Sunday Service - 7 June

Welcome to our Service - 7 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.

To the right is Alistair’s talk. It can be watched separately or as part of the rest of the service.

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.

OPENING

As we come to worship this morning we wanted take a moment to recognise and consider all that is happening in the United States of America.

We wanted to share this statement from Archbishop Justin Welby and Archbishop John Sentamu in response to events in the United States of America:

“Recent events in the United States of America have once again drawn public attention to the ongoing evil of white supremacy. Systemic racism continues to cause incalculable harm across the world. Our hearts weep for the suffering caused – for those who have lost their lives, those who have experienced persecution, those who live in fear. God’s justice and love for all creation demands that this evil is properly confronted and tackled. Let us be clear: racism is an affront to God. It is born out of ignorance, and must be eradicated. We all bear the responsibility and must play our part to eliminate this scourge on humanity.

“As Dr Martin Luther King Jr said, ‘In a real sense, we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Therefore, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’

“We pray that God’s abounding wisdom, compassion and love will guide leaders across the world to forge a better society.”

In light of this, let’s start our service by saying:

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:

Jesus shall reign where'er the sun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U4IMtvp6bg)

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)

CONFESSION

Coming together as God’s family, with confidence let us ask the Father’s forgiveness for our failure to respond fully to his grace, for he is full of gentleness and compassion

A time of silence - for reflection

Father God, sometimes we find it easier to accumulate things for ourselves than to be generous to those in need.

Sometimes we find it is easier to maintain personal control than to be open to your guidance.

Father God, forgive us and grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can and wisdom to know the difference. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and keep us in eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

COLLECT

Almighty God our heavenly Father, you declare your glory and show forth your handiwork in the heavens and in the earth. Deliver us in our various occupations from the service of self alone, that we may do the work you give us to do in truth and for the common good; for the sake of him who came among us as one who serves, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SING:

I will offer up my life in spirit and truth (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQkzHwz2eLE)

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,

READINGS

Psalm 51:1-4 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

1 Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight;

so you are right in your verdict

and justified when you judge.

Luke 12:13-21 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’

14 Jesus replied, ‘Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?’ 15 Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’

16 And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.”

18 ‘Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’”

20 ‘But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”

21 ‘This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich towards God.’

This the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

TALK written by Bishop Pete Wilcox

Friends, I have been pondering a phrase which is sometimes attributed to Winston Churchill though, I couldn't be sure he ever actually said it. The phrases is “Never waste a good crisis!” The Coronavirus has been a devastating crisis worldwide and I'm certainly not meaning to make light of it. As I record this video, more than 4 million people have been infected worldwide and almost 300,000 people have died. In both cases, of course, the number only refers to those who've been medically tested, making the two totals much higher. But the distressing dilemma facing politicians around the world has been to balance the medical cost against the economic cost, as almost every nation has had to shut down and locked down for weeks so jobs and businesses have been lost. unemployment has shot up, and the world faces a recession as severe as anything in my lifetime. So no I'm not making light of it. And yes, I do hope we won't waste the crisis. You see, at least for those of us in the West, this generation has been able to indulge a fantasy to which human beings in every time and place have been prone, which is to suppose that our standard of living is key to our quality of life, that wealthy people are more fulfilled people, and that the price of something is a good indication of its actual value.

My hope is that the Coronavirus crisis of 2020 will prove in time to expose this empty materialist, consumerist vision of human happiness and will have given both individuals and societies a fresh opportunity to take stock of what we really want from life. Because the idea that riches are the key to fullness of life is sheer folly, at least according to Jesus. But on the other hand, living generously and sitting light to the money we have, that's the power to contentment. For the next few minutes, I want to explore with you the passage from the Gospel of Luke chapter 12, which forms the basis for this sermon, the parable of the rich fool. I want to look forward on to look first at what prompted Jesus to tell the parable that's verses 13 to 15 in 12, then I'll look at the parable itself. That's verses 16 to 20. And last, I want to explore the warning Jesus gave In conclusion, in verse 21.

