Welcome to our Service of Holy Communion
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Moses’ Story – Part 1
We meet in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Sing: In
Christ Alone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENtL_li4GbE
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.
We Say Sorry to God
Jesus Christ, risen Master and triumphant Lord,
we come to you in sorrow for our sins,
and confess to you our weakness and unbelief.
We have lived by our own strength,
and not by the power of your resurrection.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Lord, hear us and help us.
We have lived by the light of our own eyes,
as faithless and not believing.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Lord, hear us and help us.
We have lived for this world alone,
and doubted our home in heaven.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Lord, hear us and help us.
Almighty God,
who forgives all who truly repent,
have mercy upon you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all
goodness,
and keep you in life eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Collect
God of glory,
the end of our searching,
help us to lay aside
all that prevents us from seeking your kingdom,
and to give all that we have
to gain the pearl beyond all price,
through our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen
Song: Glory to God https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep4TLwVM9mQ
Old Testament Reading: Exodus 1:8-22
8 Then, a new king, who
knew nothing about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9 He
said to his people, “These Israelites are so numerous and strong that they are
a threat to us. 10 In case of war they might join
our enemies in order to fight against us, and might escape from the
country. We must find some way to keep them from becoming even more
numerous.” 11 So the Egyptians put slave drivers
over them to crush their spirits with hard labour. The Israelites built the
cities of Pithom and Rameses to serve as supply centres for the king. 12 But
the more the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites, the more they increased in
number and the farther they spread through the land. The Egyptians came to fear
the Israelites 13-14 and made their lives miserable
by forcing them into cruel slavery. They made them work on their building
projects and in their fields, and they had no pity on them.
15 Then the king of
Egypt spoke to Shiphrah and Puah, the two midwives who helped the Hebrew
women. 16 “When you help the Hebrew women give
birth,” he said to them, “kill the baby if it is a boy; but if it is a girl,
let it live.” 17 But the midwives were God-fearing
and so did not obey the king; instead, they let the boys live. 18 So
the king sent for the midwives and asked them, “Why are you doing this? Why are
you letting the boys live?”
19 They answered, “The
Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they give birth easily, and their
babies are born before either of us gets there.” 20-21 Because
the midwives were God-fearing, God was good to them and gave them families of
their own. And the Israelites continued to increase and become strong. 22 Finally
the king issued a command to all his people: “Take every new-born Hebrew boy
and throw him into the Nile, but let all the girls live.”
Moses as a Baby Exodus 2:1-10
Reading Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9HNNvInyzo
Song: There
is a Redeemer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldRcFz7rK7w
Gospel
Reading Matt 16:13-20 read by Sandile
13 Jesus went to the territory near the
town of Caesarea Philippi, where he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the
Son of Man is?”
14 “Some say John the Baptist,” they
answered. “Others say Elijah, while others say Jeremiah or some other prophet.”
15 “What about you?” he asked them. “Who
do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the
Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 “Good for you, Simon son of John!”
answered Jesus. “For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but
it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven. 18 And
so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build
my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it. 19 I
will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth
will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in
heaven.”
20 Then Jesus ordered his disciples not
to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Sermon: Moses’ Story
And the story moves on…
Joseph who rescued his people- and the Egyptians-
from famine, has died. His descendants have flourished and a new Pharaoh has
come to power. He is suspicious of the Israelites (now called the Hebrews) and oppresses
them cruelly. His plan doesn’t work and they still flourish. Pharaoh resorts to
more deadly tactics- he attempts to get the newborn boys killed but is thwarted
by the Hebrew midwives.
And into the middle of this oppression and crisis,
a baby boy is born. His mother hides him but soon he’s too big or noisy and so
she carefully gets a waterproof basket (a Moses’ basket!) and puts it in the
reeds along the river bank. His older sister watches… and Pharaoh’s daughter
comes to wash. She sees the basket and takes pity on the child. His brave
sister steps forward to offer to find a nurse- and Moses’ mother is now paid to
look after him!
So what does this story tell us about God?
God isn’t mentioned by name until
near the end of this first chapter- yet God is firmly embedded in this story.
It’s God actions that have brought Joseph to Egypt and rescued both Joseph’s
family and the Egyptian nation. It’s God’s plan to grow this family from a clan
to a nation; it’s God’s faithfulness that makes this happen.
So God is present in history, in the real life that happened to these people. God’s plan isn’t stopped by the oppression or evil that the new Pharaoh carries out.
