Hymn – Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father
The Greeting
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
All: And also with you
The Peace
We are the body of Christ.
In the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body
Let us then pursue all that makes for peace
and builds up our common life.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
All: And also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of peace.
(Please turn to those around you, offering your hand, and say
‘The peace of the Lord be with you’)
Prayer of Preparation
All: 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.
Prayer of Penitence
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our Cod is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your Cod with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
All: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son Jesus Christ
to save us from our sins,
to be our advocate in heaven,
and to bring us to eternal life.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith,
firmly resolved to keep God’s commandments
and to live in love and peace with all.
All: Father eternal, giver of light and grace,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour,
in what we have thought,
in what we have said and done,
through ignorance, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We have wounded your love
and marred your image in us.
We are sorry and ashamed
and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us,
forgive us all that is past
and lead us out from darkness
to walk as children of light.
Amen.
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.
All: Amen.
Collect for the Nineteenth Sunday of Trinity – Bible Sunday
O God, forasmuch as without you
we are not able to please you;
mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit
may in all things direct and rule our hearts;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever
All: Amen
Our First Reading is Colossians Chap: 3
12 You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
13 Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you.
14 And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity.
15 The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful.
16 Christ’s message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct one another with all wisdom. Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts.
17 Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father.
This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Hymn – In Heavenly Love Abiding
1 In heavenly love abiding,
no change my heart shall fear;
and safe is such confiding,
for nothing changes here:
the storm may roar without me,
my heart may low be laid;
but God is round about me,
and can I be dismayed?
2 Wherever he may guide me,
no want shall turn me back;
my Shepherd is beside me,
and nothing can I lack:
his wisdom ever waketh,
his sight is never dim,
he knows the way he taketh,
and I will walk with him.
3 Green pastures are before me,
which yet I have not seen;
bright skies will soon be o’er me,
where darkest clouds have been;
my hope I cannot measure,
my path to life is free;
my Saviour has my treasure,
and he will walk with me. (by Anna Letitia Waring-1823-1910)
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Gospel Reading
Matthew 24, 30-35
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32 “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.
33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Sermon
Today we have heard in our reading of what Paul has said to the Colossians and ourselves about the Fruits of the Spirit. Some scholars believe that Timothy was also involved in this writing, but possibly in the role of a scribe.
In verse 12 we read
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved”
So, whilst this was written, we know for the church in Colossae, in the region of Phrygia in Asia Minor, we also know that it is written for us. So, who dearly loves us and how are we holy?
The obvious answer is that God loves us and showed this love through the death of His son Jesus and this sacrifice was made for all those who believe in him and, through this sacrifice and our acceptance of Christ we are made holy.
Once we have made that commitment this creates a desire in us to become more Christ like.
Some people as a reminder have a Bracelet with the letters W.W.J.D. which stands for
“What would Jesus do”
which although could be seen as slightly frivolous is not a bad approach to take when we have made decisions.
Further on in verse: 12, Paul tells us to:
“Clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
We find a similar list in Galatians Chap: 5 Vers: 22 where Paul is talking to the church in Galatia how to live in the spirit as opposed to living in the flesh.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Speaking of fruit, we had our harvest festival two weeks ago. The church was beautifully decorated with produce (some admittedly in cans) and we celebrated all of the God given provision of the food and the great variety that there is. Many of the offerings were the fruits of someone’s labour.
A few years ago, we planted a plum tree in our garden. The first year that we planted it, in the spring it developed buds and we were slightly disappointed that all that came were leaves. The second year, it produced lovely flowers and looked really pretty, however, none of the flowers set and again it didn’t produce any fruit. We still loved the tree and it was very healthy and added to our garden. On the third year, we had an abundance of plums which we enjoyed in many forms. For the first two years, our plum tree whilst very attractive had not reached its full purpose – that of providing fruit.
Likewise, as Christians, when we clothe ourselves in the gifts of the holy spirit and look to Jesus to define our actions, we can reach our full potential. However, just like our plum tree, this year, succumbed to a nasty little plum moth which ruined the fruit, we, as Christians, sometimes can get sidetracked and not always deal with people with compassion or kindness etc. However, God does not give up on us and, as we confess each time, we meet our shortcomings he is gracious and forgives us.
In the same way God provided us with these spiritual fruits, because as Christians we have the Living Christ through the Holy Spirit living within us. However, just like a physical fruit grow the plant has to be nurtured, it has to be fed and watered. We, to need to keep ourselves fed.
So how do we feed and nurture compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience within ourselves.
Well, firstly, we meet together on a regular basis at St Lawrence and St John’s where we worship God collectively through the service, sharing Communion, reading scripture and participating in prayer and worship. But it doesn’t end there.
We need to spend time together to learn more about each other, to understand how each of us ‘ticks’. Only by doing this will we have the opportunity to show kindness, for instance. How will we know when someone is struggling, if we simply converse for a short time at the end of the service? What opportunity do we get to be kind?
