St Clement Church Community Sunday Service
Good morning to you all as we celebrate the Fourth Sunday before Lent, and I’m sure you’ll join with me in wishing May (aka my mum) a Happy 91st Birthday today!
This Service of the Word is for you to read at home if you’re unable to join us in our church building. During our service today we’ll be discussing the ‘On the Way’ initiative in preparation for the meeting with the team on the 13th. I’ve emailed you a copy of ‘Fruitfulness,’ if you have any comments then please send them to me if you’re unable to attend and we’ll present them to the team.
May Christ’s love sustain you always.
Much love to you all,
Rev Di and family xx
Let us pray;
God of all mercy, throughout the trials and tribulations of our lives, open our eyes to see what is beautiful, our minds to know what is true, and our hearts to seek what is good, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn; ‘Onward, Christian Soldiers’
Our prayers of Penitence
As brothers and sisters in God’s family, let us, in a moment of silence, recognise those failings in us that undermine relationships, and cause hurt to others:
When we bring hurt and betrayal upon those who love us…
Lord, have mercy.
When we are the cause of love to grow cold and attitudes to harden…
Christ, have mercy.
When we impede the way to forgiveness and reconciliation…
Lord, have mercy.
May Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our failings, and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray our Collect for today
Lord of the hosts of heaven, our salvation and our strength, without you we are lost: guard us from all that harms or hurts and raise us when we fall; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 6. 1-8
New Testament Reading: 1 Corinthians 15. 1-11
Hymn; ‘Immortal, invisible, God only wise’
Gospel: Luke 5. 1-11
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
While Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’
Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’
When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
The Gospel According to
John
The Word Became Flesh
(This is the Gospel of the Lord. Response: ‘Praise to you, O, Christ’)
Reflection
There’s a lot of; ‘here am I, send me’, conversations going around the Church at the moment. Especially with all that’s happening with the country wide ‘On the Way’ initiative.
‘Here am I, send someone else!’ May be more apt though……a natural reaction as none of us like change.
Is it because we’re scared of facing something new?
For example; when I was invited to join the chaplaincy team at Culdrose, my first reaction was; ‘What in the name of God’s Holy trousers makes you think I can do that?’
Leading to the second thought of; ‘Do I get a gun?’
My calling to ordination was the same, sadly not the gun bit though.
I argued with God for quite a while before I realised he actually meant it,
and lot of my arguing and delay was because I didn’t consider myself able, or worthy enough.
But, as my Parish Priest said to me at the time; ‘Who is?’
That memory leads into what I say today…….
Here’s a question: What do Moses, Isaiah and St. Peter have in common? I’ll give you a hint:
When Moses was looking after his father-in-law’s sheep, he saw a burning bush that, oddly enough, wasn’t consumed by the fire.
On going over to get a closer look, as you would, God spoke to him and commanded him to go down into Egypt to confront the Pharaoh and tell him the Lord says, “Let my people go.”
But, instead of catching the first bus to Cairo, Moses feigned every excuse he could think of: “I am not worthy. Who am I that I should go to the Pharaoh?” he said. “He’ll not believe me.’’
The prophet Isaiah had a vision in which he saw the Lord sitting on a throne in the Temple, surrounded by the seraphim, prehistoric looking creatures with six wings and fierce red eyes. Isaiah trembled with fear and cried out, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips.’’
Simon Peter, his brother, Andrew, and James and John, were cleaning their nets after a long night of fishing. As bad luck would have it, they’d come back empty-handed, and were probably anxious to finish up and go home, when along came Jesus telling people about the kingdom of God.
There were so folk many clamouring to hear what he had to say that Jesus sat in Simon Peter’s boat and spoke to them from the water.
When he’d finished, he said to Simon Peter; “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.”
I expect Simon shook his head and said, “We’ve been out all night and didn’t catch a thing. What’s the use of going again? But if you insist, we’ll go.’’ In no time, they were hauling in more fish than they knew what to do with. And when Simon Peter saw this, he fell to his knees and said, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
So, what do Moses, Isaiah and Simon Peter have in common? They all knew their unworthiness to stand in the presence of God, let alone speak and act on God’s behalf.
But they’re not the only ones. During ordination training we studied a sermon series on The Disciples. Each week we took a close look at one of these twelve men Jesus chose, and I can tell you, not one of them was what you’d call a real winner.
Peter was all blow and no show. He was constantly getting in the way, and, when the chips were down, he even denied knowing Jesus three times.
Andrew, his brother, was a follower. Anytime Andrew was put on the spot, he’d defer to someone else and let them take the heat.
James and John were egotistical and self-centered. People called them the “Sons of Thunder.” They’re the ones, you’ll remember, who wanted Jesus to promise them highest seats of honour in the kingdom of heaven.
Nathaniel never did a bit of work in his life. He was sitting under a fig tree reading when Jesus first saw him.
And then there’s James the Less. Does that tell us something?
I could go on, but you see what I mean: Twelve disciples whose CV’s wouldn’t get them short-listed for any kind of job today.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of Who’s Who in the Bible.
