Worship at Home
Worship for 30th August 2020
Take Up Your Cross
Try our free dial-in service to listen to the sermon and a hymn – 01604 266000.
Sunday 30th August 10:30 AM
(or whenever you wish)
This week’s message has been prepared by Rev Phil Snelson.
This short act of worship is for use from home. Pause to settle yourself in God’s presence, knowing that other people are sharing in worship with you.
Take a few quiet moments to focus on God.
Call to Worship – Psalm 105: 1-4
“O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.”
Opening Prayers
Lord, sometimes life following you can be difficult. We find so many dilemmas and struggle so much, wishing it could be easier.
We so want to trust you and see your plan for us. Help us this morning to relax into your presence, to clearly hear your word and be prepared to act on it.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
StF20: Be still for the presence of the Lord
Be still, for the presence of the Lord,
the Holy One is here;
Come bow before Him now
with reverence and fear.
In Him no sin is found,
we stand on holy ground;
Be still, for the presence of the Lord,
The Holy One is here.
Be still, for the glory of the Lord
is shining all around;
He burns with holy fire,
with splendour He is crowned.
How awesome is the sight,
our radiant King of light!
Be still, for the glory of the Lord
Is shining all around.
Be still, for the power of the Lord
is moving in this place;
He comes to cleanse and heal,
to minister His grace.
No work too hard for Him,
in faith receive from Him;
Be still, for the power of the Lord
is moving in this place..
David J. Evans. Copyright © 1986 Kingsway’s Thankyou Music.
Bible Reading
Moses and the burning bush
3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and see this strange sight – why the bush does not burn up.’
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’
And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’
5 ‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’ 6 Then he said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7 The Lord said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey – the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.’
11 But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’
12 And God said, ‘I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.’
13 Moses said to God, ‘Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” Then what shall I tell them?’
14 God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I am has sent me to you.”’
15 God also said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you.”
‘This is my name for ever,
the name you shall call me
from generation to generation.
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Prayer of Penitence
Lord God,
I’m sorry for the times I take my eyes off you,
and seek to do things in my own strength.
I’m sorry for the times I doubt that
you can keep me on the straight and narrow.
Lord, I pray that you will forgive
my doubts and hesitations,
show me your loving presence,
especially when I need it most,
and teach me to trust you at all times.
Amen.
Bible Reading
Jesus predicts his death
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
28 ‘Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Message from Rev’d Phil Snelson
Our gospel reading today picks up where we left off last week: God revealed to Peter that Jesus is the Messiah, fully human and fully divine, and we began to think about the challenge of following Jesus. Now Jesus really “lays it on the line”, what this will mean both for him with his suffering, death and resurrection, and for them as his followers.
It is a somewhat detached, “throw-away” saying for people today – “I guess that’s just my cross to bear” but the disciples knew exactly the truly grim reality of what someone taking up a cross meant, and the horrific death it lead to. Jesus was not messing about here, no half measures, following him is “all-or-nothing”.
Did you notice too that Jesus is adamant that no one can save their own life? In fact, if you try, that’s the way to lose it! In our culture there is such an emphasis on the individual and finding our satisfaction, gratification, as everyone’s entitlement or “right”, but our Christian faith is completely counter cultural, and the challenge from Jesus is to give yourself whole-heartedly for God and for others. When you do, paradoxically, you’ll find true life.
In the Exodus reading God challenged Moses too, calling him to something he could never achieve on his own: go back to the country he’d fled, where for all he knew he had a criminal record for murder, and now to make demands of the most powerful king of the day. Moses clearly felt totally insecure, uncertain, unprepared, unworthy and “un” almost everything else! Just as Peter tried to argue with Jesus so Moses says to the Lord “Erm, I think you must have got this wrong Lord…” or words to that effect. In human terms this could never work, it’s impossible… except… Almighty God was with him – “I AM WHO I AM” …and all things are possible with God!
Here is our challenge and our encouragement from today’s scripture: Will we depend on him beyond our own resources and abilities when He calls us to something new or different?
Do we have in mind what God wants, or are we just caught up with our own concerns, effectively trying to save ourselves?
Are we prepared to deny ourselves, self-interests, give our very lives for God’s cause, put our trust in His calling, guiding and the promise of His presence always with us?
Take a few moments to reflect, then…
Prayers of Intercessions:
Use the prayer points to bring your prayers.
God our Father, grant us the help of your Spirit in our prayers for the salvation of all people.
Pray for …
- Guidance and direction for your Church Council and stewards as we emerge from the COVID-19 restrictions.
- Fresh, united vision from God for our way forward as a Circuit
- For the ministers and circuit stewards.
- For children and young people connected with your church and the Circuit.
- For people in your congregation, and neighbourhood, family & friends, their needs, their encouragement and spiritual growth, knowing the presence of God more fully.
- For local authorities, medical and support services still working to contain the virus.
- …anything else you feel led to pray for
- For yourself, to grow in faith to trust God beyond your own ability, any other response you wish to make from Jesus’ challenge.
Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Please use the version that you prefer
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.
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.
Save us from the time of trial
And deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours
Now and for ever.
Amen.
With all I am (Into Your Hands)
Into your hands, I commit again, all I am
for You Lord.
You hold my world in the palm of your hand,
and I am Yours forever.
Jesus, I believe in You. Jesus, I belong to You.
You’re the reason that I live, the reason that I sing
…with all I am… I will worship You.
I’ll walk with You wherever you go,
through tears and joy, I’ll trust in you.
And I will live in all Your ways and Your promises forever…
StF 566 - “Take my life and let it be...”
Traditional
Contemporary
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine:
Take my heart, it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love; my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store:
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Frances Ridley Havergal.
The Grace
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore. Amen.
After worship today, why not take a few minutes to phone someone you haven’t spoken to for a while.
Questionnaire Findings
Thank you to everyone that completed our recent questionnaire regarding our first service at St Andrew’s. A report on the findings is now available.
Service, Message and format by Revd Phil Snelson
Prayers adapted from Roots on the Web
Webpage: Paul Deakin