Welcome to our service - 4 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:
We gather in praise of the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
HYMN:
All creatures of our God and King
lift up your voice and with us sing:
hallelujah, hallelujah!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
thou silver moon with softer gleam:
O praise Him, O praise Him,
hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
2. Thou rushing wind that art so strong,
ye clouds that sail in heaven along,
O praise Him, hallelujah!
Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,
ye lights of evening, find a voice:
O praise Him….
3. Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
make music for thy Lord to hear,
hallelujah, hallelujah!
Thou fire so masterful and bright
that givest man both warmth and light:
O praise Him……………
4. Let all things their Creator bless
and worship Him in humbleness
O praise Him, hallelujah!
Praise, praise the Father,
praise the son,
and praise the Spirit, Three-in-One:
O praise Him……..
St Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) tr W H Draper (1855-1933)
© J Curwen & Sons/William Elkin Music Services
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
Human sin disfigures the whole creation, which groans with eager longing for God’s redemption. We confess our sin in penitence and faith.
We confess our sin, and the sins of our society, in the misuse of God’s creation.
God our Father, we are sorry
for the times when we have used your gifts carelessly,
and acted ungratefully.
Father, in your mercy:
forgive us and help us.
We enjoy the fruits of the harvest,
but sometimes forget that you have given them to us.
Father, in your mercy:
forgive us and help us.
We belong to a people who are full and satisfied,
but ignore the cry of the hungry.
Father, in your mercy:
forgive us and help us.
We are thoughtless,
and do not care enough for the environment and the world you
have made.
Father, in your mercy:
forgive us and help us.
ABSOLUTION
The Lord enrich us with his grace,
and nourish us with his blessing;
the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil;
the Lord accept our prayers,
and absolve us from our offences,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen
COLLECT
Almighty God,
you have created the heavens and the earth
and made us in your own image:
teach us to discern your hand in all your works
and your likeness in all your children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme over all things,
now and forever.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy7t2Uasqe8
FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies:
Father, unto Thee we raise
This our sacrifice of praise.
For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light:
Father, unto Thee we raise
This our sacrifice of praise.
For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above;
For all gentle thoughts and mild:
Father, unto Thee we raise
This our sacrifice of praise.
For each perfect gift of Thine
To our race so freely given,
Graces, human and divine,
Flowers of earth, and buds of heaven:
Father, unto Thee we raise
This our sacrifice of praise.
Folliott S. Pierpoint (1835–1917)
READINGS
Genesis 1:21-31 New International Version – UK
So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.’ And there was evening, and there was morning – the fifth day.
And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’
Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day.
Romans 8:18-23 New International Version
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
This the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Questions for relection Alistair Stevenson
As we consider our own impact on climate change we can have some motivations, some might consider these unhelpful. For example:
- Financial – the government makes it more expensive to pollute by taxing fuel and flying. My car tax will go down so I’ll get a more efficient car.
- Family - think how terrible it will be for my grandchildren.
- Fear – think about how bad it will be for us if we don’t do something.
- Fashion – environmentalism becomes fashionable and we therefore need to look good in front of others.
How do these motivations play on our own desires and ideals? Is that a good or a bad thing?
God gives us real and authentic motivation to care for the environment by showing us what our relationships should be with both creation and its Creator.
We are called to be righteous – to have right relationship with others, right relationship with the physical world and creation and right relationship with God. But all of these have been broken.
How might we be righteous towards the physical world and creation?
How might climate change focus our attention away from our own individual concerns to the needs of our brothers and sisters around the world?
It is the world’s poorest people who bear the brunt, who are affected the most by climate change. As God’s people, we are called to act justly, to love our neighbours and to care for God’s creation. Our lifestyles are contributing to climate change and impacting the lives of our brothers and sisters around the world.
Rev Nicky Gumble, of the Alpha Course and Holy Trinity Brompton: 'Climate change is, without doubt, the biggest environmental challenge facing our world – and as a Church we are called to act. Why? Because of love. God loves us and he expects a response of love firstly for him, but also for our neighbour and particularly for the poor, who are the ones most hit by damage to the environment. Christians should be at the forefront of the environmental movement because in our care for God’s creation we reflect our love for the Creator.'
The Bible gives us three events within the storyline that reveal God’s concern for the physical world:
- God created physical
- God became physical
- God’s hope is physical
God created physical.
