Sunday worship - 9th June 2021

Croeso! Bore da! Welcome to you all

Please do make yourself known to me if you are popping in or if I can help in any way.

+Yn enw'r Tad, a'r Mab, a'r Ysbryd Glan. Amen

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN

Alleluia! Christ is risen.

He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Our opening Hymn is

Heavenly Father, all hearts are open to you.

No secrets are hidden from you.

Purify us with the fire 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 Gloria

The Collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter

God our Redeemer,

you have delivered us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your Son: grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life, so by his continual presence in us he may raise us to eternal joy; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. AMEN

The Word of God

Acts 10. 44-48

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

Psalm 98

O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gained him victory. The Lord has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises. Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

The Gospel of Christ according to St John

Glory to you. O Lord.

John 15. 9-17

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you, O Christ.

Homily Rick Gratton

Lord may I speak in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

Amen

I have a question for the Bakers and cake makers out there?

Do you measure every ingredient with scales, or do you guess and chuck it in with the benefit of years of experience? I would imagine there are two trains of thought with us today maybe.

Now my Mum when it comes to shortcrust pastry is a chuck it in with years of experience person! and it absolutely works. I have to be honest it’s the best pastry I have ever tasted, especially the homemade shortcrust pastry Apple pie, well except for my wife’s of course I have to say that in case she reads this. Sometimes we are very good at being able to judge something perfectly without having to measure it.

Now before I started my training for church ministry I was in the RAF and then most recently worked for British Airways on the aircraft doing repairs and sorting out the faults and making sure it was good to fly with all those passengers on board. I’m not sure if you have ever flown on an aircraft that I have fixed but you’ll be glad to know I never made any guesses about anything I was doing on the aircraft. There was a manual that told us how to do everything and how tight every single bolt and nut had to be. It is a very reassuring thought that when you get on an aircraft for your holidays that you can feel confident that the bolts holding the wings on have been tightened the correct amount as you sip your first holiday drink on the plane and launch yourself to 35000 feet in the air at a speed of 500 miles per hour.

Sometimes its best that we do measure things.

But in today’s world we are met by a deluge of things being measured. We seem sometimes to be obsessed by the need for clarity. Only the measurable matters we are told. This week during the elections we have heard how the swing from one party to another has been measured. We hear all the time how school performance have been measured. This in turn affects where we would want to send our children and grandchildren to go. Television programmes are measured by how many watched and decisions made on another series based on these measurements. It was interesting last weekend how many people I know who had never watched an episode of line of duty suddenly thought well if 13 million people are watching it I had better watch it. Our economy is constantly measured and reported on and assessed as we are bombarded by different measurements that seem to tell us different information about the same thing. Measurement is literally everywhere in the world and dare I say that that other values such as truth and kindness are being squeezed into nonexistence at times in the world around us.

In todays reading from the book of Acts we heard about an out pouring of the holy Spirit and we hear the early Christians describe this in a way that describes movement and energy. It is described as tongues of flame, like a mighty wind, and sometimes as a dove coming down from above. A sense of movement with all of the images and energy. The holy spirit cannot be pinned down or measured, manipulated or controlled.

Some say that today’s passage from Acts is one of those most important in the New Testament.

Whys that we wonder? Its because in this passage the outpouring of the holy spirit was poured upon all. Not just the believing Jews that had come with Peter but on all those there, those considered to be the outsiders, the gentiles the non-Jewish people. Can you imagine if this event had never happened? If the Holy Spirit had never come down and been passed to non-Jewish people.

Nowadays of course of we don’t think its such a big deal we all know the church was created for both Jews and Gentiles.

So, this story retold today is not important because it shares the Truth about Jesus, about salvation and everlasting life but because it reveals how the door was open for everyone all over the world to be included. This shows the immeasurable power of the holy spirit. In fact, after this outpouring of the Holy Spirit the door for all people, Jew and Gentile was fully opened. After this outpouring of the Holy Spirit we see Peter and later Paul going to preach to the Gentiles and in a matter of a few years there would be more Gentiles in the Church than Jews.

The same Holy Spirit that fell upon those that day is the same Holy Spirit that desires to lead the Church today and that desires to live inside all of us. The same Holy Spirit that led our story from beginning to end wants to be a part of our story. Do we want to invite the Holy Spirit to come in and direct, guide and transform us in ways that make a difference in the way we think and act?

I believe all of that will happen when we are open to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, minds and souls this morning.

A society that values only which it can measure is in danger of twisting and starving human nature. I thank God and pray that we all experience therefore the joy of living a life that cannot be measured on worldly terms but in the unmeasurable terms of living with the power and energy of the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Prayers of Intercession and Lord's Prayer

Faithful God, your Son Jesus Christ gave us a new commandment to love one another in the same way that you love us. We ask you to teach us how to love you in our neighbours, and recognise that by serving them we are also serving you.

Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Almighty God, we pray for your church, which day by day gathers to praise you and to hear your holy word. We pray for our Christian sisters and brothers worshipping around the world in all places: rural and town churches, great city cathedrals and on the internet. We ask for your protection for all those persecuted as a result of their Christian faith.

Lord in your mercy:Hear our prayer

Creator God, the world so often seems to be a violent and fearful place. Give us the strength to love our enemies and to pray for those who, by violence and acts of terrorism, distort and demonise your wonderful creation.

Lord in your mercy:Hear our prayer

Creator God, you gave us a beautiful world to live in and to care for. We know that in many areas our Stewardship has not met your expectations, but through the victory of your son Jesus Christ we know that you can transfigure and restore all things in creation. We pray earnestly for a change of heart and attitude, an awakening to a better way of living, and the courage to reject wrong principles and decisions throughout the world.

In a moment of silence, let us pray for any country that is particularly on our minds today.

Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Father God, we thank you for all those who help our local community to run smoothly because of their jobs, voluntary work or neighbourliness. Help us to be supportive and encouraging and to step in to situations where we can serve.

In a moment of silence, please pray for any aspect of life in our local community that is on your mind today.

Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Loving God, help us all to be a part of the healing ministry of your church. Encourage us to constantly pray for those we know who are suffering in body, mind or spirit, particularly those affected by the Covid pandemic.That all who are ill, may be aware of your healing presence, and we ask you to provide your peace and comfort for them at this time.

Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

We pray for those who have died recently or at this time of year; give to the departed the perfect joy of your eternal love and to those bereaved by their passing the consolation of your perfect love.

Lord in your mercy:Hear our prayer

Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,

our Risen Saviour Jesus Christ.

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 closing hymn is the hymn: There is a Redeemer

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

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. Alleluia! Alleluia!

Ewch mewn tangnefedd i garu a gwasanaethu'r Arglwydd. Alleluia! Alleluia!

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