Welcome to our service - 26 Feb
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.
SERVICE
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=s6ji4y9Q-K0
Tell out, my soul,
the greatness of the Lord;
Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice;
Tender to me the promise of His Word;
In God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.
2. Tell out, my soul,
the greatness of His Name!
Make known His might, the deeds His arm has done;
His mercy sure, from age to age the same;
His Holy Name - the Lord, the Mighty One.
3. Tell out, my soul,
the greatness of His might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by.
Proud hearts and stubborn wills
are put to flight,
The hungry fed, the humble lifted high.
4. Tell out, my soul,
the glories of His word!
Firm is His promise, and His mercy sure,
Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord
To children's children and for evermore.
Timothy Dudley-Smith, 1926-
THE BEATITUDES
Let us hear our Lord’s blessing on those who follow him:
Blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are those who mourn
for they shall be comforted
Blessed are the meek
for they shall inherit the earth
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness
for they shall be satisfied
Blessed are the merciful
for they shall obtain mercy
Blessed are the pure in heart
for they shall seek God
Blessed are the peacemakers
for they shall be called children of God
Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
CONFESSION
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. Let us confess our sins remembering before God the times when we have fallen from temptation into sin.
We confess to you our selfishness and lack of love:
fill us with your Spirit.
(Silence)
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
We confess to you our fear and failure in sharing our faith:
fill us with your Spirit.
(Silence)
Christ, have mercy.
All: Christ, have mercy.
We confess to you our stubbornness and lack of trust:
fill us with your Spirit.
(Silence)
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
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
Eternal God,
give us insight
to discern your will for us,
to give up what harms us,
and to seek the perfection we are promised
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6LC8cu03Ig
THY WORD is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
(Repeat)
When I feel afraid,
Think I’ve lost my way,
Still You’re there right beside me.
And nothing will I fear
As long as You are near;
Please be near me to the end.
THY WORD is a lamp unto my feet…
I will not forget
Your love for me, and yet
My heart forever is wandering.
Jesus, be my guide
And hold me to Your side,
And I will love You to the end.
Amy Grant & Michael W. Smith. © 1983 Meadow Green Music/Word Music/Adm. SongSolutions CopyCare
READINGS
Romans 5.12-19
Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned:— for until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam’s transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come. But not as the trespass, so also is the free gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many. And not as through one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment came of one unto condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses unto justification. For if, by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, even Jesus Christ. So then as through one trespass the judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so through one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous.
Matthew 4.1-11
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.
During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’”
Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”
“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the LORD your God
and serve only him.’”
Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.
This is the word of the Lord,
Thanks be to God.
Talk by Alistair Stevenson
Church history explains the characteristic notes of lent. Self examination, penitence, self-denial, study and ultimately the preparation for Easter. The 40 days of lent remind us of the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness being tested by Satan. And so it is therefore appropriate that we focus on that reading this morning. We're going to move through Matthew 4: 1 - 11 taking each verse in turn and allowing the spirit to speak to us this morning.
Let us pray. Father God, as we start this season of Lent, would we have hearts open to hearing your voice speaking to us through your Spirit and lives willing and ready to be changed by it.
When I was growing up as a family we used to spend many of our holidays staying with my Grandma. She was an American who was sadly widowed three times. She would often joke that she stopped after three because she kept on killing them. After her third husband died she was alone, living in a large house in the north of Scotland and so at least 2 times a year we would go and visit. I absolutely loved it and would be so excited to go that I would pack my bag about a week before we actually left. I was so full of anticipation that I would spend a long time preparing for the trip.
Lent is marked as a season of preparation. But this is not preparation full of excitement and anticipation, it is a different type of preparation. It’s preparation that is marked by lament and longing. It’s preparation not fully knowing what the destination will look like or when it will happen. Of course, we are preparing for Easter. We know that Jesus rose again - death has been defeated and eternal life made possible. But the full impact and reality of that salvation is not fully realised here now, today. We still wait for it and that waiting can be hard when we look at the brokenness of our world.
As we read through this reading in Matthew we get the sense that is part of Jesus preparing for the start of his ministry. We should therefore note, right at the outset, that preparing and waiting are therefore really important aspects of our faith.
