Sunday worship 17th January 2021 - Rick Gratton

Welcome to our Worship Today

17th January 2021

The Gathering of the Community

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

And also, with you.

Dear friends in Christ, we have come together this Sunday to celebrate in word and song and to affirm our faith in God, the Three in One.

Hymn: Christ, Be our light

We say Together:

Heavenly Father, all hearts are open to you.

No secrets are hidden from you.

Purify us with the love of your Holy Spirit

That we may love and worship you faithfully,

through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen

Lord, have mercy Lord, have Mercy

Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy

Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy

Heavenly Father,

we have sinned in thought, word, and deed,

and have failed to do

what we ought to have done.

We are sorry and truly repent.

For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ

who died for us, forgive us all that is past,

and lead us in his way

to walk as children of light. AMEN

May God our Father,

who by the Lord Jesus Christ

has reconciled the world to himself

and forgives the sins of all who truly repent,

pardon and deliver us from all our sins,

and grant us the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. AMEN

The Collect

Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever

Readings

1 Samuel 3. 1-10

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ and he said, ‘Here I am!’ and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.

This is the word of the Lord

Thanks Be to God

Gospel Acclamation

Your words oh lord give Joy to my heart and light to my Soul

John 1. 43-51

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

Thanks be to Christ

Homily

God's Call

by Anonymous

Shall I spend the days of my youth in pride, And leave no longing of life denied; Shall I heap to myself an earthly treasure, And worship before the throne of pleasure, Ambition, and hope, and life are mine, And dreams as bright as the stars that shine. With empty glamor the world allures, The devil beckons, the flesh conjures. Shall I close my heart to the God of Truth, And leave Him out of my years of youth, Then when I have wasted away the best, Return to the Father and offer the rest; A shattered vessel, a few short years, A life made bitter by selfish fears? Since God so loved that He gave His all, Shall I give less when I hear His call? Oh, no, Lord Jesus, while I am young To teach Thy Word will I give my tongue; My feet to follow where Thou shalt lead, My hands to labor for Thee indeed; And all ambition my heart has known; I yield to Thee, to be Thine alone. The plans that selfishly I have made, With hopes and dreams are before Thee laid. A faithful steward I long to be Over any talent entrusted me, That when I face the eternal Son And He sees His fruit, He may say, “Well done.” Oh, take my heart, my life, my all— I have heard Thy voice, I have met Thy call.

This week in our readings we have heard two stories of calling. The first the story of Samual, called a total of three times before he realised the call of God on his life. It reminded me in some ways of my own journey through life to reach the point I am at now as I embark on the final few months before Ordination. As I reflect back in hindsight I can hear the calls now, with hindsight what was I thinking why wasn’t it clear at the time? All those years ago? As humans we sometimes get distracted by the noise that is going on all around us. I don’t mean the sounds exactly but all the emotional stuff that surrounds us we get on with our daily lives. All that distracts us.

In the words of the poem above that I came across this week,

“Shall I heap to myself an earthly treasure, and worship before the throne of pleasure, Ambition, and hope, and life are mine”

When we are younger it is easy to be distracted by what life has to offer, but also as we get older. If the past year has taught us anything it is to value the small stuff, the touch of a hand, an embrace for example, things perhaps we took for granted for all those years. Somehow, I think it will be many years before we forget the pleasure in the small things in life. When next I am sat in a coffee shop surrounded by people and I can see their faces a smile will be on my face for sure.

As we journey through this final part of this pandemic and with the vaccination program gaining pace lets listen out for Gods voice in our lives to point us in the direction God wants us to take. As, we prepare ourselves for this new year. Let us remember, it is never too late with God`s grace to build and renew relationships with family and friends, maybe ones we haven`t seen for a while, but most importantly to do it all by listening to God`s voice in our prayers, guiding us to him to do his work in the world, to serve others, to bring the light of Christ to the dawning of a new age.

I pray that God blesses us all in 2021 with a spirit of calling to serve him and humankind.

Amen

The Creed

I believe and trust in God the father,

who created all that is.

I believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ,

who redeemed humankind.

I believe and trust in his Holy Spirit,

who gives life to the people of God.

I believe in and trust

father, Son and Holy Creator. AMEN

Prayers

Father in Heaven, mould me into Christlikeness; and stir up in me, the fire of your love.

Holy Spirit, fill me with your power; and help me to tell of the love and salvation in Jesus of Nazareth.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, renew my friendship in you; and help me to serve you with a quiet mind and a burning spirit.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, please keep me in the joy, simplicity, and compassion of your holy Gospel. Amen

Amen

The Lord's Prayer

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,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.

Hymn: Just As I Am

The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and ever more. AMEN

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

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