First of all, the verses which introduce a parable, it's always worth stopping to look at what prompted Jesus to tell a particular parable. On this occasion, it was property dispute in which he was asked to intervene. At first sight. It looks as if Jesus was faced with a cry for justice. Rabbi shouted “Someone in the crowd, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Apparently he gave Jesus cause for concern, because at once he turns to the crowd and warns them be on guard against all kinds of greed. A person's life does not consist in the abundance of their possessions. All the sayings of Jesus, this is surely among those which speak most directly to the 21st century in Britain, and at this time of crisis, right around the world. It is so relevant, it could almost have been calling for our times how we need to hear Jesus remind us that life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions, how we need to help one another to hold on to this truth. Because so many of the messages we receive every day, tell us the exact opposite. So let's not waste a good crisis.

I do pray that the Coronavirus will be like a bucket of cold water thrown over a complacent Western 21st century humanity beguiled for so long by consumerism and materialism. Please go on let these weeks of lockdown enable us to recover a true sense of what really matters to us. Jesus said, a person's life is not measured by the things they own. The size of your bank balance is not a measure of your greatness as a human being a bigger income or a savings account does not make you a bigger person. A faster car, a smarter gadget, a fancier fashion label does not make you a better person, still less a happier one. Watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Your life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions.

Then in verses 16 to 20, Jesus went on to tell this parable then was a man he said who was rich already, but in a year of plenty, he hit a snag. His barns were not big enough to store the bumper crop. So he took counsel with himself and decided to pull down his existing barns and build bigger ones. Now, at one level, there's nothing wrong with that. It's good sense to plan for growth when business is booming. Just as many are discovering, it's vital to get back when times are hard. But in this case, the plan is not good sense. It's plain folly. Why? Well, the man is a fool First of all, because he is indulging his selfishness. Did you notice that in verse 17, when the man consults, he consults only with himself. In verse 19, when he speaks, he speaks to himself. And when he does think and speak all he can think and speak about is himself in verses 17 and 18. It's my crops, my barns, my grain, my goods. This man may live like a king, but his kingdom is tiny. It's bounded to the north and the south and the east and the west by himself. He hasn't a thought for anyone else. And that is the trouble with wealth. The more you have, the more isolated you become. The bigger your house. The bigger the distance between you and your neighbour, the more likely you are to think you don't need anyone else. Indulge that kind of selfish self-sufficiency and you're a fool says Jesus. But the man is a fool. Secondly, because he thinks that material things are the best that this life has to offer. In verse 19, he pledges to tell himself you have good plenty of good things laid up for many years take life easy, eat, drink and be married. That's the materialist, consumerist vision, isn't it? The Good Life The dream of plenty, with leisure to enjoy it, but it's a pleasure. In a solution, an abundance does not necessarily make life either easier or happier. It's true that there is great fun to be had in eating and drinking and making merry it’s something most of us should do more often, not less. Actually, I get the impression there's been quite a lot of dedicated and deliberate eating, drinking and merrymaking during the weeks of locked down, and in most cases, I reckon rightly so. But make those things the focus of your life, your life's goal, and you'll squeeze all the pleasure out of them. The man told himself if he only had bigger barns, now he would be content for years. But the scary truth about possessions is that if you seek contentment through them, you'll only find an inner restlessness gnawing away at you more and more strongly. Seek contentment in material things, and you're a fool says Jesus.

And the man is a fool. Thirdly, because he's closed his mind all togetherto God. He's giving no thought to alter his own accountability, when in verse 20 God says this very night, your life will be demanded of you. It's a reminder that even life itself is just unknown to us. It's not ours to keep, and there will be a reckoning for the use that we have made of it. You're certainly kidding yourself, if you depend on possessions for security. It's easy to forget this in ordinary times. But again, our recent experience is that even the rich are not beyond the reach of a virus. Of course, I don't deny that the poor have been far more vulnerable to this disease, as they are to every kind of ill health. But my point is, that the rich have not been able to buy immunity. Sometimes prosperity can lull us into a false sense of security, whereas the poorest in our world are in this danger of forgetting just how precarious life is. But the fact is, that out of every 10 people 10 will die. Put your trust in possessions to secure your future. And you're a fool. That kind of trust is to be placed in God, says Jesus. And that brings me to the very last verse, which having finished the parable Jesus delivers as a parting shot to the crowd. That rich man, he said, was a fool. And so it will be with you if you store up things for yourself, but I'm not rich towards God. So it will be with you. We are not to store up things for ourselves, no matter how little we may have, we will always have enough to be generous. And no matter how much we may have, we will always face the temptation to hoard things for ourselves.

