Welcome to our Service of Home Worship for the Second Sunday after Epiphany – 17th January 2021.

Words of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, sovereign God, gentle and merciful, creator of heaven and earth.
Your word brought light out of darkness.

In Jesus Christ you proclaim good news to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the
blind and freedom for the oppressed.

Daily your Spirit renews the face of the earth, bringing life, wholeness and peace.
In the renewal of our lives you make known your heavenly glory.

Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit:

All: Blessed be God for ever.

Our First Hymn is – First Hymn – O Breath of God come sweeping through us (Mission Praise 488)

1) O Breath of life, come sweeping through us,
revive your church with life and power;
O Breath of Life, come, cleanse, renew us,
and fit your church to meet this hour.

2) O Wind of God, come bend us, break us,
till humbly we confess our need;
then in your tenderness remake us,
revive, restore, for this we plead.

3) O Breath of love, come breathe within us,
renewing thought and will and heart;
come, Love of Christ, afresh to win us,
revive your church in every part.

4) O Heart of Christ, once broken for us,
’tis there we find our strength and rest;
our broken, contrite hearts now solace,
and let your waiting church be blest.
5) Revive us, Lord! Is zeal abating
while harvest fields are vast and white?
Revive us, Lord, the world is waiting,
equip your church to spread the light. (by Elizabeth Ann Porter – 1850 – 1936)

Story of the Hymn writer – Elizabeth Ann Porter

Bessie Porter was the youngest daughter of Tobias Porter, manager of John Alexander’s flour mill in Belfast. Of her early life nothing is known; but in 1894 she became secretary of the YWCA in Swansea.

She then served with the South Africa General Mission from 1897-1907, mostly in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg, helping to found several branches of the YWCA.

With the chairman of the Mission and a fellow missionary she toured North America in 1906; her intended return to South Africa in November 1907 was cancelled in favour of marriage, on 17 December, to the chairman, Albert Alfred Head (1844-1928), a wealthy – and generous – insurance underwriter who had been widowed three years previously.
With her husband she continued actively to support the SAGM and Keswick Convention, with which the mission was closely associated. She was a frequent speaker and a prolific contributor, in prose and in verse to both organisations.

Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
All: and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Give us the joy of your saving help
All: and sustain us with your life-giving Spirit.

The minister says

We have come together in the name of Christ
to offer our praise and thanksgiving,
to hear and receive God’s holy word,
to pray for the needs of the world,
and to seek the forgiveness of our sins,
that by the power of the Holy Spirit
we may give ourselves to the service of God.

Our Second Hymn is – Let Us Build a House (Not in Mission Praise)

1) 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:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

2) 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:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

3) 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:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

4) 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:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

5) 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:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place. (by Marty Haugen – 1950)

Confession and Absolution

Jesus says, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’ So let us turn away from our sin and turn to Christ, confessing our sins in penitence and faith.

All: 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 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.

May the Father of all mercies
cleanse you from your sins,
and restore you in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All: Amen. Lord, have mercy.

When we cry out to the Lord in our trouble,

All: he will deliver us from our distress.

God will bring us out of darkness

All: and out of the shadow of death. Amen

Canticle
All: Blessed are you, Our Lord Jesus Christ, for ever and ever:

A Song of the New Jerusalem:

All: Arise, shine out, for your light has come,
the glory of the Lord is rising upon you.

Though night still covers the earth,
and darkness the peoples;

Above you the Holy One arises,
and above you God’s glory appears.

The nations will come to your light,
and kings to your dawning brightness.

Your gates will lie open continually,
shut neither by day nor by night.

The sound of violence shall be heard no longer in your land,
or ruin and devastation within your borders.

You will call your walls, Salvation,
and your gates, Praise.

No more will the sun give you daylight,
nor moonlight shine upon you;

But the Lord will be your everlasting light,
your God will be your splendour.

For you shall be called the city of God,
the dwelling of the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah Chap: 60)

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever.
Amen.

