Sunday Orders of Service
A Service of Word and Praise for 19th July 2020
¶ Gathering
Welcome
The minister offers words of welcome, gathering us into God’s presence, and introduces the first hymn:
HymnPraise my soul, the King of heavenPraise my soul, the King of heaven!
Praise him! Praise him! Praise him! Praise him! Praise the everlasting King!
Praise him for his grace and favour
Praise him! Praise him! Praise him! Praise him! Glorious in his faithfulness!
Father-like, he tends and spares us;
Praise him! Praise him! Praise him! Praise him! Widely as his mercy flows!
Angels, help us to adore him;
Praise him! Praise him! Praise him! Praise him! Praise with us the God of grace!
Leader: Let us worship God: We have come together as the family of God
Confession
Leader: Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith,
All: Almighty God our heavenly Father,
AbsolutionThe Priest says: Almighty God, Amen.
The Collect(Prayer for the Day)A minister prays:
Merciful God, Amen.
¶ The Ministry of the Word
First ReadingRomans 8:12-25A reading from St Paul’s letter to the Romans: So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
For the word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God.
HymnBlessed Assurance
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine:
This is my story, this is my song,
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Perfect submission, all is at rest,
Gospel ReadingMatthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Jesus put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. All: Praise to you, O Christ.
HomilyFr Michael Cartwright(read by Mark Burdon)
"Let anyone with ears Listen" An American author (Ella Willcox) wrote a poem called "The Weed" It read as follows: "A weed is but an unloved flower!
Possibly true, yet for most gardeners, that weed can crowd out all the vegetables and flowers that we are trying to nurture and grow. Most of us know the experience of weeding a cultivated area - whether it is a flower bed or a vegetable patch - only to find the next moment the weeds appear to have sprung back again, just as vigorous as before. Perhaps Jesus' audience may have laughed to hear the plight of the landowner, who wakes one morning to find that the weeds have been sown amongst the wheat. On the other hand, however, if the crop was spoiled, the price of bread would go up, so the poorest workers and their families would struggle and might well go hungry. When Jesus explains the parable, He doesn't talk about the spoiled crop, but of patience in the face of finding that weeds have been sown amongst the wheat. He foresees a time when order will be restored and justice will be done. Sorting out the weeds can't be rushed says Jesus, because that would result in too much damage to the wheat and could incur a huge loss. If you, like me, are a gardener battling with weeds, and you rush to sort out your veg patch or flower bed using strong weed killer, or digging with an implement that is too clumsy, you run the risk that everything might get ruined. There are things you can see, such as flowers and vegetables and then there are those that aren't visible to the naked eye, such as the teeming life of the soil - this forms the delicate infrastructure which needs to nourish the plants roots and enable things to grow and flourish. No! Rushing can't solve the problem of the weeds. Rather, it takes careful and thoughtful, prayerful and active, participation to move through our current problems and fears together. God is firmly in the picture. We face big challenges in our world, none more so than climate change, when the delicate balance of our eco-system has been disrupted by years of clumsy husbandry. Yet amidst all of this, God's promise is to be there as we do the slow and careful work of restoration. The promise that God will hold our hand as we work at it, can be enough to give us the courage we need.
God bless you all, Fr. Michael.
Interlude“Lead me Lord” sung by Dawn WilliamsonAffirmation of Faith
Leader: Let us affirm our faith together:
All: We believe in God the Father,
Prayers of Intercession
followed by The Lord’s prayer:
Leader: Let us pray in confidence, the Prayer that Jesus himself taught us:
Our Father, who art in heaven, Give us this day our daily bread. as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; For thine is the kingdom, for ever and ever. HymnGreat is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness,
¶ Dismissal
Closing Prayer
Leader: God of our pilgrimage, All: Amen.
Blessing & Dismissal
The Priest pronounces the Blessing:
The peace of God, All: Amen.
Leader: Let us go in the peace of Christ.
All: Thanks be to God.
VoluntaryThe Lord bless you and keep you; John Ruttersung by All Saints’ Bawdeswell Festival Choir The Lord bless you and keep you: The Lord bless you and keep you: The Lord lift up the light
Director of Music: James Lilwall |
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