For example;
Remember Adam? Nice man, but no backbone. Does whatever he’s told. And his wife, Eve; good seamstress, can make clothes out of anything, but has a rebellious spirit.
Then there’s Noah – great sailor, but known to over-indulge after a long cruise.
Abraham – lies under pressure. Tried to convince the Egyptians that his wife was his sister.
And who could forget David? A strong leader, but poor moral character,
and his son, Solomon – very wise, but doesn’t practice what he preaches.
The Bible is full of them.
The Old and New Testaments agree: God chooses the least likely individuals to call his own and do his bidding. In fact, I don’t know of a better way to describe the early church (and not so early….)
God claims the least likely individuals as his children and gives them the authority to speak and act in his name, and they’ve all got one thing in common: They’re not worthy. They’re woefully inadequate.
But no one has to remind us of our shortcomings. I bet we could list any number of reasons not to be called a child of God, yet here’s the deal: God knows us, warts and all, and claims us for his own anyway.
What’s more, God gives us the inspiration of his Spirit, the knowledge of his Word, and the strength of his grace and love.
“There is no one righteous; no, not one,” St Paul told the Romans.
Like Moses, Isaiah, Simon Peter and St Paul, we aren’t worthy, yet God loves us just the same, and invites us into fellowship with him through Jesus Christ.
Like Simon Peter and Andrew standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee cleaning their nets, we could list a dozen reasons why Christ ought to choose somebody else to represent his kingdom here in this place.
But, you know what? He’s not interested in our excuses. He’s only interested in using us to bring folk home to God.
And so, he says to us today, as he said to Peter so long ago,
“Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch”—and don’t be afraid.
It’s not about fishing. It’s about trusting the power of God to use us to lead others to Jesus Christ in this time and place.
So let us put out into the deep water of the ‘On the Way’ initiative with our ideas for ministry in this place, and who knows what that might lead to?
Here we are, send us, we are worthy enough to continue to carry the name of Christ to our community, and may we continue to let down our nets and bring folk home to his kingdom.
Amen.
Hymn; ‘Breathe on me, Breath of God’
Affirmation of our faith
Let us declare our faith in God.
We believe and trust in God the Father, source of all being and life, the one for whom we exist.
We believe and trust in God the Son, who took our human nature, died for us and rose again.
We believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God and makes Christ known in the world.
This is the faith of the Church. This is our faith.
We believe and trust in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Our Intercessions this week are written by Liz Davies
Let us pray;
Holy God, whenever we fail to care for our brothers and sisters throughout creation, the way is opened to destruction and our hearts are hardened. We recognise our responsibility to encourage and uphold one another and to live together in peace and love. We also recognise our needs and weaknesses and come to you now with our prayers and petitions.
Lord, hear us Lord, graciously hear us
Gracious God, thank you that you call us to be apostles, sent out to do your work. We pray for all who respond, ‘Here I am, Lord’ when they hear you call.
We pray also for those who have a ministry in their daily lives of work, family life or community, who daily bear witness to the Gospel in all that they say and do.
Lord, hear us Lord, graciously hear us
Creator God, thank you for our world and the places where we live. Help us to be mindful that we are all created equal in your sight and accept our deep regret that despite this, there is still so much inequality to be found. Help us to remember that you want us to be good stewards of your creation, living responsibly in the lands and seas of the earth. May all future growth be sustainable and may we ensure that its abundance is fairly shared for the good of all.
Lord, hear us Lord, graciously hear us
Father God, Lord, help us to use our influence within our families and communities to bring peace, joy and fun into people’s lives instead of stirring up strife. Help us to be reliable and honest in all that we do and friendly to all we meet in our daily lives.
Lord, hear us Lord, graciously hear us
Loving God, friend of those in need, your Son Jesus Christ can free us from our burdens and heal our bodies and spirits. We pray for those still burdened, those seeking healing, those in need within the church and the world. We especially remember at this time those known to us who particularly need your loving care at this time: Especially Willow and Summer, both of whom are very young children suffering from Covid. We also remember Ken and Di, Daphne and Dave, Ollie, Max, Margaret, Sandra and Barrie, Helen and Roger, Brian, Rob and Alison and those known only to you, who have no one to pray for them.
Lord, hear us Lord, graciously hear us
Merciful God, we pray for all those who have departed this life and for those who grieve their passing. Help us to be sympathetic, caring and loving with those who are struggling to cope with the loss of loved ones and may we always be ready to help practically and try to pray diligently in the time of their greatest need.
Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.
Holy God, we thank You that Your wisdom not only enlightens us but transforms and guides us as we go from this place of worship, or the quiet time in our own home, and into our daily walk through life with You. Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Clement and St Andrew;
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Gathering our prayers and praises into one, let us pray with confidence as Jesus taught us;
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.
Hymn; ‘Guide me, O thou great Redeemer’
The Peace
‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name’ says the Lord,
‘I am there among them’ May the peace of God be always with us. Amen.
Blessing
May God the Father, by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead, strengthen us to walk with him in his risen life; and may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among us, those whom we love, and remain with us always. Amen.