With David Hollows & Sam Mackulin
Video Audio Service
Scroll down to view the transcript and click to view directly in Youtube here.
Part 1
Hymns:
MP 327 'Immortal, invisible, God only wise'
MP 187 'God is Love'
'I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene' - Norton Hall Band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK1AWAwqFy0
Part 2
Hymns:
MP 600 'Sing to God new songs of worship'
MP 307 'I will enter his gates'
'This is amazing grace' - Phil Wickham Lyric Video:
Part 3
Hymns:
MP 168 'Give me the faith'
Part 4
Hymns:
MP 304 'I want to worship the Lord'
MP 495 'O for a heart to praise my God'
'You are with me' - Sandra McCracken Lyric Video:
Transcript
We prepare to meet with God and we pray:
God of our whole lives: all we have been, all we are and all we yet will be; we confess the sin within us, our words and thoughts and deeds. With sorrow we confess the pain we have caused to you and to others and with shame we ask for your forgiveness. Merciful God, forgive us, heal us and restore us that our lives may be lived to your glory.
Amen
From Psalm 100:
'Let all the earth proclaim the Lord! Worship the Lord in gladness, enter his presence with joyful songs. Give thanks and bless his name, for the Lord is good and his love is everlasting, his faithfulness endures to all generations.'
Photo by Dash Kadam via Unsplash
We sing to God our hymns of praise:
MP 327 'Immortal, invisible, God only wise'
MP 187 'God is Love'
'I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene' - Norton Hall Band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK1AWAwqFy0
We offer to God our prayers of praise and thanksgiving: you may wish to use this time to pray your own prayers or to include the following prayer;
Lord of the morning and all of our days and nights, we gather to praise you this new day. We thank you for all your gifts and praise you for all your care. For you are Maker of all we see and know, Giver of all good gifts and Lover of us all. You are our Friend, reaching out your hands to embrace us with strength and hope. You are our Guide for all our days, giving us wisdom and showing us the way to be. We thank you that you breathe your Spirit into us that we can know your grace in our lives. We thank you for your gift of Jesus because of whom we can have a relationship with you. God of all our lives, we praise you and bless you.
Amen
It is good to sing our praises to God so please sing your praises out aloud. You may wish to include:
MP 600 'Sing to God new songs of worship'
MP 307 'I will enter his gates'
'This is amazing grace' - Phil Wickham Lyric Video:
The Bible reading is from the Gospel of Matthew chapter 4 verses 18 to 23
Key idea; ‘At once they left their nets and became His disciples’ (Matthew chapter 4 verse 20)
2020 has certainly been a year of challenges. Each day seems to have another challenge to greet us as we move into what we expect to be a ‘normal’ day. ‘Normal’ will be different for each one of us as will our challenges. For some of us health issues will be the challenge which may be underlying or a sudden feature of our lives whereas for others disability or dementia may be the health challenge they face. For some there is the challenge of completing millions of steps each day in order to keep healthy. Personal challenges come in all shapes and sizes.
According to our age, the possibility of unemployment or redundancy may not be our own personal challenge but it could well be for members of our family or for others we know and this can cause us anxiety and concern, even though there is little we can do about it.
A big challenge for all of us is the on-going issue of Covid-19 and the challenge of meeting restrictions and guidelines which regularly change: sometimes it appears easier to stay in bed, pull the duvet over and stay there until all this is over. However, we are reminded by the media of the many challenges NHS staff and other frontline workers face on a daily basis. There are other challenges such as the provision of PPE, producing a vaccine and those who work in the charity sector, especially those in non-governmental organisations who support those in frontline need. On the world stage, there are the challenges caused by natural disasters such as the fires in California or the droughts in Zimbabwe. There are the challenges caused by other people as certain groups of people impose their own ideas on others who are most at risk and vulnerable. There are the global climate challenges of plastic waste in the oceans, the ice caps melting and the reducing number of animal, fish and insect species.
If we are not careful these and many other challenges can overwhelm us and the future seems very bleak indeed. The Bible is also full of challenges and stories of challenge: from the first failed challenge of the eating of the forbidden fruit by Adam and Eve to the fantastical building of a massive ark miles away from water. There is the challenge Moses and Aaron faced of leading a million people out of Egypt and the challenge to Abram to leave his city to go to an unknown destination. The prophets such as Jeremiah and Haggai were given almost impossible challenges as was Esther who was challenged to risk her life to save her people.
Photo by Benjamin Davies via Unsplash
When Jesus challenged the fishermen to leave their businesses, homes and families they were walking into the unknown but their response was instant to the invitation. The Gospels show us the various types of challenge Jesus made of people; the Beatitudes (Luke chapter 6) explain to us the personality of a Jesus-centred person, the challenge of a radical lifestyle is presented to us in Matthew chapters 5 and 6 and Jesus was not shy in challenging the religious ideas of the authorities (Matthew chapter 12).
The challenges of the followers of Jesus have not changed since Jesus lived on earth despite all the other challenges we may face today. Jesus challenges us to live lives of love for God and for others. We are to remain faithful and prayerful despite the difficult challenges life throws at us. We are challenged to praise and thank God in all our circumstances, good and not so good. We are challenged to be gracious people who are grace-filled, living the Jesus way.
The challenges of the Jesus lifestyle are a big ask but we have the Holy Spirit to support us and, of course, God is on our side cheering us on and encouraging us every step of the way. The disciples were invited by Jesus to leave their ordinary lives and become extraordinary friends in order to encourage those they met and lived with to consider Jesus and a relationship with God. We have the same challenge to encourage others to respond positively to the invitation of Jesus by the way we live our lives, demonstrate our faith and love those we know and meet.
We live in very challenging days but the greatest challenge of all is to live like Jesus, love like Jesus and be His ambassador every day. Are you ready for the challenge?
Photo by KAL VISUALS via Unsplash
As a response to God, please sing the hymn,
MP 168 'Give me the faith'
You may also wish to pray this prayer;
Merciful God, we confess that we find it difficult to live Christian lives. We are full of good intentions but are easily swayed from doing and saying what we know we should. Help us to turn our minds away from ourselves and to focus on you for only you can transform us into the people you want us to be.
Amen
We continue in the presence of God as we bring to Him our prayers for those we know in need or those we learn about in the media. You may wish to pray your own prayers or to use the following prayer:
Loving God, we pray for those looking after relatives in their home and for carers who work in residential homes, hospitals and hospices, may they be supported by your love.
Loving God, we pray for those who are victims of other people’s hatred, anger and selfishness and for those who are resentful and corrupt, may your love flood their lives and soften their hearts.
Loving God, we pray for those who are burdened with life and find daily living a struggle, for those who live in abject poverty and in silence despite the pain, may your love bring them comfort, peace and hope.
Loving God, you know every person and every need so with confidence we ask you to bless those for whom we have prayed, in the name of Jesus.
Amen
We say the Lord’s Prayer.
We conclude our time with each other but not with God in praise. You may wish to sing your own favourite hymns and songs or please use the following;
MP 304 'I want to worship the Lord'
MP 495 'O for a heart to praise my God'
'You are with me' - Sandra McCracken Lyric Video:
The Blessing:
Lord, we have remembered your redeeming love and your goodness to us. May we keep your way and to love each other as you have loved us that the world may know that we are your disciples. God walk with us and remain with us until the day you call us home.
Amen
Thank you for sharing in our worship with us
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