Weekly Worship Material for 22.11.2020
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Circuit Service for 22nd November prepared by Mr Peter Whitney Call to worship: SING (x2) quietly as our opening prayer: Faithful One so unchanging 89 SoF or 628 StF [Brian Doerksen 1965] Faithful One, so unchanging, ageless One, You’re my rock of peace, Lord of all I depend on You, I call out to You again and again. I call out to You again and again. You are my rock in times of trouble. You lift me up when I fall down. Al through the storm, Your love is the anchor, my hope is in You alone. PRAYERS OF WORSHIP & CONFESSION We all come, as servants of Christ. We all come, that Your light may shine in our darkness, We all come, as those with no rights to Your attention, We all come, certain of Your presence and of Your love. Lord hear our prayers. [Silence]
We all come, needing forgiveness, We all come, conscious of failings, We all fall short of Your standards, We all need Your forgiveness - for things done - for things not done - deliberately or without thought We all come, knowing that Your incredible Love extends even to us Lord hear our prayers. [Silence]
Thank You for never walking out on us or giving up on us - for coming to meet us with love & forgiveness and we share The Lord’s Prayer in the form we choose
HYMN Glorious things of Thee are spoken 127 SoF or 748 StF [John Newton 1725 – 1807]
READING from Matthew’s Gospel 25:31-46 The sheep and the goats Chapter: 24: Jesus said . . . . .25: 31 ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 ‘Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was ill and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” 37 ‘Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison and go to visit you?” 40 ‘The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” 41 ‘Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was ill and in prison and you did not look after me.” 44 ‘They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or ill or in prison, and did not help you?” 45 ‘He will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” 46 ‘Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.’
REFLECTION: The Streets of London [Listen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urtnT72dVnw]
Have you seen the old man in the closed down market Picking up the papers with his worn out shoes In his eyes you see no pride and hanging loosely at his side Yesterday’s paper, telling yesterday’s news So how can you tell me you're lonely And say for you that the sun don't shine Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London I'll show you something to make you change your mind
Dirt in her hair and her clothes in rags She's no time for talking, she just keeps right on walking Carrying her home, in two carrier bags So how can you tell me you're lonely And say for you that the sun don't shine Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London I'll show you something to make you change your mind
Jesus’ words are harsh but true. God in His dealings with the children of Israel illustrated His judgment as we read from chapter 16 of Leviticus: “6 ‘Aaron is to . . . . take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 He is to cast lots for the two goats - one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. 9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.” The idea that on the Day of Atonement the sins of the Nation were heaped on the Scapegoat which was then sent out into the Wilderness to suffer its fate, taking the sins of all with it. That is not our position. In the Letter to the Hebrews Chapters 9 & 10, the writer (almost certainly not Paul) says that salvation lays not in ritual washings, gifts or sacrifices of grain, pigeons, goats, lambs, calves or bulls, but through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on a cross – not an act which needs to repeated annually or more often, but a once and for all act enabling us to enter into a personal relationship with the living God. It does not release us from Judgment but our acceptance of Jesus as Saviour gives an Advocate who has paid the price and there is no eternal punishment for those who belong to Him. It is however vital that we accept God’s offer through His Son for then we begin that relationship of being Children of our Heavenly father adopted into His family and in that relationship grow as we seek to follow His ways and fulfil His wishes in us in our particular lives and circumstances – have you ever read John Wesley’s sermons? Not an easy task in 18th century English as any Local Preacher will tell you, but well worth the effort (perhaps a future Bible Study series?). Judgment is inevitable, but for those who belong to Christ we need have no fear
FOR REFLECTION:
PRAYERS: Father we pray for: Ourselves and our relationship with you [Silence] O Lord hear or prayers and let our cries come before You Our families friends, neighbours and those with whom we may work [Silence] O Lord hear or prayers and let our cries come before You Those who serve us in this time of pandemic [Silence] O Lord hear or prayers and let our cries come before You Those affected by world events in the news this week [Silence] O Lord hear or prayers and let our cries come before You Those who do not know the saving Grace of God [Silence] O Lord hear or prayers and let our cries come before You The things that worry us this week [Silence] O Lord hear or prayers and let our cries come before You
HYMN One who is all unfit to count 539 H&P (Tune Fingal) [Narayan Vaman Tilak 1862 – 1919]
Lord we came to worship as those who were blind, as those who were empty and longed to be filled, we go as those who have been in Your presence and sat at Your feet – we have met with the risen Lord Jesus – we have known the infilling of Your Spirit – we go in Your light, fearing no condemnation, strengthen, sustained an upheld by Your Good News – Jesus Saves !
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and forever. Amen
Hymn words reproduced under licence no. 1759067. Please be assured that Rev’d Lesley and Rev’d Kim are available during this time. They can be contacted by calling 01933 312778 for Rev’d Lesley and 01933 622137 for Rev’d Kim |
Have you seen the old dear who 
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