Welcome & Call To Worship
Welcome to worship on this Bank Holiday Sunday in August. Let us come to worship God.
Lord God, we are here to worship you,
the Lord and Creator of all things.
We come… but wait, why do we come?
Is it because that’s just what we do on a Sunday?
Is it because there’s nothing else to do as the shops don’t open yet?
Is it that we want to, but hope it won’t go on too long
as dinner will be waiting?
Lord God, we are here to worship you.
Open our hearts and minds
that we might forget our distractions and focus on you.
We offer you our hearts and minds
as we come together in praise and thanksgiving. Amen
Hymn Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Walter Chalmers Smith (1824-1908) Public Domain BBC Songs of Praise
God only wise,
in light inaccessible
hid from our eyes,
most blessed,
most glorious,
the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious,
thy great name we praise.
2 Unresting, unhasting,
and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting,
thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains
high soaring above
thy clouds which are fountains
of goodness and love.
3 To all life thou givest,
to both great and small;
in all life thou livest,
the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish
as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish,
but naught
changest thee.
4 Great Father of glory,
pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee,
all veiling their sight
all laud we would render:
O help us to see
’tis only the splendour
of light hideth thee.
Prayers of Approach and Confession, Forgiveness and Illumination.
Lord God, on this Bank Holiday Weekend, we look around our world and your creation is beautiful. The sky, even when filled with clouds is different every day, and fascinating to observe. The flowers, and trees, lakes and seas are living reminders of your creation, changing throughout the seasons to give us a different perspective each time.
Yet, so often, we take it for granted. We complain at the rain clouds, we trample on the flowers, we pollute our seas and rivers and then complain that they are dirty. We are sorry that our actions impact on your creation. Even small things can make a huge difference, and we know that we need to change our attitude before we can change our actions.
Lord, we know that when we say we are sorry and change our attitude as a result and try to live differently, you offer your forgiveness and for that we are grateful. Inspire us to change from inside to out that our actions may reflect our innermost being, with you in our heart.
Thank you Lord for all that you give to us, all that you share with us and all that we can learn from you. May we offer all our spaces in our lives to be Holy Ground, where we can meet with you and listen to you, and share with each other. May your words burn like fire within us, without consuming us, that we may be inspired and energised to go and do, rather than stay and wait for someone else.
May our lives reflect your calling and our actions reflect your love
In Jesus’ Name. Amen
The Lords Prayer
Our Father…
Reading Exodus 3: 1-15
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’ But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you”, and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.”’ God also said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you”: This is my name for ever, and this my title for all generations.
Hymn Moses I Know You’re The Man
Estelle White (1925 – 2011) © 1969 Stainer & Bell Ltd and McCrimmon Publishing Company Ltd OneLicence No. # A-734713 Sung at the Methodist Conference 1991
‘Moses, I know you’re the man,’ the Lord said.
‘You’re going to work out my plan,’ the Lord said.
‘Lead all the Israelites out of slavery,
and I shall make them a wandering race
called the People of God.
So every day we’re on our way,
for we’re a travelling, wandering race,
we’re the people of God.
2 ‘Don’t get too set
in your ways,’ the Lord said,
‘Each step is only a phase,’
the Lord said,
‘I’ll go before you
and I shall be a sign
to guide my travelling,
wandering race,
You’re the people of God.’
3 ‘No matter what you may do,’
the Lord said,
‘I shall be faithful and true,’
the Lord said,
‘My love will strengthen you
as you go along,
For you’re my travelling,
wandering race,
You’re the people of God.’
4 ‘Look at the birds in the air,’
the Lord said,
‘They fly unhampered by care,’
the Lord said,
‘You will move easier
if you’re travelling light,
for you’re a wandering,
vagabond race,
You’re the people of God.’
5 ‘Foxes have places to go’
the Lord said,
‘But I’ve no home here below,’
the Lord said,
‘So if you want to be with me
all your days,
keep up the moving
and travelling on,
You’re the people of God.’
Reading St Matthew 16: 21-28
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? ‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’
Sermon
When preparing for this service, on reading the passage from Exodus, where Moses encounters God, two songs came to mind. “I am what I am”, made famous by Gloria Gaynor; and Pentatonix “Mary do you know”, particularly the last line which says “the sleeping child you’re holding is the great I Am”
The first song is a defiant anthem of self-acceptance, independence, and pride. “I am what I am, and what I am needs no excuses”. The lyrics declare that one should embrace an authentic self without fear, apology, or the need for validation from others, celebrating individuality and the right to live openly. (Check out the film La Cage aux Folles to find out why it matters)
The second song, sung mainly at Christmas, questions Mary as to whether she realises the importance of the child she holds in her arms and the man he would become.
In a passage that is often familiar, Moses encounters God in the desert in the form of a bush that is burning but not being used up. God tells him to remove his sandals, as he is on holy ground. When God then commissions Moses and is asked who Moses should say is speaking, God replies with “I am who I am”. Hence the link to the songs.
In the New Testament passage, again, often familiar, Jesus is explaining that he must suffer and die. Peter takes exception to this and tells Jesus No. Jesus rebukes Peter and tells him that to be a true disciple involves taking up your cross to follow him.
How often do we like to think we are the Great I AM – Peter telling Jesus what he ought to do; Moses wanting to know who God was so he could tell others that it wasn’t him, but God who was speaking. At the time of Moses, to give someone your name was to give them a part of yourself, so for Moses to ask God was virtually unheard of.
