We meet in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Song: I offer up my life in spirit and truth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWP05Fm39sY
Children and elders
Friends and strangers
We come to God’s House
In good times and bad times
In joy and in sorrow
We come to God’s House
Seeking wisdom
Asking for God’s Blessing
We come to God’s House
We light this candle for all God’s messengers,
preparing the way for change,
signs pointing for a new age to come
O God, as we wait for your promise,
give light, give hope
Saying Sorry to God:
Father God you have promised to hear us when we call to you.
Lord, we confess our sins
Keep your promise and forgive us, we pray.
For the times when we have hurt others through the words we have said,
Lord we confess our sins.
Keep your promise and forgive us, we pray.
For the times when our actions have been harmful and not loving,
Lord we confess our sins.
Keep your promise and forgive us, we pray.
For the times when we have forgotten you and ignored your commands,
Lord we confess our sins.
Keep your promise and forgive us, we pray.
Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy, Christ have mercy
Christ have mercy, Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy
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
Almighty God,
as your kingdom dawns,
turn us from the darkness of sin to the
light of holiness,
that we may be ready to meet you
in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen
Song: Change my heart O God https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUjUvoynGMM
First Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
4 I always give thanks to my God for you because of the grace he has given
you through Christ Jesus. 5 For in union with
Christ you have become rich in all things, including all speech and all
knowledge. 6 The message about Christ has become so
firmly established in you 7 that you have not
failed to receive a single blessing, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to
be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the
end, so that you will be faultless on the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God
is to be trusted, the God who called you to have fellowship with his Son Jesus
Christ, our Lord.
Gospel Reading: Mark 13:24-37
Alleluia Alleluia
I am the light of the world says the Lord
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness
but will have the light of life
Alleluia
Hear the Gospel of our Lord according to Mark 13:24-37
Glory to you O Lord
24 ‘But in those days, following that distress,
‘“the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”
26 ‘At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great
power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and
gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of
the heavens.
28 ‘Now learn this lesson from the fig-tree: as soon as its twigs get
tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even
so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 Truly
I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things
have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will never pass away.
The day and hour
unknown
32 ‘But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven,
nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard!
Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s
like a man going away: he leaves his house and puts his servants in charge,
each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35 ‘Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the
house will come back – whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the
cock crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do
not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to
you, I say to everyone: “Watch!”’
Sermon:
What’s Coming next?
How is everyone feeling as we listen to
the news around the world? All sorts of
things give us cause to be anxious, angry, frightened or feel that we’re not in
control. It’s not all bad news, of course but the more dramatic things tend to
make the headlines.
COVID, climate change, elections and
political upheavals, uncertainty about what’s happening next- wondering who is
for us and who is against us.
It would have felt much the same in
Jesus’ time too. They were living in an occupied country, were threatened by
the nations around them, subject to natural disasters and they didn’t have so
much that makes our lives more secure like the welfare state or the NHS!
I’m not trying to make out that’s everything’s terrible at the moment- but the insecurity that we may feel about world events has always been shared with people up and down the ages.
The prophecy that Mark is quoting at
the being of this passage actually comes from Isaiah- who was writing hundreds
of years before.
So- anxiety and foreboding about the
future have always been with us. Mark writes- after all that distress,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken…
Very often, generations have felt that
theirs is the worst time; that things can’t get worse, that perhaps the end of
the world is near. I don’t think we should take this literally as if the prophet is describing the universe
falling apart. It’s more a poetic way of expressing the world being turned
upside down and not in a helpful way!
So what’s the take home message?
People have always been anxious. Life
has always been tough.
So rather than focussing on what’s
going wrong or frightening us or what we can’t control- let’s look to what we
know for sure. Jesus will be there for us – whatever is in the future.
This picture is a 17th century Greek icon of Jesus' return.
When will it be?
There are some great temptations when we talk about the future or Jesus’ return.
When will it be? How will we know? What are the signs? The disciples asked all these questions.
But Jesus replied using the illustration
of the fig tree.
When you see the branches bud and
blossom, you know that summer is near. So if you see the world being turned
upside down, being uncertain and scary, think that Jesus is coming back soon.
To underline the point, Jesus says, my words will never pass away. They apply to everyone.
We don’t get a fixed answer; we’re
asked to have a fixed attitude.
Whatever time it is, assume Jesus is
coming back soon to rescue you. Keep calm, it’s going to be alright.
What should we do?
Well, don’t waste your time and energy speculating on when. There is a huge amount of stuff out there trying to interpret current events and making them fit into biblical prophecies. That’s really not the point.
Jesus tells his followers- be like the
servants whose master goes away. While the master is gone, everyone has
something to do and someone is always on watch to let them know when he’s
coming up the road. Don’t waste time on
worry, wondering or waiting.
Get on with what we’re to do here and
now. It’s like the Scouts’ motto- Be prepared!
So what does that mean for us?
Worshipping God: How can we get the Christmas message out there?
Would you like to take part in an online carol
service?
How about decorating a window so people
on your street can see at least some of the Christmas story?
Who can make a figure for our junk
Nativity for the church garden?
Making New Disciples: What about a course or group next year to invite your friends to?
Transforming Communities: What can we do- perhaps with other people that will improve our area?
The Creed
Do you believe and trust in God the Father,
source of all being and life,
the one for whom we exist?
We believe and trust in him.
Do you believe and trust in God the Son,
who took our human nature,
died for us and rose again?
We believe and trust in him.
Do you believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit,
who gives life to the people of God
and makes Christ known in the world?
We believe and trust in him.
This is the faith of the Church.
This is our faith.
We believe and trust in one God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our Prayers
among the proud,
among the
persecuted,
among the
privileged,
Christ is coming,
HE IS COMING TO
MAKE ALL THINGS NEW.
In the
private house,
in the
market place,
in the
wedding feast,
in the
judgement hall.
Christ
is coming,
HE IS
COMING TO MAKE ALL THINGS NEW.
With a
gentle touch,
with
an angry word,
with a
clear conscience,
with
burning love,
Christ
is coming,
HE IS
COMING TO MAKE ALL THINGS NEW.
That
the kingdom might come,
that
the world might believe,
that
the powerful might stumble,
that
the humble might be raised,
Christ
is coming,
HE IS
COMING TO MAKE ALL THINGS NEW.
Within
us,
without
us,
among
us,
before
us,
in
this place,
in
every place,
for
this time,
for
all time,
Christ
is coming,
HE IS
COMING TO MAKE ALL THINGS NEW
We share the Peace
Blessed are the peacemakers:they shall be called children of God.
We meet in the name of Christ and share his peace.
The Peace of the Lord be always with you
And also with you
Song: My Lighthouse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFBZJGSgyVQ
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.
Jesus, Lamb
of God,
have mercy
on us.
Jesus,
bearer of our sins,
have mercy
on us.
Jesus,
redeemer of the world,
grant us
peace.
Draw near with
faith.
Receive the
body of our Lord Jesus Christ
which he gave
for you,
and his blood
which he shed for you.
Eat and drink
in remembrance
that he died for you,
and feed on
him in your hearts
by faith with
thanksgiving.
Song during
communion Weep with me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEAIWy72acc
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
Almighty
God,
we thank
you for feeding us
with the
body and blood
of your Son
Jesus Christ.
Through him
we offer you our souls and bodies,
to be a
living sacrifice.
Send us out
in the power of your Spirit
to live and
work to your praise and glory.
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.
Shine Jesus Shine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OIwSQmyCg4
Dismissal
To a troubled world
peace from Christ.
To a searching world
love from Christ.
To a waiting world
hope from Christ.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.