Welcome to our Service’s of Home Worship – From St. Michael’s Church, New Arley – for the Fifth Sunday of Easter – 15th May 2022
Before we start today’s service, there are two messages we would like you to read and pray about.
Firstly Bishop Christopher writes:
“I write to you from the Houses of Parliament. I have been here all week. The Ukrainian Crisis has been a constant theme. Each day I’ve led prayers in the House of Lords, with the persistent threat of war in Europe lending them great urgency and poignancy.
As the week has unfolded, our worst fears have been realised and the people of Ukraine are now suffering a terrible onslaught. One of the lines from the ancient psalm I used this morning says, ‘I sought the Lord, and he heard me: yea he delivered me out of all my fears’.
So, this is the time to increase our prayer and to seek the Lord, that God’s ways of peace would prevail and break through the violence. I call on all people of prayer across Coventry and Warwickshire to join the wave of prayer that is rising in the world.”
Please click here to read the remainder of Bishop Christopher’s Video…
https://www.coventry.anglican.org/news/call-to-prayer-for-peace-in-ukraine.php
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Secondly:-
As you will know by now, our advertisement for a new Minister was unsuccessful. The position has now been re-advertised.
We ask that you will please pray as this new advert go’s live
This is again for a fulltime minister for the two benefices of Fillongley with Corley and Ansley with Arley.
Thank you.
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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 and health, 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.
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.
Our Opening Hymn is – In Christ There is No East and West (Mission Praise 329)
1. In Christ there is no east or west,
in him no south or north,
but one great fellowship of love
throughout the whole wide earth.
2. In Christ shall true hearts ev’rywhere
their high communion find.
His service is the golden cord
close binding humankind.
3. Join hands, then, people of the faith,
whate’er your race may be.
All children of the living God
are surely kin to me.
4. In Christ now meet both east and west,
in him meet south and north.
All Christly souls are joined as one
throughout the whole wide earth.(by John Oxenham1852 to 1941)
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.
The Lord enrich you with his grace,
and nourish you with his blessing;
the Lord defend you in trouble and keep you from all evil;
the Lord accept your prayers,
and absolve you from your offences,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Saviour.
All: Amen.
Blessed is the Lord,
All: for he has heard the voice of our prayer;
Therefore, shall our hearts dance for joy
All: and in our song will we praise our God.
Canticle
A Song of Ezekiel
1) I will take you from the nations,
and gather you from all the countries.
2) I will sprinkle clean water upon you,
and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness.
3) A new heart I will give you,
and put a new spirit within you,
4) And I will remove from your body the heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.
5) You shall be my people,
and I will be your God. ( Ezekiel 36.24–26,28b)
All: 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.
Collect for the Fifth Sunday of Easter – 15th May 2022
Almighty God,
who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ
have overcome death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life:
grant that, as by your grace going before us
you put into our minds good desires,
so by your continual help
we may bring them to good effect;
through Jesus Christ our risen Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
.
All: Amen
Our First Reading is taken from – Acts Chap: 11
Peter Explains His Actions
1 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him
3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story:
5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was.
6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds.
7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’
10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying.
12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.
13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.
14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning.
16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
This is the Word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God
Our Second Hymn is – A New Commandment (Mission Praise 1)
(Sung twice)
A new commandment I give unto you,
that you love one another as I have loved you,
that you love one another as I have loved you.
By this shall all know that you are my disciples,
if you have love one for another;
by this shall all know that you are my disciples:
if you have love one for another. ( by Roy Crabtree)
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John Chap: 13
Testimonies About Jesus
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.
32 There is another who testifies in my favour, and I know that his testimony about me is true.
33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth.
34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.
35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
This is the Word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God
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Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter – 15th May 2022
By This Everyone Will Know That You Are My Disciples, – Given by Susan Butterworth on 24th April 2016
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise the Lord from the earth! Let us praise the name of the Lord, for God’s name only is exalted, God’s splendour is over earth and heaven.
Amen.
Today’s readings situate the early church within the Jewish culture of first-century Judea. The passage from the Acts of the Apostles depicts Jesus’ early followers as observant Jews and the beginnings of the Church as rooted within Judaism struggling to define what this new way of life means for them.
The writer of the Revelation to John is also situated within the Jewish tradition and in these writings; we have an example of Christian visionary literature built on the foundations of Jewish apocalypses.
A revelation or apocalypse is generally a first-person narrative in which the writer relates one or more visions about the future and/or the heavenly world. The image of the divine throne and the precise layout of the heavenly city contain echoes of Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 40 to 42, while the new heaven and a new earth and the absence of weeping and crying are echoes of Isaiah 65.
Indeed even the reference to the holy city Jerusalem supports an essentially Jewish frame of reference. The text as a whole is a glorious act of worship, telling a story of God’s enduring presence in the salvation offered by Jesus Christ. The vision ends on a note of hope and faith.
In today’s gospel, Jesus announces his impending death to his disciples and offers comfort and instructions for how they should behave when he is gone.
John the Evangelist takes pains throughout his gospel to distinguish the Jewish followers of Jesus from “the Jews,” those who have not accepted Jesus as the Son of God and path to salvation.
“You will look for me,”
Jesus says to the disciples, possibly to tell them of new ways in which they will find him after his departure.
New ways such as what Peter discovered when he went to the Gentile household of Cornelius. Jesus emphasizes how his followers are to behave when he is gone in the famous words of John Chap 13 Vers: 34 and 35
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’”
These instructions form the basis of pastoral care and service in Christian life and community, from the time of the earliest Christians forward.
