A call to worship:
We praise you this morning for you are the way the truth and the life.
You are the God who creates spaces and places for us.
You are the One who sits on the throne, the Cornerstone of our faith, The God of Love
Thank you that here in your house, you welcome us to come, as we are.
Amen
StF 25 – God is here! We your people.
God is here! As we his people
Meet to offer praise and prayer,
May we find in fuller measure
What it is in Christ we share.
Here, as in the world around us,
All our varied skills and arts
Wait the coming of the Spirit
Into open minds and hearts.
Here are symbols to remind us
Of our lifelong need of grace;
Here are table, font and pulpit;
Here the cross has central place.
Here in honesty of preaching,
Here in silence, as in speech,
here, in newness and renewal,
God the Spirit comes to each.
Here our children find a welcome
In the Shepherd’s flock and fold;
Here as bread and wine are taken,
Christ sustains us, as of old.
Here the servants of the Servant
Seek in worship to explore
What it means in daily living
To believe and to adore.
Lord of all, of Church and Kingdom,
In an age of change and doubt,
Keep us faithful to the Gospel;
help us work your purpose out.
Here, in this day’s dedication,
All we have to give, receive:
We, who cannot live without you,
We adore you! We believe!
Bible Readings
Psalm 31
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.
6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
as for me, I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not given me into the hands of the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.
9 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and body with grief.
10 My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,
and my bones grow weak.
11 Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbours
and an object of dread to my closest friends –
those who see me on the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.
13 For I hear many whispering,
‘Terror on every side!’
They conspire against me
and plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in you, Lord;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
15 My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.
17 Let me not be put to shame, Lord,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and be silent in the realm of the dead.
18 Let their lying lips be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly against the righteous.
19 How abundant are the good things
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,
on those who take refuge in you.
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
from accusing tongues.
21 Praise be to the Lord,
for he showed me the wonders of his love
when I was in a city under siege.
22 In my alarm I said,
‘I am cut off from your sight!’
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people!
The Lord preserves those who are true to him,
but the proud he pays back in full.
24 Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the Lord.
1 Peter 2:2-10
The living Stone and a chosen people
4 As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
‘See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.’
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,’
8 and,
‘A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.’
They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Prayers of adoration
Praise be to the Lord, for he showed us the wonders of his love
Our God is the creator.
Our God is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Our God is merciful.
We worship and adore Him.
Praise be to the Lord, for he showed us the wonders of his love
We praise you for your work demonstrated throughout creation.
We praise you for the life of the Son, Jesus Christ for his demonstration of your love in word and action.
We praise you that through Jesus’ death and resurrection we are forgiven and invited to new life. Praise be to the Lord,
for he showed us the wonders of his love
We thank you for your Spirit living with us.
We thank you for the prompting of that still small voice in our lives, our churches and communities.
We thank you for continuing your work through us.
Praise be to the Lord, for he showed us the wonders of his love
Father, Son and Holy Spirit we praise your holy name. Amen
inspired by Psalm 31:21 and Lord’s Prayer.
The Lord's Prayer
Please use the version that you prefer
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 Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
And deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours
Now and for ever.
Amen.
Time to reflect:
Sunday 7th May 2023 will be the day after the Coronation of King Charles III. He was crowned Monarch of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies, and the British Overseas Territories, and is now head of the Commonwealth.
The book of 1 Peter is a letter, written to a dispersed Christian community in Asia Minor –which we now known as Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq, and this letter is reminding them to stand firm on the foundation of Christ in trying times and the face of persecution. The letter was to ordinary people facing unprecedented circumstances in their own time.
The letter talks of a royal priesthood, this language had once been exclusively used to describe the people of Israel, people who had been set apart, to show others something of the character of God. But now it is for all people to be able to share and witness in the work of God.
King Charles III has been crowned. He is set aside for a particular role, but the Christian message of a royal priesthood is that all of us are ordinary people, are set aside, to show the world a little of what God is like.
Jesus is the foundation, and we are the bricks, we are set aside so that a house of justice and peace can be built.
We are all being built into the same spiritual house that is based on the solid foundation of Jesus, and our bricks sit alongside the work and witness of those who have come before us and are around us. We are all ordinary people, and yet we are all a royal priesthood, called to join in with the work of God in building his kingdom, of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, generosity, gentleness, and self-control.
Question – consider what you are doing to continue the work of God? Are you being nudged in a new direction?
Jesus was making known God’s presence, God’s greatness and mercy, God’s grace and glory, God’s persistent love on this earth. Jesus talks about the Son making known the Father’s glory.
Jesus was making known that we could be in relationship with the creator of all earth and heavens and realms – That this is a God who is present in all of creation, including us.
We may find it hard to follow the ways of Jesus, we may have messed up, but we are forgiven, loved, and invited by a loving God to join the Holy Spirit to serve the world so that all may know the love of God.
In the letter we read, 1 Peter, the language was of coming from darkness to light. The light is both a personal relationship with God and, the light of a just world where the kingdom of God is realised. Many of us know something of this light in our lives and the invitation is to live our lives so that others can be called out of darkness and know the light.
The author of the above sermon is unknown. It has been taken from the Methodist connexion website.
StF 94 – To God be the glory.
To God be the glory, great things he has done!
So loved he the world that he gave us his Son,
who yielded his life an atonement for sin,
and opened the life-gate that all may go in.
Refrain:
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father through Jesus the Son;
and give him the glory, great things he has done!
O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
to every believer the promise of God!
And every offender who truly believes,
that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Great things he has taught us, great things he has done,
and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
but purer, and higher, and greater will be\
our wonder, our rapture, when Jesus we see:
Closing Prayer:
As we end this time of worship God, bless each one of us, that we may be aware that all we do in your name, is part of the continuance of the work that you, loving God has done and continues to do for us, and all we serve.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, forever more,
Amen