Special Collect

Lord God of time and eternity, we thank you that our times are in your hands.
In our journeying with you,
may we never lose our sense of direction, never lose sight of the landmark towards which we travel.
Should cloud or rain obscure our vision, may we draw closer to you, so that our feet may tread in your footsteps, your words be our encouragement, and your love our protection against the storms that assail us.
Pour upon us those gifts we need to work with you that, filled with your Spirit, your church may serve you here with strength and joy. Through Jesus Christ who is alive and reigns with you.
All: Amen

Our First Reading is Psalm 29

A psalm of David.

1) Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2) Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name;
worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness.
3) The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
4) The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5) The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6) He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox.
7) The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8) The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9) The voice of the LORD twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’
10) The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King for ever.
11) The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

This is the Word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God

Our Third Hymn is – Third Hymn is – Give Me Oil in My Lamp (Mission Praise 167)

1) Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Give me oil in my lamp I pray,
Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning,
Keep me burning till the break of day:

Chorus: Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King of kings.
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King.

2) Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising,
Give me joy in my heart, I pray;
Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising,
Keep me praising till the break of day:

Chorus: Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King of kings.
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King.

3) Give me peace in my heart, keep me loving,
Give me peace in my heart, I pray;
Give me peace in my heart, keep me loving,
Keep me loving till the break of day:

Chorus: Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King of kings.
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King

4) Give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
Give me love in my heart, I pray;
Give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
Keep me serving till the break of day:

Chorus: Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King of kings.
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King.

Our Second Reading is from Mark Chap: 1

4) And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
5) The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the River Jordan.
6) John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt round his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
7) And this was his message: ‘After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
8) I baptise you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’
The baptism and testing of Jesus
9) At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan.
10) Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
11) And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’

This is the Word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God

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Rev John’s Sermon Second Sunday After Epiphany – (17th January 2021)

It is after the time of Epiphany that our focus turns to Jesus’ Baptism. There is a connection between the end of the ministry of John the Baptist and the beginning of the ministry of Jesus.

Interestingly, John’s ministry ends with him being arrested and put to death by beheading, and Jesus’ ministry ends with being arrested and put to death by crucifixion. It shows us that when Truth is proclaimed it is more often than not resisted, rejected and silenced. Martin Luther King, who himself was assassinated, once said this in one of his great speeches,:

Truth is forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne
There were two main aspects of John’s ministry:

Preaching and Baptising.

Our focus today will not be on the method of baptism but rather what leads to it and what should come after.
John’s message was about judgement and repentance. He must have been a very uncomfortable person to be around as he exposed the hypocrisy of the highly influential religious leaders, the Pharisees, the Sadducee’s as well as the political ruling council of the Sanhedrin. Surprisingly, those who did respond were generally the poor and ordinary people – the crowds who listened, considered his words, and followed Him in great expectancy as He pointed them to the coming Messiah. It was in response to his preaching and message of repentance that many wanted to show their commitment by way of Baptism.

John described judgement in terms of fire and the winnowing fork – The ‘fire’ signals end-time judgment particularly as many people in the past would have thought of the cosmos consisting of four elements: earth, water, wind and fire.

Fire, is also a work of purification and cleansing connected with the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s fire touches people in two ways, bringing either cleansing or judgment—just as a refiner’s fire both purifies gold and separates it from the dross.

It was Job who said under his times of great difficulty and hardship,
‘He knows the way that I take and when He has refined (tested) me I shall come forth as gold’ (Job Chap: 23 Ver: 10)

The ‘winnowing fork’ has to do with the gathering of wheat and burning up the chaff. After harvest, farmers had to separate the edible wheat from the inedible chaff. They would toss the grain into the air so that the wind could blow out the chaff, which was lighter.

The chaff represents the unrepentant and the wheat the righteous. Many Jews thought that only pagans would be judged and punished when the Messiah came, but John declared that judgment would come to all who did not repent—including Jews and the gospel message is still the same today.

