Psalm 31: 1-5, 15-16
Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies
1 In you, O Lord, I seek refuge; do not let me ever be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me. 2 Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me. 3 You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake lead me and guide me, 4 take me out of the net that is hidden for me, for you are my refuge. 5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
15 My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors. 16 Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.
Hymn – 470 - Lord for the years
1 Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided, urged and inspired us, cheered us on our way, sought us and saved us, pardoned and provided, Lord of the years, we bring our thanks today.
2 Lord, for that word, the Word of life which fires us, speaks to our hearts and sets our souls ablaze, teaches and trains, rebukes us and inspires us, Lord of the word, receive your people's praise.
3 Lord, for our land, in this our generation, spirits oppressed by pleasure, wealth and care; for young and old, for commonwealth and nation, Lord of our land, be pleased to hear our prayer.
4 Lord, for our world; when we disown and doubt him, loveless in strength, and comfortless in pain; hungry and helpless, lost indeed without him, Lord of the world, we pray that Christ may reign.
5 Lord, for ourselves; in living power remake us, self on the cross and Christ upon the throne; past put behind us, for the future take us, Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone.
Timothy Dudley-Smith (b. 1926)
Prayer – can you find a rock, or stone, or pebble to hold
Silence
Feel the rock on the palm of your hand, it is solid and strong – God gives us strength, his love is solid and steadfast.
Press the stone between your hands – following Jesus is not always comfortable.
Move the pebble from palm to palm – wherever we are, whatever we do, God is with us; his love never fails
Gracious God, you are the rock of our lives. Your strength sustains us. Your power delivers us. Your mercy brings forgiveness to us. We come to you in adoration, praising you that our lives are held in the palm of your hands – we are held, sustained and protected.
Glory be to you.
Forgive us, loving God, when we have strayed from your way. Forgive us when we have not allowed you to shape our lives and have insisted that we take control. Forgive us when we have denied your life in us and in others.
In your love you have forgiven us all our failings and sins. You have shown us that you are the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we dwell in you as you dwell in us. Amen
A prayer from the first Christian Aid Week in 1958, which still resonates with us today
O Holy Spirit of love, quicken our imaginations that we may feel more deeply for the needs of others as we put ourselves in their place. Give us hearts of self-forgetting compassion which will move us to give from that which you have given us, and to be good neighbours to those both near and far, for the sake of him who taught us that it is more blessed to give than receive, even Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Readings
1 Peter 2: 2-10
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in scripture: ‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’ 7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner’, 8 and ‘A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
John 14: 1-14
Jesus the Way to the Father
14‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ 5 Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ 6 Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’
8 Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’9 Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
May God bless these readings and help us in our understanding. Amen
Hymn – 322 – How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
1 How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear! It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, and drives away our fear.
2 It makes the wounded spirit whole, and calms the troubled breast; 'tis manna to the hungry soul, and to the weary, rest.
3 Dear name — the rock on which I build, my shield and hiding-place, my never-failing treasury, filled with boundless stores of grace!
4 Jesus! My Shepherd, Brother, Friend, my Prophet, Priest, and King, my Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, accept the praise I bring.
5 Weak is the effort of my heart, and cold my warmest thought; but when I see thee as thou art, I'll praise thee as I ought.
6 Till then I would thy love proclaim with every fleeting breath; and may the music of thy name refresh my soul in death.
John Newton (1725–1807)
Reflection
The lectionary readings for our Sunday services, set many years ago, often resonate as if they had been purposely chosen by us. Indeed, it is so today.
We read in Psalms of the image of God as a “refuge”, and “a strong fortress”. The writer of Peter’s first letter encourages the early Christians to be, “like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house”, and John talks about the “Father’s house”, wherein there are “many dwelling places”.
As we celebrate Church Anniversary at Chew Stoke, what is it that we are marking – the existence of a building, or of a society of Christian witness? The current lockdown is preventing us from using our buildings, but should not be preventing us from being the Church. But we do love our buildings for their historic and emotional ties.
I am being challenged as to how each of our societies are continuing to be Church in this lockdown period, without our buildings. Are we still responding to the gospel? Are we showing our presence within the local community? Do we continue to witness to God’s presence amongst us? Or have we gone into hibernation mode until we can go back to what we used to be? Rather than looking forward to going back, we need to reimagine a new Church, and turn this terrible virus into a stimulus for new growth.
My neighbours have been doing a lot of building work on their house recently. A large extension has been completed, and now work has started on the garden. No doubt the builders are working to plans which show exactly how and where these works are to be completed, which need to be followed. It is difficult to image the completed works at this stage, without knowing the full design. When we are so busy with the minutiae of being Church, who is looking at the overall plan?
Peter talks about the importance of building on good foundations. Jesus is the cornerstone, the foundation on which we should build our lives, the firm rock from which everything else is built and takes its support. God, not us, is the builder, who decides what goes where, and we are the stones, the materials which God uses. One of the challenges of faith is that we hand over control of our lives to the one who knows best. That is uncomfortable, and is not a popular concept in this day and age, when we are all encouraged to be masters of our own destinies. But our faith demands that we are not the builder, but we are the bricks. We do not decide how they fit together, but are placed by the one who knows the plans for what is being built, and we contribute to the overall success.
Last week, we were reflecting upon Jesus as the gate of the sheepfold, the way through which the sheep can pass into the pasture. This week, Jesus clarifies his earlier story with a clear statement. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. Our entrance into an existence with God, our refuge and place of safety, can only be built on the sure foundation which is Jesus Christ, the cornerstone. It is not a physical place, but is the place wherein our soul dwells, both in this world and beyond it.
So let us celebrate with thankfulness the fact that generations of Christians have been witnessing to the love of God in specific places, particularly in Chew Stoke this week, but let us not be confined to living that out within those same four walls.
Peter writes, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”.
May God continue to dwell within us, so that we can proclaim it wherever we are.
Amen
Intercessions & Lords Prayer
Loving God, we pray for all those seeking refuge and a place of safety in these uncertain times,
for those who feel lost and uncertain of how to find the way,
for those who seek the truth in a world of uncertainty.
We pray for our families and friends, and for all those in need at this present time.
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Hymn – 409 – Let us build a house where love can dwell
1 Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live, a place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive. Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace; here the love of Christ shall end divisions: All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
2 Let us build a house where prophets speak, and words are strong and true, where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew. Here the cross shall stand as witness and as symbol of God’s grace; here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
3 Let us build a house where love is found in water, wine and wheat: a banquet hall on holy ground where peace and justice meet. Here the love of God, through Jesus, is revealed in time and space; as we share in Christ the feast that frees us:
4 Let us build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone to heal and strengthen, serve and teach, and live the Word they’ve known. Here the outcast and the stranger bear the image of God’s face; let us bring an end to fear and danger:
5 Let us a build a house where all are named, their songs and visions heard and loved and treasured, taught and claimed as words within the Word. Built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith and songs of grace, let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:
Marty Haugen (b. 1950)
Blessing
May God bless you, guide you and direct you. May He be your strength and protection. May He fill your life with love and his eternal presence.
And the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you, now and forever more.
Rev. Martin Slocombe