Welcome to our service - 30 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
Please don’t hesitate to ring Alistair (07769 213 581) if you have any questions or would like support.
SERVICE
As we gather today,
we gather around Jesus, the Word become flesh, who made his dwelling in our physical world.
As we gather, we bring our physical selves too, not just thoughts, hopes and dreams, but also our hands, our feet, our bodies - bringing our whole beings; symbols of our whole lives.
As we pause to be thankful for all that God has provided, may we respond in worship, offering the whole of our selves as a sacrifice of praise,and may our gratitude grow our generosity today. Amen.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekVLG-p8Xsc
Lord Jesus Christ, you have come to us,
you are one with us, Mary's son;
cleansing our souls from all their sin,
pouring your love and goodness in:
Jesus, our love for you we sing -
living Lord!
2 Lord Jesus Christ, now and every day
teach us how to pray, Son of God;
You have commanded us to do
this in remembrance, Lord, of You:
into our lives
Your power breaks through -
living Lord!
3 Lord Jesus Christ, you have come to us,
born as one of us, Mary's son;
led out to die on Calvary,
risen from death to set us free:
living Lord Jesus, help us see
you are Lord!
4 Lord Jesus Christ, I would come to you,
live my life for you, Son of God;
all your commands I know are true,
your many gifts will make me new:
into my life your power breaks through
living Lord!
Patrick Appleford (c) 1960 Josef Weinberger Ltd
CONFESSION
The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart God will not despise. Let us come to the Lord, who is full of compassion, and acknowledge our transgressions in penitence and faith.
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
God of heaven,
you send the gospel to the ends of the earth
and your messengers to every nation:
send your Holy Spirit to transform us
by the good news of everlasting life
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUCBb3YHFPc
My soul finds rest in God alone,
My Rock and my salvation;
A fortress strong against my foes,
And I will not be shaken.
Though lips may bless and hearts may curse,
And lies like arrows pierce me,
I'll fix my heart on righteousness,
I'll look to Him who hears me.
O praise Him, hallelujah,
My Delight and my reward;
Everlasting, never failing,
My Redeemer, my God.
2. Find rest, my soul, in God alone
Amid the world's temptations;
When evil seeks to take a hold
I'll cling to my salvation.
Though riches come and riches go,
Don't set your heart upon them;
The fields of hope in which I sow
Are harvested in heaven.
O praise Him…
3. I'll set my gaze on God alone
And trust in Him completely;
With every day pour out my soul
And He will prove His mercy.
Though life is but a fleeting breath,
A sigh too brief to measure,
My King has crushed the curse of death
And I am his forever.
O praise Him…
Oh praise Him, Oh praise Him
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Stuart Townend and Aaron Keyes
©2007 Thankyou Music
READINGS
Colossians 2:6-15 New International Version - UK
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
John 15:1-11 New International Version – UK
‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
This the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
TALK by Catherine Stevenson
We are now in week four of our journey through Paul’s letter to the Colossians, which is very much focussed on the person of Jesus and how the church in Colossae can follow him. A couple of weeks ago Alistair and Sam talked us through Paul’s message in chapter 1; that Jesus made all things, and that he paid the price to reconcile all things to God. Jesus made it all and paid it all. Then last week Eddie took us to the words of Paul at the end of the chapter 1, which reveal the mystery of Jesus in us all, by his Spirit. Jesus made it all, paid it all and is in us all.
Today we come to chapter 2:6-15 and Alistair McGrath describes this passage as the heart of the letter and a section which would have been read with particular care and attention by the original recipients. Here Paul addresses a specific issue which has arisen in the town of Collosae: false teaching. But we will soon see just how relevant this teaching is for us too. Today we will rediscover the truth that Jesus is ALL we need.
In v6-7 Paul starts with an encouragement to continue in the faith, by being rooted in Jesus. He says,
“just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”
Paul tells us that our faith with grow strong and we will overflow with thankfulness, if we are rooted in Jesus.
But how can we become rooted in Jesus?
Last week I was leading the Kids Group and we spent some time talking together about how we can make the most of the opportunities God gives us to learn about him. The group came up with some great suggestions; reading the Bible, praying to God, worshipping him, serving him and gathering together with other Christians so we can help each other. These are all ways in which we can, ‘Let our roots grow down into Jesus’, so that our faith will grow strong.
In v8-10 Paul explains that Jesus is all we need. But he begins with a serious warning. In v8: Paul warns against false teachers with their empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense based on human thinking, rather than the truth of Jesus. Here he explains that we don’t need extras or add-ons to our faith - they don’t work and they’re not good for us. No pop-psychology, self-help strategies, astrology, or pseudo-spiritual rubbish. If they don’t point us towards Jesus, they draw us away from him and can ensnare us.
In our context today, we might add to this list of warnings, other things which draw us away from Jesus or suggest he is not enough. The messages we get from the media and social networks tell us that we will only be good enough if we look a certain way. We will only find fulfilment if we are in a romantic relationship. We will only find peace of mind with a fancy house and a healthy savings account. All these things come from our secular human culture and send the message that Jesus is not enough. But of course, that’s exactly the false teaching that Paul is speaking against. He warns us, “Don’t let anyone capture you” with these things - don’t fall for the lies.
In v9 Paul returns to the theme of the fullness of God, echoing a line from chapter 1v19: “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in (Christ).” Jesus is the embodiment of the fullness of the God himself. Everything that is true of God, is true of Jesus. Jesus is not a second-level deity, a demi-god, an exalted man, or anything less than God incarnate. Renowned theologian, N.T. Wright puts it like this: “He is the embodiment and full expression of the one God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Jesus is, quite literally, Immanuel, God with us, God among us.
