Here below we have an outline of our service for you to follow at home if you can’t be with us. Choose a quiet reflective space and to make it more meaningful have a cross, bible and candle to make your sacred space.
INTRODUCTION
Good morning everyone, I hope you are all well. It was lovely to see Rev Carol presiding at last week’s service with Rev Hannah. Little church starts today in the vicarage at 9.30 and they will come into church to show and tell after communion. The children and family service is now up and running on Wednesdays at 6 O’clock and going really well.
In a few weeks, we are going to start Admission to Holy Communion classes for anyone in Year 3 or above. We will also be running Confirmation classes for anyone in Year 7 or above, as well as any adults who wish to be confirmed. With all of these groups please can you give your names to me with a contact number and I will get back to you with dates and times etc. You can see me in church or contact me on 07711258411.
Thank you to Rev Hannah for our reflection today and to Alison Greaves for the prayers.
Jan B.
PRAYER OF PREPARATION
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
Lord God, we have sinned against you; we have done evil in your sight. We are sorry and repent. Have mercy on us according to you according to your love . Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin. Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
GLORIA
Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly king, almighty God and Father. We worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ only son of the Father Lord God Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One , you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most high, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
THE COLLECT
Lord of creation, whose glory is around and within us: open our eyes to your wonders, that we may serve you with reverence and know your peace at our lives’ end, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
THE NEW TESTAMENT READING
JAMES 5:13-20
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
THE GOSPEL
HEAR THE Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark. Glory to you O Lord.
Mark 9:38-50
John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell., And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
‘For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you O Christ.
REFLECTION
The Gospel reading for today is another episode of Jesus teaching his disciples and it is a teaching that is still so relevant today, potentially even more so than when Jesus was around. I’m sure we are all guilty of identifying ourselves as being part of certain groups. The unfortunate implication that follows on from that is that there are others who do not belong to our groups, we naturally divide ourselves into those that are ‘insiders’ and those that are not.
When John comes to tell Jesus that they had witnessed someone casting out demons in the name of Jesus, it feels a little bit like a youngster telling tales, one convinced that the other would get into trouble because they are doing something they shouldn’t be. John’s response to seeing someone outside the circle of disciples doing such work resonates with the ‘insider’ narrative that I have just described. The reason he comes to tell tales is because he finds it hard to believe that anyone who isn’t a known disciple could possibly take part in an act of casting out demons in Jesus’ name. It just isn’t something he finds easy to comprehend.
By saying “Whoever is not against us is for us”, Jesus immediately shuts down John’s tale telling and challenges the misconception that only those who are named and known can possibly do good in the name of Jesus. Jesus’s overriding concern is that good is being done, and good being credited to his name and power ultimately demonstrating that the power of God is moving and working in that place. Jesus saw that at that time, his work was heading towards a final showdown, and so anyone who was using his name and his power for good was less likely to stand against them in the future. It should also serve to remind us that the work of the Lord is not a private and privileged affair, it is for all.
The sayings that follow are challenging to hear and really quite unpleasant to picture, but they are not to be taken literally, rather they act as images to point to our human-ness and are more likely to be referring to parts of our character or personality that might cause us to err and stumble in our ambition to be faithful followers. The immediate warning to John and the rest of the disciples was to be cautious in their ambition for honour when Jesus is crowned as king. Pursuing such a goal prevents them from being true disciples and so anything that might get in the way of their discipleship must go.
Discipleship is costly, it demands sacrifices. A deep look at our personality and character might reveal that there are parts of us that are preventing us from being true disciples, parts of us that declare our way is the only way to do something and therefore any other way must be stopped. These are the feet that are causing us to stumble, the parts of us that we need to try to get rid of, the things that lead us in the wrong direction and away from the right path.
Once we make the costly sacrifices and remove the parts that are causing us to stumble, we become more open to the work of the Spirit. Being open to the Spirit allows us to recognise and rejoice in the work of the Lord being done, even if it is being done in a different way to ours. Dedicating ourselves to the work of God will require sacrifices, yes, but it will also open up a whole host of rejoicing once we get alongside others who are doing the same, even if they aren’t in our group. Let us remember that “Whoever is not against us is for us”.
Rev Hannah
THE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true Father, through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son was worshipped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one Holy Catholic and Apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
INTERCESSIONS
Here we pray for the church, for the world, those in need and those who have died, you can follow your own prayers or these below on today’s theme.
Conscious of our need for God’s power in our lives, our Church and our worship, let us pray to him now.
We pray for all people who seek to follow your way in their lives. Let your church speak your word of truth with confidence and in unity so that those who are searching and listening will be able to see and hear clearly your message of love and peace.
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
Creator God – we recognise our part in the tensions and injustices of the world – heal the resentment between people and in the world’s conflicts. Help us to walk humbly with you at our side and to make the decision of paths and righteousness and justice – away from the paths of selfishness and pain.
We ask for your blessing for our Bishops, clergy, our parish and team ministry as we work to go forward in the faith of Christ.
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
Lord we ask you to lead us into the coming week. Help us to believe that you are close to us. When we face hard decisions on difficult work, when we enjoy times with others may we know that you share these times with us.
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, we seek your grace and help in the work you have entrusted to us here in church; give us patience, humour and courage; free us from all self-seeking; keep us loving. Help us to be fellow workers with you so that we may bring to the lives of those around us your joy, your hope and your peace.
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
Mighty God we pray for those you have called to the study and practice of medicine, healing and to the prevention of disease and pain. Strengthen them as they follow Jesus’ example, that through their ministries the health of the community may be promoted and your creation glorified. We put before you those who we know and those unknown who need healing in their lives. Especially Mildred Gerrard and Phyllis Hamer.
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
Loving God you sent your Son, Jesus Christ so that in your power and love we might also have the gift of eternal life – bless those whom we love that are now surrounded with the gifts of your all-encompassing love and eternal life remembering from our book of remembrance, John Edward Davies, John Greenhalgh, Frank Hampson, Jason King and Joyce Carruthers.
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
Lord, you see us, as we are, breath into our minds and hearts the passion of your love – Christ of every new day we offer you our lives and in our limited world, we affirm our faith in confidence and prayerful hope.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St. Maxentius and all your saints, we commend ourselves and the whole of your creation to your unfailing love.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
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 forever. Amen.
THE BLESSING
May Christ’s Holy, Healing, enabling Spirit be with us and guide us on our way at every change and turn; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with us all for ever and ever. Amen.
