Welcome to our service - 12 June

  • 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 and in the church. 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.   

Please join us for public worship in the church building this Sunday at 10am or 11:30am. 

OPENING

SAY:

Alleluia, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

one God, who was, and who is, and who is to come, the Almighty.

Alleluia, alleluia

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.

SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcHXOnKZ3ME

Jesus shall reign where'er the sun

does His successive journeys run;

His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,

till moons shall rise and set no more.

 

2. To Him shall endless prayer be made,

and princes throng to crown His head;

His name, like sweet perfume, shall rise

with every morning sacrifice.

 

3. People and realms of every tongue

dwell on His love with sweetest song;

and infant voices shall proclaim

their early blessings on His name.

 

4. Blessings abound where'er He reigns;

the prisoner leaps to lose his chains,

the weary find eternal rest,

and all the sons of want are blest.

 

5.Let every creature rise and bring

the highest honours to our King;

angels descend with songs again,

and earth repeat the loud 'Amen'.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

PRAYER OF PREPARATION

Holy, holy, holy.

When our eyes have seen the Lord of hosts,

we echo the words of Isaiah,

‘Woe is me! I am doomed.’

We long for the fire of God’s cleansing to touch

our unclean lips, for our iniquity to be removed and our sins wiped out.

So we meet Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with confession on our lips.

 

CONFESSION


Father, you come to meet us when we return to you:

Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

 

Jesus, you died on the cross for our sins:

Christ, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Spirit, you give us life and peace:

Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.


ABSOLUTION 

May the Father forgive us by the death of his Son

and strengthen us to live in the power of the Spirit all our days.

Amen.

COLLECT

Holy God,

faithful and unchanging:

enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth,

and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love,

that we may truly worship you,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

 

SING:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQkzHwz2eLE&t=148s

I will offer up my life in spirit and truth,

Pouring out the oil of love

as my worship to You.

In surrender I must give my every part,

Lord receive the sacrifice of a broken heart.

 

Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring,

to so faithful a friend,

to so loving a King?

Saviour, what can be said,

what can be sung,

as a praise of Your name

for the things You have done?

O, my words could not tell, not even in part,

of the debt of love that is owed

by this thankful heart.

 

2.   You deserve my every breath

for You've paid the great cost,

giving up Your life to death,

even death on a cross.

You took all my shame away,

there defeated my sin,

opened up the gates of heaven

and have beckoned me in.

 

Jesus, what can I give,

 

Matt Redman: (c) 1994 Unveiled Music/Kingsway's Thankyou Music

READINGS

Acts 4: 1 – 14                                                                        New Living Translation 

 

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning. But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totalled about 5,000.

The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says

‘The stone that you builders rejected

has now become the cornerstone.’

There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognised them as men who had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could say.

 

John 16: 12 - 15                                                                    New Living Translation

“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

This the word of the Lord.

            Thanks be to God.

 

TALK written by John Marsh

There is power in the Holy Spirit and authority in the name of Jesus to bring salvation, changing both the world and individual lives for the better.

God has chosen ordinary people to work with so he gets the glor

What is the background to passage?

·       Luke – Acts ideally should be read consecutively. 

·       Peter and John healed the man at the beautiful gate, in the name of Jesus

·       They are preaching the resurrection openly

·       They’ve been arrested and brought before the Jewish court – Sanhedrin jurisdiction in non-capital cases

 

Key ideas and words in the passage

·       V7 By what power or by what name did you do this?

·       Power is dunamis – dynamite

o   Eph 1:19-20 God put this power (dunamis) to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

o   Power is the Holy Spirit, the breath of God, the animating power of creation.

o   The disciples full of the Holy Spirit, post Pentecost, had that power available to them through the Holy Spirit.

·       Name is onoma – authority embodied in a person’s name, rank or title

o   Phil 2:10 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave him the name (onama) that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

o   Old Testament – Yahweh – God’s name. God is not just God, he is Yahweh.

o   ‘In the name of the Law’, ‘In the name of the King’ – name links to authority

o   Who told you, you could do this?

 

·       V8 Peter filled with the Holy Spirit

o   Luke 21:12,14-15

‘But before all this, they [your adversaries] will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name…. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.’

o   Is this a case of Holy Spirit inspiration?

o   But since Pentecost, at baptism we are fully filled, filled to the maximum extent with the Holy Spirit.

o   The Holy Spirit is God, not a bit of God or part of God but wholly God

o   Peter fully filled with the complete representation of God

o   The Holy Spirit available to everyone post-Pentecost (previously intermittent)

o   The Holy Spirit the power (dunamis) and presence of God

 

·       V12 There is salvation 

o   Soteria – salvation

o   Means both physical and spiritual wholeness

o   Salvation from what?

§  From ourselves, from us being our own gods, our own monarch

§  From the failure to bear God’s image – Garden of Eden

§  From our plans and our values and our self-centred thinking and acting both past and present

§  From our failure to steward the world correctly, our failure to bring justice

o   Salvation to what?

§  To a restored image of God in us, once again reflecting God through Jesus

§  To getting back to the Eden plan of stewarding in its very widest sense and to multiplying image bearing and justice bringing 

o   A general putting right

 

·       V12 in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.

o   Name means authority

o   By no other authority provides salvation

o   Not the temple, not the priests, not Caesar, no one else

o   No one else brings about putting right with God apart from Jesus 

o   No one else can restore the image of God in us because no one else is God

o   No one else can put us back on track to bring justice and righteousness to the world because no one else knows God’s plan to do it

o   Why Jesus, why does he have authority? - because he is the Messiah, the rejected cornerstone.

o   Jesus is God himself – vindicated by his resurrection and able to release the Holy Spirit

o   Peter says if you are a believer in God, you must be a believer in Jesus, and this healed chap is the proof.