We need to meet with people; we need to meet and chat. Meeting for coffee/tea after the service is a good time to meet with people to chat and hear stories where we can be compassionate, we can show kindness we can be humble we can be gentle and we can be patient.
We are really fortunate in this church, because we have an opportunity in the ‘Draw Nearer’ Group that meets the second and fourth Monday evening each month where we can discuss topics, share experiences. Sometimes we disagree on what we believe, but it feels like a safe space to do this and, I believe, that this is because the spirit is working through us as we connect with each other.
Working together on projects such as Back in Time, Christmas Tree Festival gives great opportunity for us to display the fruits of the spirit. It is no small feat putting up a large frame tent in the pouring rain without tempers getting frayed – however, I can report that we did it with grace!
The prayer chain also offers us as a congregation the opportunity to support each other in prayer, to suffer with each other, celebrate when prayers and answered and stand by each other in pain and suffering.
Having served on the deaconate in my previous church – which is the Baptist equivalent to the PCC, it is my experience that leaders cannot work effectively together without prayer and applying the principles of ‘what would Jesus do?’.
This is why it is also so important to be involved in prayer around everything that happens within the church – whether it is personal prayer, collective – with the monthly prayer meetings, or as simple as starting a meeting with prayer – asking the Holy Spirit to come and dwell amongst us and equipping us with the fruits – compassion, humility, gentleness, patience and kindness as we share together.
But it isn’t all about being in church and being within our fellowship. We live in the world and we spend some of that time with people who perhaps re struggling with life, do not know the Lord Jesus and occasionally their actions are not what we would want them to be.
All of us at times will feel that we’re not very compassionate, that we find we are not dealing with someone with kindness or humility or Gentleness and patience – because we are human and we fail. So, what should we do?
We can ask the Spirit within us to show us how we should deal with these things.
We are exalted in the Bible to be ‘slow to anger’. If you are struggling in these areas it is good to share it with someone so that they can listen, advise, pray with you and give you support. It is not a weakness to ask for help.
Indeed, Paul In verse: 13 Tells us to
“Bear with each other and forgive one another” and then goes on to talk about “
if any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you.
A very simple statement and action that is at heart of the Christian message, but also at times one of the most difficult things to do. I have known so many people with faith, who have been disappointed by someone in the fellowship and, due to unforgiveness have abandoned their relationship with Jesus. They have just walked away.
However, if we follow Jesus’ example, we will see that Jesus forgave people many times! He said to folk as he preached ‘your sins have been forgiven’ (upsetting the Jews at the time). He also, prayed for forgiveness on his attackers at the point of death – ‘Father forgive them for they know not what they do’.
The act of forgiveness is usually something deeply personal and sometimes it is just something we have to deal with between ourselves and God.
Sometimes it may be necessary to meet with the person, and here is an example of where you need to be clothed fully with the fruits of the spirit. Discussions like these need to be approached with gentleness, you need to be humble, you may need to show compassion for the person who has wronged you, whilst gently working through the issue.
Verse: 14 in the reading from Colossians speaks of love and we are all familiar with the popular wedding reading from Corinthians
‘And the greatest of these is love”.
Paul puts an emphasis on Love when he says
“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity”.
Personally, I find this one of the most difficult aspects! Firstly, how do we ‘put on love’?
You will probably know that here are a number of different types of love. There are different words in the Greek to describe Love. Love for and from your family, Love for your partner/spouse, Love for your friends, and, as I have discovered in the past 7 years, a particularly special love for your grandchildren. All are different forms of love, but how do we put them on?
In sociality, the word love is banded about almost as a throwaway comment. Janet is a particular fan of Deal or No Deal and finds it hugely amusing to hear the contestants often saying after only a few hours of knowing each other how much they love each other! I suspect that this isn’t lasting.
Within a fellowship such as St. Laurence’s, we will not always know everyone to the same depth – it isn’t because we don’t care, it is just that we all have different relationships and some, like myself, are shy and we take longer to get to know someone. So, can we say we love each other?
But isn’t this verse: 14 lovely, we are told to ‘put on love’ which shows that this is a deliberate action! Something positive we need to do.
This is the love that God offers us, a love he gives us to put on. We put on his love, his love in response to the love that he has shown to us.
This is a God given Love that we receive when we accept Christ into our lives, this is the love that we see in the person of Christ, We can receive His forgiveness so we can be right with him, and can put on His Love.
Let us continue to meet together, pray with each other, learn from each other, share with one another and practice fruits of compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience.
And finally in verse 15, Paul writes to both the Colossians and ourselves
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
Amen
We say together
The Creed
Let us declare our faith in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
All: I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
During the intercession this response is used: Lord, in your mercy
All: Hear our prayer.
Prayers for King Charles
Through this tritium of prayer we ask God’s continuing blessing on our new King Charles
Prayer
O God, to whom every human power is subject,
grant to your servant our sovereign Charles
success in the exercise of his high office,
so that, always revering you and striving to please you,
he may constantly secure and preserve
for the people entrusted to his care
the freedom that comes from civil peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
All: Amen
Prayer for the Royal Family
Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness,
we humbly beseech thee to bless
Queen Camilla, William Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the
Royal Family:
Endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly
grace; prosper them with all happiness;
and bring them to thine everlasting
kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ, let us pray to the Father.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
you promised through your Son Jesus Christ
to hear us when we pray in faith.