Verse 1 we read, ‘Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness’. That word 'then' is really important because it should make us look back to what has just come before. If we look back just a few verses we will read that Jesus has just been baptised. Verse 17, Matthew 3 "and a voice from heaven said “This is my dearly loved son who brings me great joy." The NIV translates this as "my son whom I love, with him I am well pleased."
Before Jesus goes into the wilderness for a time of preparation and testing he first has his identity confirmed by the Father. He is God's son, he is loved by God and even before Jesus has done anything, God is pleased with him. We might expect that from this high-point, mountain top experience Jesus would launch into his ministry of preaching and demonstrating the Kingdom of God. Yet this is not what happens.
The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. From a place of affirmation to loneliness and temptation. But Jesus didn't find himself in the wilderness by some chance or by random or because of a mistake that he or someone else had made. No, it's clear that the Spirit led him for a reason.
The desert that Jesus is in and the 40 days that he will spend there, echo back to the 40 years in the desert when God's people escaped from Egypt. This link back to Israel's journey through the wilderness for 40 years is really important because what we see is that God was doing more than just simply taking his people from point A to point B. The 40 years in the wilderness was part of their formation and preparation for the promised land. God wanted to shape them on the way.
One author suggests that:
"The wilderness wandering was the formative experience for the Israelites, repeatedly referenced throughout Scripture. From the time in the wilderness came the Law, a way of worship, and a culture distinct from their neighbours." (Daniel McGregor).
Since Christmas we have been focusing on the book of Deuteronomy - a book written while the people were in the wilderness. It therefore seems appropriate that we move from there into Lent as we delve deeper into this idea of worship in the wilderness.
Worship in this place of wilderness is often very different to the worship on the mountain top experiences of life. There are definitely times where we should celebrate with joyful hymns and songs, with vibrancy and passion. Times when we should gather with hundreds, even thousands of Christians to worship and celebrate. But worship in the wilderness is often about taking away rather than adding more. It might involve aspects of worship such as fasting, or solitude, or simplicity. It might turn us towards silence, or lament, or giving things away.
Just as the wilderness experience was formative for the Israelites, so now for Jesus the same is true. Like Jesus, we should expect as Christians that wilderness experiences will be part of our faith journey and that there will more often than not be a reason why we are in that season.
Often though, the church does not recognise or leave time and space to address the themes of wilderness. Being sorrowful, guilt, doubt are not issues we regularly engage with. However, these thoughts and experiences are everyday realities for most if not all of us. It may be that in our jobs, homes or communities we are going through times of barren exile. We can experience the wilderness of losing a loved one, being made redundant or having a long-term illness.
Michael Card writes:
“The wilderness is still the place of worship. But for you and me it is not a matter of dunes and dry ground; in fact, it may be deceptively green. Our hunger and thirst are more spiritual realities than physical ones. The desolation we often experience involves our yearning for a more palpable feeling of the Presence of God. We need spiritual bread every bit as much as they needed the manna in the wilderness. Our deep need for Living Water is just as intense as any thirst their parched throats ever knew.”
We may not have experienced these things. But in journeying with Jesus we can prepare for future seasons. Would Jesus have been ready for the rejection and hostility that was to come, particularly at the end of his ministry, if he had not spent these 40 days in the wilderness?
Wilderness is not a sign of God’s absence. They are not punishments from God or signs that God is uncaring. Instead, wilderness may be an opportunity for God to test our hearts. To mould our lives. To sharpen our identity to make us more secure in his love. Do we really trust him, or do we trust our own abilities? Do we really know the full reality of being his daughter and son? Have we experienced the love of the father poured out on us, his beloved? It is often in times of wilderness that we come face to face with these questions and therefore seek the answers.
This should be a comfort for us when we are in those places where we feel in a dry and desert land, where we might feel distant from God because God might be using this experience to form and shape us in preparation for something to come. We can also have hope that, like Jesus, this experience will come to an end. There is always light at the end of the tunnel even if we struggle to see that at the time.
[You could invite people to close their eyes and reflect on this.] You are walking towards Jesus, and Jesus is reaching out his arms to embrace you. But as you look down your arms are full of stuff. What is it that your arms are full of - the things that you rely on for your worship and your life? Are they full of musical instruments; full of computers or books; full of food and drinks; full of work and activity; full of relationships and family? None of these are bad things, in fact they are gifts of God. But God knows that for us to grow in him we might need to start putting down some of these things we’re carrying. Lent and wilderness is about laying down some of these things until we have empty hands. Hands held out ready to receive from him, to be embraced by him.