So a crucial question for each one of us is perhaps this the material things we have our income, our possessions, our property, our savings, who do they benefit? Is it only ourselves or are those things at the service of God? You see, just as we are today and the circumstances in which we now find ourselves. You and I are called to be rich towards God. as disciples of Jesus, were called to prioritise heavenly riches over earthly ones and spiritual over material wealth. If most of us spent half as much time daydreaming about or hungering after, or working for and carefully stewarding our spiritual wealth, as we do our earthly material possessions, what find people we would be and what a wonderful world it would be. There is nothing for it, my friends, but to begin with the resources we have. The opposite of storing things up for ourselves, is simply to live generously and gratefully forgot. The rich fool was awful, because he thought his best chance of joy was in keeping his goods to himself. In fact, one of the world's best kept secrets is how much joy there is to be found in being generous.

In fact, only the quality of our generosity can provethat those of us who are wealthy people are not also foolish people. So I do wish you a generous June and please God let us not waste a good crisis.

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.

PRAYERS - written by Liz Cannell

Last week we celebrated the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and today we think of the three persons of the Trinity. We give thanks for God's love in our lives, and as we see the needs in the world today we pray that through the Holy Spirit his love will be made known to all people.

We give thanks for the love and dedication that is being shown at this time of the coronavirus pandemic; in the care and treatment in hospitals, care homes and in the community.

In the provision and delivery of food and necessities to those in need.

In the support and comfort to those who are isolated, lonely and anxious.

In the contact with others, the brief chat and smiles as we pass.

We pray that those who are using their skills, expertise and compassion will have the stamina they need, and the ability to relax and switch off from the pressures they are under, and we pray too for the impact on their families. We ask for healing and hope to those who are ill, and comfort to those who are grieving.

We give thanks for the benefits of technology, both in the treatment of illness and in medical research, to enable us to keep in touch socially, and that much of daily life can continue online. We pray for those making decisions over the easing of restrictions and reopening of schools, and the strains on family life. May struggling families receive help and understanding in stressful situations, and a place of safety provided for those at risk of violence.

We pray for our local community, and for friends at St. Gabriels. May the themes in the Prayer Trail in Greystones have touched many people, and helped us all to reflect on things that we tend to take for granted, both here and in the wider world.

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:

All I once held dear (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r8XfE_VNb0 )

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, Lord.

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.

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.

Generous June - Prayer For Giving

Heavenly Father, give grace to us, the living stones who form your Church, to reflect prayerfully at this special time on our love for you and our neighbour. Make us mindful of the many gifts you bestow upon us. We ask that your Holy Spirit will inspire and direct us in our choice of giving, remembering that we are only giving back that which is truly yours. Strengthen us, Lord, to meet this challenge according to your will. Through Jesus Christ our Lord who has given all that we might live. Amen.

SING:

O Lord my God! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHqgQjJrxI8 )

When I in awesome wonder

consider all the works

Thy hand hath made,

I see the stars,

I hear the mighty thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed;

Then sings my soul,

my Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul,

my Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art!

2 When through the woods

and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds

sing sweetly in the trees;

when I look down

from lofty mountain grandeur,

and hear the brook,

and feel the gentle breeze;

Then sings my soul....

3. And when I think that God

His Son not sparing,

sent Him to die - I scarce can take it in.

That on the cross

my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin:

Then sings my soul....

4. When Christ shall come

with shout of acclamation

and take me home –

what joy shall fill my heart!

Then shall I bow in humble adoration

and there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul....

BLESSING

May God who gives us all things in Christ, swell the harvest of your benevolence, and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

Filled with the Spirit’s power,

go in the light and peace of Christ.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Thanks be to God.

Alleluia, alleluia.