Strengthen Sophie our bishop and all your Church in the service of Christ, that those who confess your name may be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal your glory in the world.
Bless and guide Charles our King; give wisdom to all in authority; and direct this and every nation in the ways of justice and of peace; that we may honour one another, and seek the common good.
Give grace to us, our families and friends, and to all our neighbours, that we may serve Christ in one another, and love as he loves us.
Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind,
or spirit……;
Give them courage and hope in their troubles; and bring them the joy of your salvation.
Hear us as we remember those who have died in the faith of Christ……;
According to your promises, grant us with them a share in your eternal kingdom.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St. Laurence, St. John and all your saints, we commend ourselves and the whole creation to your unfailing love.
Merciful Father,
All: Accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Heavenly Father,
you have promised through your Son Jesus Christ, that when we meet in his name, : and pray according to his mind, he will be among us and hear our prayer: in your love and mercy fulfil our desires, and give us your greatest gift, which is to know you, the only true God, and your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Hymn – May the mind of Christ my Saviour
- May the mind of Christ, my Saviour,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.
- May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.
- May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.
- May the love of Jesus fill me,
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self -abasing,
This is victory.
- May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.
- May His beauty rest upon me
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him. (by K Barclay Wilkinson – 1859 to 1928)
The Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord is here.
All: His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts,
All: We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to give thanks and praise.
It is indeed right,
it is our duty and our joy,
at all times and in all places
to give you thanks and praise,
holy Father, heavenly King,
almighty and eternal God,
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
For he is your living Word;
through him you have created all things from the beginning, and formed us in your own image.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Through him you have freed us from the slavery of sin, giving him to be born of a woman and to die upon the cross;
You raised him from the dead and exalted him to your right hand on high.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Through him you nave sent upon us your holy and life-giving Spirit, and made us a people for your own possession.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying:
All: Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Accept our praises, heavenly Father,
through your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and as we follow his example and obey his command,
grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit
these gifts of bread and wine
may be to us his body and his blood;
who, in the same night that he was betrayed,
took bread and gave you thanks;
he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way, after supper he took the cup and gave you thanks; he gave it to them, saying: Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Therefore, heavenly Father, we remember his offering of himself made once for all upon the cross; we proclaim his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension; we look for the coming of your kingdom, and with this bread and this cup
we make the memorial of Christ your Son our Lord.
All: Christ has died: Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Accept through him, our great high priest, this our sacrifice of thanks and praise, and as we eat and drink these holy gifts in the presence of your divine majesty, renew us by your Spirit, inspire us with your love and unite us in the body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Through him, and with him, and in him, m the unity of the Holy Spirit,
with all who stand before you in earth and heaven, we worship you, Father almighty, in songs of everlasting praise;
All: Blessing and honour and glory and power be yours for ever and ever.
Amen.
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name;
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Breaking of the Bread
We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
All: Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.
All: Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
Grant us peace.
Giving of Communion
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.
Amen
We say together the –
Post Communion
All: Holy and blessed God,
you have fed us with the body and blood of your Son
and filled us with your Holy Spirit:
may we honour you,
not only with our lips
but in lives dedicated to the service
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Trinity Blessing
May the Father, who created you in love,
the Son who redeemed you by grace,
and the Holy Spirit who empowers you with truth,
go with you into the world.
Walk in unity, live in peace,
and bear witness to the love that holds all things together.
All: Amen.
Hymn – O Jesus I Have Promised
- O Jesus, I have promised
to serve thee to the end:
be thou ever near me,
my Master and my friend;
I shall not fear the battle
if thou art by my side,
nor wander from the pathway
if thou wilt be my guide.
- O let me feel thee near me!
The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
the tempting sounds I hear;
my foes are ever near me,
around me and within;
but Jesus, draw thou nearer,
and shield my soul from sin.
- O let me hear thee speaking
in accents clear and still,
above the storms of passion,
the murmurs of self-will;
O speak to reassure me,
to hasten or control;
O speak, and make me listen,
thou guardian of my soul.
- O let me see thy features,
the look that once could make
so many a true disciple
leave all things for thy sake:
the look that beamed on Peter
when he thy name denied;
the look that draws thy lovers
close to thy piercèd side.
- O Jesus, thou hast promised
to all who follow thee,
that where thou art in glory
there shall thy servant be;
and, Jesus I have promised
to serve thee to the end;
O give me grace to follow,
my Master and my friend
- O let me see thy footmarks,
and in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly
is in thy strength alone.
O guide me, call me, draw me,
uphold me to the end;
and then in heaven receive me,
my Saviour and my Friend. (by John Ernest Bode – 1819 to 1874)
Final Prayers and the Dismissal
Go in faith to love the Lord.
All: In the Name of Christ
Amen
© 702211