Crucially here the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. Any of those early listeners of Matthew's Gospel would immediately be picking up on significant links back to the Old Testament. Firstly to the origin story of Genesis 1-3 where Adam and Eve are tempted by the devil. Instead of a garden, Jesus is in a desert symbolising humanity's exile from the garden due to their sin. Scholars often describe Jesus as a type of second Adam - the one true human being who comes to do what Adam failed to do. So Jesus here has his own face off with the Devil. But unlike Adam Jesus does not give in. He is victorious over temptation.
Verse 3, 'During that time the devil'. This is not the time or the place to do a deep exploration of the devil and an understanding of the devil through Scripture but I think it's important here to note that the Greek word used can be translated as 'tempter'. The primary aim of the devil is to tempt us away from God and his will in our lives. Again back to the Genesis story, it was the Devil tempting Adam and Eve away from God's will over their lives. And here again the Devil is going to tempt Jesus three times. This threefold temptation is clever, manipulative and very subtle and in one sense has nothing to do with sin in the way that we might understand it. Instead the devil wants to cut to the very core of who Jesus is and his identity. And just like with Adam and Eve, the tempter uses lies to try and manipulate Jesus. The three lies are going to speak directly to the promises that God had said over Jesus just before this. At Jesus's baptism God declares that Jesus is his son and now the devil questions this. He says twice ‘if you are the son of God’. Just like in the Genesis story where the devil says to Eve ‘did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden’. One of the devil's chief strategies is to question the truths of God over our lives. It's that voice in our head that says:
· are you really a child of God?
· could God really love you after all you have done?
· does he really have a plan for your life?
· could God really use you?
More often than not when the Devil comes to lead us away from God he doesn't come with great drama or in some spooky supernatural way. No, when the Devil works he does so quietly, subtly and into our everyday thought life and patterns.
Jesus is involved here in spiritual warfare but there are no swords or screams of fury. No battle cries. But this is a full-on fight. A fight over who Jesus is and what he has been called to do.
How does Jesus respond? He uses the tools that God has given him. And he does so with a firm confidence in his father's truth. From a place of silence and solitude Jesus can recognise the distinctive voice of the devil and respond to it. Often we can think of silence and solitude more like a place to simply relax and recharge, a kind of emotional break - especially for us introverts, where we can catch our breath before we go back to the hectic lifestyles that we're part of. But for Jesus, silence and solitude became the battlefield where real spiritual warfare takes place. And as one who knows the scriptures well he uses the Scriptures to combat the lies of the Devil.
Prayer, fasting and the reading of scripture are all important spiritual habits and practices that sustain us when we are in times of spiritual wilderness and spiritual warfare.
Henri Nouwen said it this way: “Solitude is not a private therapeutic place.” Rather, “solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self.”
In that place of quiet prayer, the Devil's lies are exposed for what they really are. If we don't take the time to stop, pray and to find solitude we will struggle to distinguish between the voice of God and the voice of the enemy. Here in the west particularly, I think the Devil's chief strategy is to distract us and to make our lives so busy that we can't distinguish between his voice and God's voice.
John Mark Comer says:
"Will we trust the devil’s lies or Jesus’s truth? It’s there, in the quiet, that we win or lose the battle for our minds’ attention and hearts’ affection."
Verse 4: 'but Jesus told him, "no the scriptures say’.
The devil tries to deceive Jesus. Jesus says no. Our first response to the lies of the enemy are to say no. And then Jesus uses scripture to fight the devil's lies. Three times the devil tempts Jesus with a lie and three times Jesus quotes scripture in reply.
If the devil's main strategy is to infiltrate our thought process and speak lies over us we can't fight the devil's lies by simply choosing to not think about them. Saying no is important and a good start but it can’t end there. If I asked you not to think of a pink fluffy elephant, it's very hard not to think of a pink fluffy elephant. And so we need to give our minds something else to think about. We need to replace the devil's lies with God's truth by speaking scripture over them.
Did you notice that the Devil uses Scripture as well? This should be a warning to us. The Bible can be manipulated and used to justify terrible things. Tragically 2000 years of history show us how true this is. This shouldn’t make us wary of the Bible or scared about its use, but it should keep us mindful that the human heart can so easily twist and manipulate Scripture.