The implications of this theological truth are astounding. We can only comprehend God by looking at Jesus, by reading about his life in the Gospels, by obeying his teaching and serving him, by worshipping and praying to him, by participating in his suffering, and by placing our hope in his resurrection.
If what you believe about God does not fit the person of Jesus as revealed in the Gospels, then what you believe about God is false.
“All the fullness” is a phrase the defies explanation, rationalization, or minimization. Paul’s language is extreme because he wants us to grasp the depth of the truth of the Incarnation, of God in human form.
And from the fullness of God that lives in Christ, believers themselves are brought to fullness. Of course this doesn’t mean that we have the fullness of God in us. It is clear from Scripture that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Jesus - and through this, we are brought to the fullness of our humanity. When we are rooted in Jesus, we lack nothing. The fullness of God which fills Christ brings believers to the fullness of their humanity because he is both our Creator and Redeemer. When we are rooted in Jesus, we lack nothing.
In v10 Paul tells us that Jesus is able to bring his disciples to fullness because he is the head over every authority. Whatever authority that might exist, whether in the spiritual realm or on earth, it is under the headship of Christ. Jesus has no rivals. There is no need to turn anywhere else for wisdom, peace or security.
Verses 11-14 serve to remind us that God has forgiven us all of our sins, having removed every barrier between us, and given us entry into his covenant family. N.T. Wright notes that there are two such barriers: the written law (the Torah) and the spiritual powers and authorities. “God has apparently cancelled the former and disarmed the later.” Our indebtedness to Torah was cancelled when Christ was nailed to the cross, taking with him, as it were, the very Torah itself. In Christ’s death, the Law’s power to condemn us has been nullified. Whenever we hear the voice of the Law condemning us, we must look and discover that the voice is coming from the cross of Christ, where the Law has been permanently impaled. This image is our reminder that the Law which condemns us has been removed by the power of Christ’s blood.
In the same way, the spiritual powers and authorities that also seek our condemnation are equally destroyed at the cross. In a fantastic turn of events, the crucified Messiah is the one who triumphs over the forces of evil by the very instrument with which they sought to destroy him! He has disarmed the powers and authorities by absorbing into himself all their dark power and might, succumbing to death, descending into hell, and then obliterating them from the inside by his resurrection. Jesus took the devil’s best shot and won.
Jesus is at work in your life in ways far greater than you can comprehend or imagine. The fullness of God lives in his body, and out of that fullness he fills you. We spend much of our younger years looking for that special person to whom we can say, “You complete me.” While this is a lovely sentiment in a romantic kind of way, it is useless and misguided in a practical sense. No other person can fill us. We must, instead, be filled (or completed) by the one who is himself full with God’s fullness. Jesus is the one who completes us, who brings us into the fullness of humanity’s purpose for which we were created. No add-ons or extras. Jesus is ALL we need. Let’s remain rooted in him. This week, how will you help those roots to grow deeper, so that your faith may grow stronger?
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 Christine Carney
Thank you, Jesus, that you are ‘all the fullness of God in bodily form’ and that you are the head over every power and authority. Thank you, Jesus, that you reconciled us to God by your death on the cross so that we might be completely forgiven… Please help us to make you Lord over our lives and help us to grow in our love for you day by day.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for Alistair, Catherine and their family. Please bless them, encourage them and give them wisdom in all they do. Thank you for the Church family at St. Gabriel’s. Please help us to love, encourage and support one another. We pray for your blessing on those on the Alpha course, those who come to Cuppa and cake, the small groups studying Colossians and the course on relationships starting in February. We pray for healing for those who are ill and that you will put your loving arms around those who are fearful or anxious.
Thank you, Father, for our missionary partners, Dave and Helen Smithers, in Manchester. Please help them to get the jobs completed on their new house and bless their relationships with their neighbours and the community.
We continue to pray for safety from coronavirus and for complete healing for those who have Long COVID. We pray for our government for honesty, integrity and wisdom that comes from you, Lord, in dealing with issues at home and abroad.
Heavenly Father we commit to you Russia’s military ‘build up’ around Ukraine and we pray against war. Please give President Joe Biden and other world leaders wisdom in their negotiations with Russia.
We cry out to you, Lord, for those countries where there is violence and people are struggling to have enough to eat: Yemen, Afghanistan and Ethiopia. We pray for peace and for your provision for people’s needs.
We pray in the name of Jesus. 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=rsJdmhTRSm4
FAITHFUL GOD, faithful God,
All sufficient One, I worship You.
Shalom my peace,
My strong Deliverer,
I lift You up, faithful God.
Chris Bowater.
Copyright © 1990 Sovereign Lifestyle 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=QQlFHIRFGGU
MAY THE PEACE OF GOD our heavenly Father,
And the grace of Christ the risen Son,
And the fellowship of God the Spirit
Keep our hearts and minds within His love.
And to Him be praise for His glorious reign,
From the depths of earth to the heights of heaven.
We declare the name of the Lamb once slain:
Christ eternal, the King of kings!
May this peace which passes understanding,
And this grace which makes us what we are,
And this fellowship of His communion
Make us one in spirit and in heart.
Stuart Townend & Keith Getty Copyright © 2006 Thankyou Music
FINAL BLESSING:
May God, who in Christ gives us a spring of water
welling up to eternal life,
perfect in you the image of his glory;
and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be upon you and remain with you always.
Amen