s Spirit, to offer wisdom into what they are going through. Often the only way I can explain it is that is has come from God
This is where we are starting to engage in what I would suggest is the spiritual gift of prophecy.
“prophecy is defined as the gift or ability to receive and communicate supernatural revelation for a group, individual or situation.”
Pauls says at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 14:
“But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them.”
These are always the characteristics of prophecy - strengthening, encouraging and comforting. And, as we see in our passage today. Paul seems to expect that it should be part of our worship gatherings.
Verse 26 says:
Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will share some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.
Take a moment now, to reflect on the above:
- Have you experienced prophecy in your own life?
- Has God ever used another person to speak into your life? How significant was it?
- Has God ever used you to speak ‘prophetically’ into another person’s life?
In the midst of talking about gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul uses the analogy of the body to describe how different gifts function in the life of the church.
Go back to the list of the gifts and their characterization on page 5. As you consider our church, which of these gifts to we experience and see frequently? Which less frequently?
Considering our church like a body, do you think of the parts of the body are functioning and effective? How might be encourage certain parts of the body to function better?
Pauls says in 1 Cor. 12v27:
“All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”
Take some time to pray for our life together as a church family.
Pray for yourself that you might be more open to the gifts of the Spirit.
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
We pray for God to fill us with his Spirit.
Lord, come to bless us.
Fill us with your Spirit.
Generous God, we thank you for the power
of your Holy Spirit.
We ask that we may be strengthened to serve you better.
Lord, come to bless us.
Fill us with your Spirit.
We thank you for the wisdom of your Holy Spirit.
We ask you to make us wise to understand your will.
Lord, come to bless us.
Fill us with your Spirit.
We thank you for the peace of your Holy Spirit.
We ask you to keep us confident of your love,
wherever you call us.
Lord, come to bless us.
Fill us with your Spirit.
We thank you for the healing of your Holy Spirit.
We ask you to bring reconciliation and wholeness
where there is division, sickness and sorrow.
Lord, come to bless us.
Fill us with your Spirit.
We thank you for the gifts of your Holy Spirit.
We ask you to equip us for the work which you have given us.
Lord, come to bless us.
Fill us with your Spirit.
We thank you for the fruit of your Holy Spirit.
We ask you to reveal in our lives the love of Jesus.
Lord, come to bless us.
Fill us with your Spirit.
We thank you for the breath of your Holy Spirit,
given by the risen Lord.
We ask you to keep the whole Church,
living and departed,
in the joy of eternal life.
Lord, come to bless us.
Fill us with your Spirit.
Generous God,
you sent your Holy Spirit upon your Messiah
at the River Jordan,
and upon the disciples in the upper room.
In your mercy fill us with your Spirit.
Hear our prayer,
and make us one in heart and mind
to serve you with joy for ever.
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=EQaOErUUjm8
Brother, sister let me serve you,
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace
to let you be my servant too.
2. We are pilgrims on a journey,
we are brothers on the road;
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.
3. I will hold the Christ-light for you
in the night-time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.
4. I will weep when you are weeping;
when you laugh I'll laugh with you.
I will share your joy and sorrow
`Til we've seen this journey through.
5. When we sing to God in heaven
we will find such harmony,
born of all we've known together
of Christ's love and agony.
6. Brother, sister let me serve you,
Let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace
to let you be my servant too.
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=-Acn2YWfbZE
Amazing grace –
how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught
my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers,
toils and snares,
I have already come;
'tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.
When we've been there
ten thousand years
bright shining as the sun,
we've no less days to sing God's praise
than when we've first begun.
John Newton (1725-1807)
BLESSING
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
The Lord God almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
the holy and undivided Trinity, guard you, save you, and bring you to that heavenly city, where he lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.