Worship at Home
Worship for the Week Beginning 13th February 2022
Racial Justice Sunday
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01604 266000.
Sunday 13th February
Rev David Speirs has prepared this week’s message
This short act of worship is for use from home. Please use this service whenever you like during the week.
Pause to settle yourself in God’s presence, knowing that other people are sharing in worship with you.
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© ROOTS for Churches Ltd www.rootsontheweb.com. Reproduced with permission.
Opening Prayer:
Mighty, and everlasting God. We praise you for your graciousness, mercy, and everlasting love. We remember all those who are hurting, disadvantaged, and impacted by racism. We also remember all those who have suffered at the hands of injustice.
Faithful God, we commit this service into your hands, we pray for every participant, that you will empower them with your Holy Spirit, that they might be courageous to say and do what is right and just, and that your good and glorious, magnificent, and righteous name might be praised. We pray in the name of your selfless son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
Amen.
Adapted from material © 2022 Mark Sturge
https://ctbi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Racial-Justice-Sunday-2022-Final.pdf.pagespeed.ce.Gdfal6Irvk.pdf
StF 409 – Let us build a house where love can dwell
Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
[Refrain]: All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where prophets speak, and words are strong and true,
where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness and as symbol of God’s grace;
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
[Refrain]
Let us build a house where love is found in water, wine, and wheat:
a banquet hall on holy ground where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus, is revealed in time and space;
as we share in Christ the feast that free us:
[Refrain]
Let us build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach, and live the Word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger bear the image of God’s face;
let us bring an end to fear and danger:
[Refrain]
Let us build a house where all are named, their songs and visions heard
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith and songs of grace,
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:
[Refrain]
By Marty Haugen (1835-1893)
Bible Reading
Luke 6: 17-26
Jesus Teaches and Heals
He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Blessings and Woes
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
‘Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
‘Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
‘But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
‘Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
‘Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
StF 696 – For the healing of the nations.
For the healing of the nations,
Lord, we pray with one accord;
for a just and equal sharing
of the things that earth affords.
To a life of love in action
help us rise and pledge our word.
Lead your people into freedom,
from despair your world release,
that, redeemed from war and hatred,
all may come and go in peace.
Show us how, through care and goodness,
fear will die and hope increase.
All that kills abundant living,
let it from the earth be banned:
pride of status, race or schooling,
dogmas that obscure your plan.
In our common quest for justice
may we hallow life’s brief span.
You, Creator-God, have written
your great name on humankind;
for our growing in your likeness,
bring the life of Christ to mind;
that by our response and service
earth its destiny may find.
By Fred Khan Words © 1968 Hope Publishing Company.
Time to Reflect
The New Testament passage that we have this Sunday goes to the very heart of what the Gospel is about. It begins with Jesus’ ministry of healing and concludes with Jesus telling his listeners who the Kingdom of God is for.
The Kingdom of God is a reversal of the failed values of a world that has been marred by human sin. The kingdom does not belong to those who are rich, full, and self satisfied in this life. Instead, God’s inheritance is for the poor, the hungry, and the mournful. Jesus wants his listeners to know that they live in a topsy turvey world, where human beings have got things badly wrong. Jesus comes to bring healing, wholeness, and to be part of God’s reordering of the creation.
Today is racial justice Sunday, a time when churches consider how the sin of racism has prevented us from truly loving each other and recognising that every human being has dignity and worth, being made in the image and likeness of God. The sad truth is that racism still exists in our society and racism exists within the church, despite it being a denial of the Gospel that we proclaim. For this reason there is a need for repentance and for healing and reordering that comes in Christ Jesus.
The good news of Jesus is for all people and in all places. It reminds us that we are one human family, who Jesus came to save through his life, death, and resurrection. So this Sunday I invite you to consider how you can be part of God’s reordering, so that the world becomes more loving and embraces God’s Kingdom of love and righteousness.
Time to Pray
Holy God, we pray for the world and its needs. For repentance from the sin of racism and acts of discrimination. We pray for reconciliation and justice amongst all peoples.
We pray that the Church may be a community of welcome and inclusion. And we pray for those we know who need God’s help.
Gracious God offer out your healing love, in Jesus name we pray.
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.
StF 715 – The right hand of God
The right hand of God is writing in our land,
writing with power and with love,
our conflicts and our fears,
our triumphs and our tears
are recorded by the right hand of God.
The right hand of God is pointing in our land,
pointing the way we must go,
so clouded is the way,
so easily we stray,
but we’re guided by the right hand of God.
The right hand of God is striking in our land,
striking out at envy, hate, and greed.
Our selfishness and lust,
our pride and deeds unjust,
are destroyed by the right hand of God.
The right hand of God is healing in our land,
healing broken bodies, minds, and souls,
so wondrous is its touch
with love that means so much,
when we’re healed by the right hand of God.
The right hand of God is planting in our land,
planting seeds of freedom, hope, and love.
In these many-peopled lands,
let his children all join hands,
and be one by the right hand of God.
Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000)
Final Prayer of Blessing
ay the blessing of God: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with those we love and those we ought to love, this day and forever more. Amen.
Service prepared by Rev David Speirs
Webpage: Paul Deakin