We like our rules and etiquette and traditions – what hymns we like, what time our services are, how we should live our lives – but how much is that limiting our worship, our discipleship, our service?? How much of our lives do we live for ourselves, and allow a little bit of space for God, and how much more would we live if we gave our whole lives to God?
I’m all for having confidence in yourself and being free to be your true self, being the person that God created you to be, but not if that (as we often see in world leaders and politicians) makes you think you are God, and can make decisions that affect millions of people and not always for the better. Or making decisions that suit you and no-one else in the church, but no-one dare argue?
Moses spoke through fear – he knew to see God was dangerous enough, but to have the nerve to ask God to say who was speaking so he could tell the people, must have been terrifying for Moses.
Peter speaks through fear – he wants Jesus to change the world, but not through suffering. He sees Jesus’ popularity as being the way forward, not the way to the cross and so speaks out. Jesus sees this as Peter not seeing the bigger picture, of not realising the true cost of discipleship.
Do we stick to our traditions out of fear of rejection if we were to speak out in faith? If we were to be true to our own discipleship journey, would we accept the cross as the way forward, or still seek to be popular and live by the rules that we have made?
Moses saw the miraculous and followed a dangerous path to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The disciples witnessed the miraculous and followed Jesus to the cross and ultimately gave their lives for what they believed.
Have we seen the miraculous in our lives? How far along the journey are we – and does our discipleship involve sacrifice and suffering alongside the joy of the good news?
Next time we are on Holy Ground (wherever that may be), let us take off our shoes, ground ourselves and let God speak. Forgetting self, forgetting everything we have learnt before, and allowing God to guide us on that journey, leaving self behind and focusing on God, the true I AM. Amen
Hymn Before The Throne of God Above
Charitie Lees de Chenez (formerly Charitie Lees Bancroft, née Smith) (1841-1923) Tune © 1997 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI) (adm at IntegratedRights.com). Text: © 1997 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI) (adm at IntegratedRights.com). Performed by Megan & Matthew Blight, of Padstow Anglican Church, Sydney, Australia
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea,
a great High Priest
whose name is Love,
who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on his hands,
my name is written on his heart;
I know that while in
heaven he stands
no tongue can bid me
thence depart,
no tongue can bid me
thence depart.
2 When Satan tempts
me to despair,
and tells me of
the guilt within,
upward I look
and see him there
who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died,
my sinful soul
is counted free;
for God the just is satisfied
to look on him and pardon me,
to look on him and pardon me.
3 Behold him there! the risen Lamb, my perfect, sinless righteousness;
the great unchangeable I AM, the King of glory and of grace!
One with himself I cannot die, my soul is purchased with his blood;
my life is hid with Christ on high, with Christ my Saviour and my God,
with Christ my Saviour and my God.
Prayers of Intercession for the world
We offer our prayers for our World: World; Our Nation; Regional; Local; Direct.
World
Lord, our world is broken. So often we think we know best for your creation; for how to treat others in our world. And yet around our world, nature is damaged and there are many who are starving, or oppressed, or at war, or in fear of war. Use us to see the bigger picture that it is not about “me”, but about all.
Our Nation
Lord we offer our prayers for our country. Trying to do the best for the people living here and those coming in to live here. We pray that we may be a welcoming nation, not the “you can only come in if… and not near me” mentality. You welcomed friend and stranger – may we do the same.
Regional
Lord, we all live in different areas, rural, urban, city centre. We ask that you use us to be a light to those around us, bringing your love to those in need and bringing hope to those in despair. May we speak up for those with no voice, and support those in power to make decisions for the benefit of all.
Local
Our streets used to be filled with the chatter of neighbours over garden fences and in streets. Now they are silent, or visions of mobile phone conversations and closed doors. We pray for those who are isolated as the world has moved on to technology, not talking. May we speak to those around us, so they feel valued and part of the community in which we live.
Direct
Lord, you know our hearts and the issues that lie there. We offer to you in a moment of quiet, those names and situations that are closest to us………
Speak to us Lord to show how we can support those we love, and offer comfort to those in need. Help us to listen to others, not just to “fix” things. Lord we offer our prayers for ourselves too. We need your love and compassion and strength to face our daily lives. Fill us with your Spirit that we may be that love and compassion and strength to others.
We offer these, and all our prayers in the precious name of Jesus. Amen
Offertory
May the offerings that we bring,
our money, our talents, our skills, ourselves,
in whatever form they are offered,
be given in love,
be given in hope,
be given in prayer.
May we offer ourselves too in your service. Amen.
Hymn All Creatures Of Our God And King
William Henry Draper (1855-1933) based on Laudato sii, O me signore St Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Sun Public Domain Acapeldridge Music
All creatures of our God and King
lift up your voice and with us sing
Alleluia, alleluia.
Thou burning sun
with golden beam,
thou silver moon
with softer gleam,
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
2 Thou rushing wind
that art so strong,
ye clouds that sail in heaven along,
O praise him, alleluia.
Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,
ye lights of evening, find a voice;
3 Thou flowing water,
pure and clear,
make music for thy Lord to hear,
Alleluia, alleluia.
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
that givest us both
warmth and light:
4 Let all things their Creator bless,
and worship Him in humbleness;
O praise him, alleluia.
Praise, praise the Father,
praise the Son,
and praise the Spirit, Three in One;
Blessing
As we go out into the world,
to serve, to share and to be disciples,
we know that we go out together,
with a common purpose.
Let us go out and be light and hope and support
in all that we do. Amen