Even when circumstances seem stacked
against them, when Pharaoh is determined to annihilate the people, even when
God’s plan is hanging by a thread, there is hope, the start of a rescue.
God is faithful; his plans cannot be
stopped.
God is also just- he sees the cruelty
inflicted on his people. And God acts – through those who might be seen as weak
or irrelevant. The midwife, the mother, the daughter – and the Princess are all
playing a key role in God’s plan.
God will rescue his people.
How about the people in this story?
There are definite goodies and baddies here. Let’s start with
the baddies. Pharaoh did not know Joseph. The Egyptians have forgotten their
history. Joseph had been raised to power by a former Pharaoh; Joseph had
rescued them all, they had invited the Israelites to come and live in their
land. Israelites were not a threat to Egyptians but they were foreign to them.
And the new Pharaoh doesn’t know or doesn’t want to know his history.
The new Pharaoh was afraid that he might lose power. He
spreads rumours. What if all these Israelites side with our enemies? What if they run away? It’s not the
Israelites’ actions that get them into trouble- they’ve done nothing wrong;
Pharaoh’s paranoia punishes them.
And Pharaoh is cruel but the Israelites are tough- whether
they resisted or endured we don’t know but they were not crushed. In fact they
flourished.
It’s a lesson in how prejudice is spread. Misinformation – Pharaoh has forgotten his
history; fear and paranoia – the Israelites are not the problem but Pharaoh
makes them out to be one. And violent oppression – it doesn’t work. The people
still flourish.
We could easily translate this story into many settings in
our world. Our disregard of the Windrush generation; the misinformation about
refugees and migrants; our fears about what might happen.
And God is at work- not through the elite and powerful but
through the faithful.
Who stands up to this evil king? Who are the goodies here?
Midwives! When Pharaoh’s general oppression doesn’t work and he
brings in specific genocide, the midwives rebel. And they do so because they
fear God. Their courage is extraordinary – they dare to defy the all-powerful
ruler. They respond wisely; two frail women stop the all-powerful king. And God
sees their faithfulness and their courage and rewards them.
But the story moves on. It’s not just that Pharaoh’s plans
aren’t progressing as he would want – there is something more happening. And to
start with it’s all very ordinary. Under the oppressive regimen, family life
continues; a marriage and then a child. But it’s a boy so he must be hidden and
his resourceful mother is not deterred by her difficult situation. She hides
him to start with and then puts him in the safety of the reeds and riverbank
with his older sister watching over him.
The determination to live life shows an unstated faith in God.
Why keep going unless you have a future? Why persist in life unless there is
hope of things being better? Surely these women know that God would hear them.
And in an unexpected twist, the baby is rescued. I wonder if Pharaoh
ever noticed the irony of the situation? His own daughter rescues a Hebrew baby-
but not any Hebrew baby but the one who would lead God’s people from slavery to
freedom.
The powers of evil and violence are dodged by faithful,
compassionate and resourceful women. The might of Pharaoh is undermined by
those he would have little regard for.
I don’t expect these women knew either, the significance of
what they had done. A mother and sister moved with compassion allowed a child
to live. In being faithful in their ordinary actions, they were pivotal in God’s
plan.
And what about us?
I wonder what it felt like to be an Israelite? How soon would
I have got bitter or despairing or told God he didn’t care about me?
The people later on in this story do shout at God; maybe they
did here too. The encouragement for us is – however bad it seems to get, even
when you’re at the point of going from bad to worse, God is still here. The hardships
might have gone for months or years; it would have seemed that there was no way
out. God’s plan was there. They couldn’t see it all yet but the actions of the
midwives, the faithfulness of the women point forward to hope. Don’t give up, God
is still with you.
For Moses’ mother and sister, their desire to save one baby
boy was the first step to saving a whole nation.
What might God do if we persist in faithfulness, prayer,
worship and loving our neighbours?
Our small actions could start something big!
The Creed
Let us declare our faith in God.
We believe in God the Father,
from whom every family
in heaven and on earth is named.
We believe in God the Son,
who lives in our hearts through faith,
and fills us with his love.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit,
who strengthens us
with power from on high.
We believe in one God;
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our
Prayers: John F
Let us pray
Our Father, in heaven
Hallowed be your name,
Your Kingdom Come,
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Father we pray for peace, unity and love, but until your
Kingdom comes there will never be true peace, unity and love.
So, we pray The Kingdom Come
Father hear our prayer
And let our cry come unto
you
We pray for our Queen, our Government and for all those in authority. We pray for all countries during this pandemic.
