Sunday 15th May – Easter 5

our advertisement for a new Minister was unsuccessful. The position has now been re-advertised.

We ask that you will please pray as this new advert go’s live

This is again for a fulltime minister for the two benefices of Fillongley with Corley and Ansley with Arley.

Thank you.

Hymn – Love Devine All Love Excelling

1.Love divine, all loves excelling
Joy of Heaven to Earth come down
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling
All Thy faithful mercies crown
Jesus, Thou art all compassion
Pure, unbounded love Thou art
Visit us with Thy salvation
Enter every trembling heart

Breathe, O breathe, Thy loving spirit
Into every troubled breast
Let us all in Thee inherit
Let us find that second rest

Take away the love of sinning
Alpha and Omega be
End of faith, as its beginning
Sets our hearts at liberty

Come Almighty to deliver
Let us all Thy life receive
Suddenly return and never
Never more Thy temples leave
Thee we would be always blessing
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above
Pray, and praise Thee without ceasing
Glory in Thy perfect love

Finish then Thy new creation
Pure and spotless let us be
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee

Changed from glory into glory
‘Til in Heaven we take our place
‘Til we cast our crowns before Thee
Lost in wonder, love and praise (by Charles Wesley (1707 to 1788)

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you

All: And also with you

Loving Lord,

Fill us with your life-giving,

joy-givingr peace-giving presence,

That we may praise you now with our lips,

and all the day long with our lives

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Cast your burden upon the Lord

All: And he will sustain you

Create in us clean hearts, O God

All: And renew a right spirit within us

Cast us not away from your Presence

All: And take not your Holy Spirit from us

Give us the joy of your saving help

All: And sustain us with your life-giving Spirit

Blessed be the Lord day by day

All: The God of our salvation, who bears our burdens.

We have a moment of quiet, to call to mind the things we

Have thought, said and done which we know grieve the God

who loves us

Come, let us return to the Lord and say:

All: Almighty God

Long-suffering and of great goodness

I confess to you.

I confess with my whole heart

My neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments

My wrong doing, thinking and speaking:

The hurts I have done to others,

And the good I have left undone.

O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;

And raise me to newness of life;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

May the God of love and power

Forgive us and free us from our sins,

Heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,

And raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

We praise God for his love and forgiveness with:-

Hymn is – A New Commandment

Our First Reading is taken from – Acts Chap: 11

1 The apostles and the other believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

2 When Peter went to Jerusalem, those who were in favor of circumcising Gentiles criticized him, saying,

3 “You were a guest in the home of uncircumcised Gentiles, and you even ate with them!”

4 So Peter gave them a complete account of what had happened from the very beginning:

5 “While I was praying in the city of Joppa, I had a vision. I saw something coming down that looked like a large sheet being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it stopped next to me.

6 I looked closely inside and saw domesticated and wild animals, reptiles, and wild birds.

7 Then I heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat!’

8 But I said, “Certainly not, Lord! No ritually unclean or defiled food has ever entered my mouth.’

9 The voice spoke again from heaven, “Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean.’

10 This happened three times, and finally the whole thing was drawn back up into heaven.

11 At that very moment three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where I was staying.

12 The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitation. These six fellow believers from Joppa accompanied me to Caesarea, and we all went into the house of Cornelius.

13 He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, “Send someone to Joppa for a man whose full name is Simon Peter.

14 He will speak words to you by which you and all your family will be saved.’

15 And when I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them just as on us at the beginning.

16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

17 It is clear that God gave those Gentiles the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; who was I, then, to try to stop God!”

18 When they heard this, they stopped their criticism and praised God, saying, “Then God has given to the Gentiles also the opportunity to repent and live!”

This is the word of the Christ

All: Praise to you oh Christ

Our Second Reading is From – John Chap: 13

31 After Judas had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man’s glory is revealed; now God’s glory is revealed through him.

32 And if God’s glory is revealed through him, then God will reveal the glory of the Son of Man in himself, and he will do so at once.

33 My children, I shall not be with you very much longer. You will look for me; but I tell you now what I told the Jewish authorities, “You cannot go where I am going.’

34 And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

35 If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.”

This is the word of the Christ

All: Praise to you oh Christ

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter – 15^th May 2022

(Reading Acts Chap: 11 Vers: 1 to 18 and John Chap: 13 Vers: 31to 35

Two readings which at first look don’t feel connected, but if we look closer they are and both are giving instruction for the future.

In the first reading Peter is being questioned on why he had been a guest in the home of a Gentile and had also eaten with them.

Peter explained that while he was praying he had a vision of a sheet being lowered and within it animals and birds both domesticated and wild.

He heard a voice saying Peter kill and eat, but he answered NO for no unclean or undefiled food had entered his mouth.

For Jews and other religions have strict rules on how meats are prepared.

Remember this for later. But three times the question was repeated and if we remember last week sermon Peter was asked three times if he loved Jesus.

The voice of God asking Peter to kill and eat said

“Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean”

We ourselves as Christians do not prepare our food in any ritual way so we do as God told Peter to do.

After Peter vision had gone three men came from Caesarea with a message from Cornelius, asking Peter to go to his house and a long with six fellow believers travelled to the home of Cornelius.

Cornelius explained that an angel had spoken to him to send foe Simon Peter and when he had spoken to them he and his family would be saved.

When Peter began to speak the Holy Spirit came down and Peter remembered that the Lord said

“John baptised with water but you will baptise with the Holy Spirit”

It became clear on Peter’s telling that what had happened was God’s gift to the Gentiles or anyone who came to him and believed in him.

We, today, share in that gift of forgiveness and his LOVE.

The second reading is short but to the point and only one verse is an instruction verse 34

“A new command I give to you; love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another”

On this verse our beliefs are based on.

That is, we share the love of Christ, with one another.

Now we can see that in the first reading Peter was being told that no food was unclean so anything could be eaten, and nobody was excluded from following Christ.

No matter whom they are or where they come from, what beliefs they held before coming into contact with the preaching of CHRIST JESUS.

Amen

Hymn – Bind Us Together Lord

Let us declare our faith in God.

All: 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.

Prayers and Intercessions

We pray for God to fill us with his Spirit.

Generous God,

we thank you for the power of your Holy Spirit.

We ask that we may be strengthened to serve you better.

Lord, come to bless us