It was on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came, described as tongues of fire, that Peter, the unschooled fisherman and disciple preached one of the most, if not the most powerful sermon ever, in Acts Chap: 2 – regarded as the day the church was born:

1) When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
2) Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3) They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

Peter’s sermon was very much in the vain of John the Baptist’s preaching for he concluded with these words:

36) “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37) When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38) Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39) The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

This is a challenge for all of us. Baptism is just the beginning of the journey of a life of faith in Christ. Being baptized is not an end in itself but a new beginning.

The Christian life is not only about ‘Profession of faith’ but ‘Possession of faith’ – Words and actions.

A true believer is someone who is not merely a Professor of faith, that is, someone who can say right words whether in or out of church, or who has undertaken all the rituals and ceremonies of the church, but someone who is a Possessor of faith, a person who has the assurance of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them and their life reveals an inner fire for the Lord, as well as an outward expression of God’s grace seen by the fruits described in the Bible verse of Galatians Chap: 5

22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23) gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

So, may it be that we are not only Professors of faith but Possessors of faith.

Prayer: Dear Lord, please help us to not only hear Your Word as did the crowds when they heard John the Baptist and Jesus, but to respond with a genuine profession of repentance and faith; and open the door of our hearts to receive Your Holy Spirit.

AMEN

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A time of Silence ….

Now we say together:

The Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

A time of Silence ….

Prayers of Intercession

In the power of the Spirit, and in union with Christ, we pray to the Lord:
Holy God, in whom we live and move and have our being,
we make our prayer to you, saying,

Lord, hear us.
All: Lord, graciously hear us.

For the peace and stability of all peoples
and for the leaders of nations and the church worldwide
grant the assurance of your presence, your wisdom and your peace.

Lord, hear us.
All: Lord, graciously hear us.

Grant your healing grace to all who are sick, anxious or fearful
that they may be made whole in body, mind and spirit.
We pray especially for …….

Lord, hear us.
All: Lord, graciously hear us.

Grant to all who work wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience;

Lord, hear us.
All: Lord, graciously hear us.

Grant to the unemployed good health, provision and perseverance

Lord, hear us.
All: Lord, graciously hear us.
Sustain and support the elderly and the bereaved
and lift up all who are brought low.

Lord, hear us.
All: Lord, graciously hear us.

Hear us, Lord of life.
All: Lord, graciously hear us.

We say together:

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that 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 Closing Hymn is – Be Still my Soul – (Anglican Hymn Book 520)
(tune: Finlandia by Sibelius)

1) Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side;
bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
leave to your God to order and provide;
in ev’ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: your best, your heav’nly Friend
through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

2) Be still, my soul: your God will undertake
to guide the future as he has the past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
his voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

3) Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
and all is darkened in the vale of tears,
then shall you better know his love, his heart,
who comes to soothe your sorrow and your fears.
Be still, my soul: your Jesus can repay
from his own fullness all he takes away.

4) Be still, my soul: the hour is hast’ning on
when we shall be forever with the Lord,
when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last. (by Kathrina von Schlege 1750

Prayer for Blessings in the Year Ahead

Father,
Thank you for your great love and blessing over our lives.
Thank you that your favour has no end, but it lasts for our entire lifetime.
Forgive us for sometimes forgetting that you are intimately acquainted with all of our ways, that you know what concerns us, and you cover us as with a shield.
We ask that we would walk in your blessing and goodness today; that your face would shine on us; that you would open the right doors for our lives and for our loved ones, that you would close the wrong doors and protect us from those we need to walk away from.
Establish the work of our hands and bring to fulfilment all that you have given us to do in these days.
We pray that you would make our way purposeful and our footsteps firm out of your goodness and love.
Give us a heart of wisdom to hear your voice, and make us strong by your huge favour and grace. In Jesus’ name,

All: Amen.

May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow.
May the soft winds freshen your spirit.
May the sunshine brighten your heart.
May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you.
And may God enfold you in the mantle of His love.

All: Amen

We say together:

The Grace

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all,
ever more..
Amen

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
All: In the name of Christ,

Amen