We pray for all who
must make difficult and sometimes controversial decisions.
We pray for all those who are trying to find a vaccine for the Covid 19 virus.
Father hear our prayer
And let our cry come unto you
We pray for all those
who proclaim The Good News of your Gospel.
We pray for Pastor
Albert, his Family and his congregation who proclaim your Gospel in and around
Djembering in Senegal.
We pray for the staff
and students at the Ibba Girls Christian school in South Sudan.
We pray for Bishop
Cleophas and his Diocese of Matabeleland in Zimbabwe.
We pray for World
Evangelization for Christ (WEC) for the missionaries and especially for Keith
and Ali who support the Missionaries in the field.
Father hear our prayer
And let our cry come
unto you
We pray for our local
community.
We give thanks for our
Vicar, Buff and our Curate, Julie for the work they do helping our community.
We give thanks and pray
for our Foodbank as it feeds your sheep and for Rob who manages it, and all, who
not only help but also supply food and other items.
We pray for all
organisations that help those in need, especially the homeless and refugees.
We pray for those who
are sleeping rough, please keep them warm, safe and dry
Father hear our prayer
And let our cry come
unto you
We pray for those who
suffer in body, mind, or spirit.
We pray, Father, that
you will embrace them in your caring arms and touch them with your healing
hands.
We pray for all those
who care for people – The NHS, Care Homes, Fountain Lodge, those who travel
round to care for people in their homes and family members.
We pray especially for
Antoinette, Catherine Faith, Hloni, Margaret, Moji, Rachel, Sharon and Tope.
Bless them Lord and help them care to the best of their ability and with great
empathy.
In a moment of silence
let bring before God those that we know and pray for comfort and healing.
We give thanks for all
those you have healed and given new life to, especially those who have suffered
from Covid 19.
Father hear our prayer
And let our cry come
unto you
Finally, Father, we
give thanks for the lives of all those who will be remembered today, whether it
is a recent death, the anniversary of a death, or just remembered because they
much loved.
Merciful Father accept
these prayers for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Peace
The peace of the Lord be always with you
and also with you.
Song: Be still for the presence of the Lord https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZugvUQ4m90U
Holy
Communion
The
Lord be with you
and
also with you.
Lift
up your hearts.
We
lift them to the Lord.
Let
us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It
is right to give thanks and praise.
It
is right to praise you, Father, Lord of all creation;
in
your love you made us for yourself.
When
we turned away
you
did not reject us,
but
came to meet us in your Son.
You
embraced us as your children
and
welcomed us to sit and eat with you.
In
Christ you shared our life
that
we might live in him and he in us.
He
opened his arms of love upon the cross
and
made for all the perfect sacrifice for sin.
On
the night he was betrayed,
at
supper with his friends
he
took bread, and gave you thanks;
he
broke it and gave it to them, saying:
Take,
eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do
this in remembrance of me.
Father,
we do this in remembrance of him:
his
body is the bread of life.
At
the end of supper, taking the cup of wine,
he
gave you thanks, and said:
Drink
this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant,
which
is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins;
do
this in remembrance of me.
Father,
we do this in remembrance of him:
his
blood is shed for all.
As
we proclaim his death and celebrate his rising in glory,
send
your Holy Spirit that this bread and this wine
may
be to us the body and blood of your dear Son.
As
we eat and drink these holy gifts
make
us one in Christ, our risen Lord.
With
your whole Church throughout the world
we
offer you this sacrifice of praise
and
lift our voice to join the eternal song of heaven:
Holy,
holy, holy Lord,
God
of power and might,
Heaven
and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna
in the highest.
We continue
with the words of The 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
We break this
bread
to share in
the body of Christ.
Though we
are many, we are one body,
because we
all share in one bread.
Every time we
eat this bread
and drink this
cup,
we proclaim the
Lord’s death
until he
comes.
God’s holy
gifts
for God’s holy
people.
Jesus
Christ is holy,
Jesus
Christ is Lord,
to the
glory of God the Father.
Prayer of Spiritual Communion
Thanks be
to you, Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the
benefits you have given me,
for all the
pains and insults you have borne for me.
Since I
cannot now receive you sacramentally,
I ask you
to come spiritually into my heart.
O most
merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may I know
you more clearly,
love you
more dearly,
and follow
you more nearly, day by day. Amen
The Blessing
The peace of God,
which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds
in the knowledge and love of God,
and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.
Song: You are my Vision https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMmSPOF-6Xo
The Dismissal
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ.
Amen.