Online service for Sunday, 31st May 2020
The God we trust
Dear Friends, with the cancellation of church services due to the coronavirus threat, it is my intention to post a short sermon and additional worship items here each Sunday until public worship resumes. I have chosen a couple of praise items with video links for those who wish to sing along. The hymns and reading I hope will stimulate reflection and prayer. I hope and pray that the words will offer comfort and instill confidence. I have included the Lord’s Prayer as we say it every week together and may well in the weeks to come, add my own a written prayer too.
I want to suggest that you use the comments section for prayer requests so that members of our congregation can pray for one another, family, friends and neighbours. Please do place your prayers of intercession there too.
May God bless you and keep you. Stay safe, Wayne
Whitsunday
Virtual Service 31 5 20
Praise:
Worship the King
1. O worship the King all glorious above,
and gratefully sing his power and his love:
our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendour and girded with praise.
2. O tell of his might and sing of his grace,
whose robe is the light, whose canopy space;
his chariots of wrath the deep thunder-clouds form,
and dark is his path on the wings of the storm.
3. The earth, with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, your power has founded of old;
established it fast, by a changeless decree,
and round it has cast, like a mantle, the sea.
4. Your bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distils in the dew and the rain.
5. We children of dust are feeble and frail -
in you do we trust, for you never fail;
your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end!
our maker, defender, redeemer, and friend.
6. O measureless Might, unchangeable Love,
whom angels delight to worship above!
Your ransomed creation, with glory ablaze,
in true adoration shall sing to your praise!
picture by Sandra Johnston
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.
Reading: Acts 2:1-13
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.
6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.
7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Praise:
Breathe on me breath of God
Breathe on me, breath of God:
fill me with life anew,
that as you love, so I may love
and do what you would do.
Breathe on me, breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until my will is one with yours
to do and to endure.
Breathe on me, breath of God;
fulfil my heart's desire,
until this broken part of me
glows with your heavenly fire.
Breathe on me, breath of God;
so shall I never die,
but live with you the perfect life
of your eternity.
Sermon: Whitsunday
Prayer of Intercession: by Andy Turnbull
Thank you, Lord.
The warmth of the sun's embrace, the gentle breeze swept in by incoming tide, the rhythm of seasons, of new birth, and recreation, yet still amidst a period of death and suffering. All these positives remind us so clearly of your love, your power and your beauty.
All are expressions of your creativity, and more importantly of yourself. As an artist might share his creativity, using the various shades, so within the many different colours of a butterfly's wing, you share the exuberance of your love
That we can glimpse you within creation is a beautiful thought, but also tells us that you desire to be seen, to be found and to be known. Open our eyes, Lord, as we walk through this world, as we feel the wind and sunshine, and see the majesty of creation unfolding before our eyes. Help us to see you.
Under the warmth of the summer sun the world awakes and blossoms into every imaginable colour. You created a garden for us to enjoy, and within it planted the most magical of flowers and trees. You needed no horticultural training to plan your colour scheme, no gardening expert to recommend variety or design. Your garden is perfect, its colours harmonious, its scale immense, spoilt only by the clumsiness of we who tend it.
Lord, we thank you that, with the march of time, there is light at the end of the tunnel and the virus is just beginning to lose its hold. There is still sadness. So many good people have died. Each statistic hides a personal story and a family tragedy. Only this week, my own family mourns the loss of Jenny’s cousin Jean, taken long before her time. Be with those who are bereaved and comfort all those who are left behind.
Thankfully, we see from you a message of hope, of support and of reassurance. 80 years on from the miracle of Dunkirk and the sacrifice of the 51st Highland Division at St Valery, we thank you for your love, your guidance and your everlasting presence.
Be with us again this week, Lord, and all that who we care for. In the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Come, Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire;
Let us Thine influence prove,
Source of the old prophetic fire,
Fountain of light and love.
Come, Holy Ghost, for moved by Thee
The prophets wrote and spoke;
Unlock the Truth, Thyself the key,
Unseal the sacred book.
Expand Thy wings, celestial Dove,
Brood o’er our nature’s night;
On our disordered spirits move,
And let there now be light.
God, through Himself, we then shall know
If Thou within us shine,
And sound, with all Thy saints below,
The depths of love divine.
Benediction: And the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore. AMEN.
Virtual Service PDF for Sun 24th May
Click on the PDF to view and Download the Virtual Communion Service for Sun 24th May
Virtual Service PDF for Sun 17th May
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Virtual Service PDF for Sun 10th May
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Virtual Service PDF for Sun 3rd May
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