Our passage today is from Genesis 1. We hear a resounding message that what God created was good! It wasn’t created out of destruction, or brokenness, it was created good. God commands His people, who are made in His image, to “work and take care of it” as in Genesis 2:15. Or another translation says to ‘serve and preserve’.
How should this impact our response to caring for the environment?
How can we exercise stewardship and service over the rest of God’s creatures.
Secondly, God became physical
The apostle John writes in his letter: ‘we have seen with our eyes… we have looked at and our hands have touched’ (1 John 1:1).
How does this tell us about Jesus and his physicality?
Jesus did not just heal the spiritual but also the physical. How should this influence our care for the environment and those who rely on the environment for their livelihood and basic needs?
Thirdly, God’s hope is physical.
The physical creation is not merely temporary. The Biblical hope for the future is very real and physical. Our biblical understanding of creation and the environment will only go so far unless we have a renewed eschatology – a renewed theology relating to the end times.
The Bible speaks of a “new heaven and a new earth” – a renewal and transformation of this creation. The theologian and Christian environmentalist Ruth Valerio puts it like this: ‘the emphasis of the word ‘new’ is on transformation rather than destruction, indicating newness in terms of quality rather than of something new that has never been in existence’.
How might a ‘renewed eschatology’ impact our response to climate change?
Romans 8v19: ‘The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it....creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.’
The world is crying out, but God is at work and we’re invited to join him in a ministry of reconciliation – reconciling people to their Father, but also reconciling people to the creation we’ve been given to steward, and seeing it restored. This is the fullness of the gospel, not a side issue.
In response to the changing climate, how might we:
examine our lives and role in this before God.
change the way we live to have less impact on the earth and our neighbour.
consider the things that we buy and the lifestyles we take for granted and what we are doing to contribute to climate change.
AN ACT OF COMMITMENT FOR THE CARE OF CREATION
‘While all creatures stand in expectation, what will be the result of our liberty?’ (Thomas Traherne)
As the whole of creation looks with eager longing for the redemption of humankind, let us pledge ourselves anew to serve our Creator God, the Father who is the maker of all things, the Son through whom all things are made, and the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, who renews the face of the earth.
Let us affirm our commitment to care actively for God’s creation:
Lord of life and giver of hope,
we pledge ourselves to care for creation,
to reduce our waste, to live sustainably,
and to value the rich diversity of life.
May your wisdom guide us,
that life in all its forms may flourish,
and may be faithful in voicing creation’s praise.
May the commitment we have made this day be matched by our faithful living. Amen.
PRAYERS
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=mgLwH5RdtPk
I, THE LORD OF SEA AND SKY,
I have heard My people cry;
All who dwell in dark and sin
My hand will save.
I, who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
I will speak My word to them.
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord.
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go, Lord,
If You lead me;
I will hold Your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people’s pain;
I have wept for love of them –
They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone,
Give them hearts for love alone;
I will speak My word to them.
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord…
I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame,
I will set a feast for them –
My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide
Till their hearts are satisfied;
I will give My life to them.
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord…
Daniel L. Schutte.
Copyright © 1981 Daniel L. Schutte & New Dawn 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.
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=rAE0vUurnUM
Creation sings the Father’s song;
He calls the sun to wake the dawn
and run the course of day,
‘til evening falls in crimson rays.
His fingerprints in flakes of snow,
His breath upon this spinning globe;
He charts the eagle’s flight;
commands the new-born baby’s cry.
Hallelujah! Let all creation stand and sing:
“Hallelujah!”
Fill the earth with songs of worship,
Tell the wonders of creation’s king.
2. Creation gazed upon His face;
the Ageless One in time’s embrace,
unveiled the Father’s plan
of reconciling God and man.
A second Adam walked the earth,
whose blameless life would break the curse,
whose death would set us free
to live with him eternally.
Hallelujah! Let all creation stand and sing:…
3. Creation longs for His return,
when Christ shall reign upon the earth;
the bitter wars that rage
are birth-pains of a coming age.
When He renews the land and sky,
all heav’n will sing and earth reply
with one resplendent theme:
the glory of our God and King.
Hallelujah! Let all creation stand and sing:…
Words and Music: Keith & Kristyn Getty & Stuart Townend
(Copyright © 2008 Thankyou Music)
BLESSING
May God who clothes the lilies of the field and feeds the birds of the air,
who leads the lambs to pasture and the deer to water,
who multiplied loaves and fishes, and changed water into wine,
lead us and feed us, and change us to reflect the glory of our Creator
now and through all eternity; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