Jesuit professor Bruce Morrill, in his book Divine Worship and Human Healing: Liturgical Theology at the Margins of Life and Death, writes:
“What distinguished the followers of Jesus and successive generations of Christians was their outreach to the poor and sick, the practical love they demonstrated in openly forming fellowship groups (local churches) that actively reached out in service to the poor, the hungry, and the sick.”
An element of early Christian practice that impressed pagan observers was their shunning of social boundaries in caring for the sick and needy in times of trouble.
These early Christians were called to follow Jesus’ instructions: By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
In fact, according to Rodney Stark, author of The Rise of Christianity and an authority on the sociology of religion, poor Christians in the ancient world were healthier and happier than their poor pagan neighbours. Christians cared for one another. They took up collections to support their elders and orphaned children. They offered each other simple nursing care in epidemics. They offered strong community in chaotic times. Stark writes in Christian History Magazine:
“To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity and hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate fellowship. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family.”
These early Christians were called to follow Jesus’ instructions:
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
• Can we say the same today, of our churches, in our cities?
• Are we taking care of one another?
• Offering charity and hope?
• Providing fellowship to newcomers, strangers, orphans and widows?
The beautiful language of the King James version of today’s passage from Revelation contains the words:
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.”
• How can the promises of Revelation be applied in a pastoral context?
• How can we aid and comfort one another?
Certainly, we can’t take away all sorrows, old age, chronic pain, death. We are unlikely to alter the path of armies or the destruction of natural disasters.
• Can we bring a note of hope and faith in the midst of pain, chaos, despair?
• Can we reach out to victims of destruction and exile?
Certainly what we can do is reach out to our neighbours, remembering that the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles as well as the circumcised. We can love another.
We can assure one another that we are all integral parts of a living community, a community both within and without our church walls.
By worshipping together, praising God as our Jewish and early Christian forebears did, we join in community and are strengthened in faith as we are soaked in trust and love for one another.
In liturgical worship, gathered in Christ’s name, we form the basis for worshipping God in ethical service.
These manifestations of God’s glory are distinct yet vitally related works of the same Holy Spirit. Our liturgical worship is both an end and a means.
Our communities can stand as a witness to our neighbours of our spiritual commitment and joyful determination to love and serve. We are sent out by the Holy Spirit to love one another, to pastor to one another, to reach out to those whom we may serve, in ways great and small.
As the body of Christ here and now, we are called to follow Jesus’ instructions:
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Go in Peace. Remember the Poor.
Amen.
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Our Third Hymn is- All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name (Mission Praise 13)
1. All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all!
2. O seed of Israel’s chosen race
now ransomed from the fall,
hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him Lord of all.
Hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him Lord of all!
3. Let every tongue and every tribe
responsive to his call,
to him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all.
To him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all!
4. Oh, that with all the sacred throng
we at his feet may fall!
We’ll join the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all.
We’ll join the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all. ( by Edward Perronet 1728 to 1792)
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.
Prayers and Intercessions
We pray for God to fill us with his Spirit.
Generous God,
we thank you for the power of your Holy Spirit.
We ask that we may be strengthened to serve you better.
Lord, come to bless us
All: and fill us with your Spirit.
We thank you for the wisdom of your Holy Spirit.
We ask you to make us wise to understand your will.
Lord, come to bless us
All: and fill us with your Spirit.
We thank you for the peace of your Holy Spirit.
We ask you to keep us confident of your love wherever you call us.
Lord, come to bless us
All: and fill us with your Spirit.
We thank you for the healing of your Holy Spirit.
We ask you to bring reconciliation and wholeness
where there is division, sickness and sorrow.
Lord, come to bless us
All: and fill us with your Spirit.
We thank you for the gifts of your Holy Spirit.
We ask you to equip us for the work which you have given us.
Lord, come to bless us
All: and fill us with your Spirit.
We thank you for the fruit of your Holy Spirit.
We ask you to reveal in our lives the love of Jesus.
Lord, come to bless us
All: and fill us with your Spirit.
We thank you for the breath of your Holy Spirit,
given us by the risen Lord.
We ask you to keep the whole Church, living and departed,
in the joy of eternal life.
Lord, come to bless us
All: and fill us with your Spirit.
All: Generous God,
hear our prayer,
and make us one in heart and mind
to serve you with joy for ever.
Amen.
Our Offertory Hymn is – Jesus Shell Reign Where’re the Sun (Mission Praise 379)
1. Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
does its successive journeys run,
his kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
till moons shall wax and wane no more.
2. To him shall endless prayer be made,
and praises throng to crown his head.
His name like sweet perfume shall rise
with every morning sacrifice.
3. People and realms of every tongue
dwell on his love with sweetest song,
and infant voices shall proclaim
their early blessings on his name.
4. Blessings abound where’er he reigns:
the prisoners leap to lose their chains,
the weary find eternal rest,
and all who suffer want are blest.
5. Let every creature rise and bring
the highest honours to our King,
angels descend with songs again,
and earth repeat the loud amen. (By Isaac Watts 1719)
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 – Praise My Soul the King of Heaven (Mission Praise 560)
1) Praise, my soul, the King of heaven,
to his feet your tribute bring;
ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
who like you his praise should sing?
Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him!
praise the everlasting King.
2) Praise him for his grace and favour
to our fathers in distress;
praise him, still the same as ever,
slow to blame and swift to bless;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him!
glorious in his faithfulness.
3) Father-like, he tends and spares us,
Well our feeble frame he knows;
in his hands he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes:
Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him!
widely as his mercy flows.
4) Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face;
sun and moon, bow down before him,
praise him all in time and space.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him!
praise with us the God of grace. (by Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847)
Closing Blessing
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
All: Amen
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
All: In the name