It can be so easy to turn scripture reading into information gathering. Of course doctrine does matter but it's not about being ready for the exam test that will get you into heaven. The goal of reading scripture is not information but spiritual formation.
Again John Mark Comer:
"To actually think like Jesus thinks. To fill your mind with the thoughts of God so regularly and deeply that it literally rewires your brain, and from there, your whole person… The key is not just to think about Scripture, but to think Scripture."
Jesus says, ‘people do not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’.
Scripture is spiritual fuel for our lives.
So when we start to identify the lies from the devil, we can counter them with scripture.
During this season of Lent I would invite you to find time for solitude and silence and to dwell on the word of God. 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 Linda Chambers
Our prayers reflect some of the themes in Matthew chapter 4.
Living God, we pray for those who have lost their way in life through their own doing or through no fault of their own - be their strength in times of weakness… We pray for those who have lost their way spiritually and find themselves in a kind of wilderness situation - in their wanderings be their guide. We bring to you those struggling with hunger, pain, anxiety, loss - be their comforter and provider. And as the angels took care of Jesus in the wilderness, thank you for those who walk alongside and care for us during such times.
We also pray for the many displaced people groups across the world, sometimes within their own country – and for those who are literally struggling through the wasteland left behind by earthquake or conflict. We pause now to remember Turkey, Syria and Ukraine. Thank you for all the medical personel and charities seeking to care for them and those with practical skills clearing rubble and hoping to rebuild.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Living God, we pray for those around the world who abuse their power and authority by exploiting others in the workplace, driving people off their land and out of their homes or condoning unjust practices. We pray for Fairtrade Fortnight starting tomorrow which seeks to draw attention to such issues and for our own involvement here at church.
Amid all the complexities of national government, please help those with power to make decisions out of humility and compassion rather than self interest or convenience.
We lift to you our own City Council. Please inspire and guide them in all their decision making and may they implement schemes which reflect people’s best interests.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Living God, help us to depend on you to satisfy our deepest hunger. When we are tempted help us to look to your Word for guidance. Bless those at St. Gabriel’s who faithfully preach and teach the Scriptures to our children and young people. Thank you for opportunities to share your Word in our Growth Groups and ‘At The Table’ on Sunday evenings.
May we use Lent to become more familiar with your Word and more disciplined towards it, so that it nourishes us from day to day. We pray this too for our Mission Partners who we support financially and through prayer - and for our local communities, wherever individuals might be in their own journey of faith.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
And to close, a prayer from the New Zealand Prayer Book …
“God of the desert, as we follow Jesus into the unknown, may we recognise the tempter when he comes; let it be your bread we eat, your world we serve and you alone we worship.”
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=Y0a9T0UtJBQ
When the music fades,
all is stripped away
and I simply come;
Longing just to bring
something that's of worth
that will bless your heart.
I'll bring you more than a song,
for a song in itself
is not what you have required.
You search much deeper within
through the way things appear,
You're looking into my heart.
I'm coming back to the heart of worship,
and it's all about you,
all about you, Jesus.
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it,
when it's all about you,
all about you, Jesus.
2. King of endless worth,
no one could express
how much you deserve.
Though I'm weak and poor,
all I have is Yours,
every single breath.
I’ll bring you more than a song…
Matt Redman © 1997 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.
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=6CMclLT_Hjg
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me,
save that Thou art -
Thou my best thought
in the day or the night,
waking or sleeping,
Thy presence my light.
2. Be Thou my wisdom,
be Thou my true word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father and I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
3. Be Thou my breast-plate,
my sword for the fight,
be Thou my armour
and be thou my might.
Thou my soul's shelter
and Thou my high tower:
raise Thou me heavenward,
O power of my power.
4. Riches I heed not,
nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only,
the first in my heart,
high King of heaven, my treasure Thou art.
5. High King of heaven,
after victory won,
may I reach heaven's joys,
O bright heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
Ancient Irish tr. by Mary Elizabeth Byrne, 1880-1931
Versified by Eleanor Henrietta Hull
FINAL BLESSING:
Christ give you grace to grow in holiness, to deny yourselves, take up your cross, and follow him; and the blessing of God the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.
Amen