 

·       V13 they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus

o   Uneducated – not schooled, no one went to school, not professional studiers of the scriptures, not Rabbis, expected to listen not to teach

o   Ordinary – no rank or title, not priests or Levites, having no spiritual authority granted by the system

o   Recognised as companions of Jesus – because they did Jesus stuff, acted with the same power, spoke with the same authority.

o   1 Cor 1:26 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

 

The ‘So what?’ question

·       What does it mean for us?

o   If you feel that you are ordinary people then perhaps you can take comfort, but there are no ordinary people in the Kingdom of God.

o   The name of Jesus carries the authority of God for the restoration of His Creation and the restoration of His plan for humanity.

o   We operate with the name of Jesus on our lips. 

o   We help other people to become image bearers with His authority

o   We make the world a better place by His authority

o   We can rely on the Holy Spirit to empower us.

 

·       What does it mean for St Gabriel’s Greystones as a church?

o   What opportunities do you offer for people to explore image bearing? – Alpha etc

o   What opportunities do you give yourself to be justice bringers? - Food Bank etc

o   What opportunities do you give yourselves to multiply?

 

Conclusion

There is power in the Holy Spirit and authority in the name of Jesus to bring salvation, changing the world and individual lives for the better.

God has chosen ordinary people to work with so he gets the glory 

 

 

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 Jo Chamberlain

The Archbishop of Canterbury has asked the church to pray especially for the Lambeth Conference today. This is happening in August when the leaders of the Anglican Communion from all round the world will be coming to Canterbury and Lambeth Palace for a few days. Postponed from 2020.

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father

Thank you that the Lambeth Conference can finally go ahead after two years of delay. We pray for the team of people working in Lambeth Palace to make every thing happen – planning events, travel, accommodation, safety. We pray that all the logistics will go smoothly – that all the delegates who want to come will get their visas in time, that people will travel safely, that Covid won’t disappoint anyone, and for a safe and smooth running of the conference when everyone gets here.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer 

We pray for the coming together of global church leaders, with many different points of view. We pray for people to come in a spirit of patience and understanding. We pray for Archbishop Justin as he hosts and holds things together, give him wisdom and insight. We pray for the important discussions on topics of economic, social and environmental justice, that people will be able to share their very different experiences so that others will have new ways of thinking about and understanding the issues. We pray for a common sense of purpose and unity, and decisions to be made collectively that will have a powerful and positive impact on the lives of our sisters and brothers in all parts of the Anglican Communion.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

Sheffield Diocese is linked with the Diocese of Bondo, in Kenya. I’m not sure if their Bishops are coming to Lambeth, but I thought we should pray for them anyway.  We pray for Bishop David Kodia and Assistant Bishop Emily Onyango and their work leading the Diocese of Bondo. We pray for their church schools, vital not just for education but also for practical support such as food for those most in need, We pray for the Diocese as they seek to share the good news of Jesus, and tackle justice issues like gender-based violence and the empowerment of girls and boys. Please bless the work that they do, and strengthen our link to enable us to learn from and support one another as we build the kingdom

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

And a final prayer which is on my mind. Let’s pray for the children and young people in our congregation and in our Parish. It’s the first normal-ish summer term for 3 years, so what was normal feels less normal this time. We pray for those taking exams – A-levels and GCSEs – help them to keep focused on revision, to remember what they’ve learnt, and to face each paper with a sense of peace. We pray for those who are facing transition – starting school or moving to a new school – that the activities this term to support all this will be helpful in calming anxiety. And we pray that this time round, all the fun things like sports day, residentials, and school trips might go ahead safely and everyone would have a good time.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 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=O4IgusP8Z8w


All I once held dear,

built my life upon,

all this world reveres,

and wars to own;

all I once thought gain

I have counted loss,

spent and worthless now,

compared to this.

 

Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you,

there is no greater thing.

You're my all, you're the best,

You're my joy, my righteousness

and I love you, Lo

2.   Now my heart's desire

is to know you more,

to be found in you

and known as yours.

To possess by faith

what I could not earn -

all surpassing gift

of righteousness

 

Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you...

 

3 Oh to know the power

of your risen life,

and to know you in

your sufferings.

To become like you

in your death, my Lord,

so with you to live

and never die.

 

Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you,

there is no greater thing.

You're my all, you're the best,

You're my joy, my righteousness

and I love you Lord, love you Lord.

Graham Kendrick (c) 1993 Make Way Music

Copyright 1974,75 Celebration/The community of celebration


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=spE-BE23qxA

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

most blessèd, most glorious,

the Ancient of Days,

almighty, victorious,.

Thy great name we praise.

 

2.  Unresting, unhasting,

and silent as light,

nor wanting, nor wasting,

Thou rulest in might;

Thy justice like mountains

high soaring above,

Thy clouds, which are fountains

of goodness and love.

 

3.  To all, life thou givest,

 to both great and small;

in all life thou livest, the true life of all;

we blossom and flourish

as leaves on the tree,

and wither and perish,

but nought changeth Thee.

 

4.  Great Father of glory,

pure Father of light,

Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;

All laud we would render;

O help us to see

'tis only the splendour

of light hideth Thee.

 

5.  Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

most blessèd, most glorious,

the Ancient of Days,

almighty, victorious,.

Thy great name we praise.

 

Words: Walter C Smith (1824-1908)

Music: Welsh hymn melody, Roberts’ Canradau y Cyssegr

BLESSING

Blessing and honour and thanksgiving and praise,

more than we can utter, more than we can conceive,

be to you, most holy and glorious Trinity,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

by all angels, all people, all creatures,

for ever and ever. Amen.

You can read the sermon below

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VIDEOS FOR THE HYMNS AND SONGS CAN BE ACCESSED BELOW