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 94th Birthday on Feb 6th!
This Service of the Word is for you to read at home if you’re unable to join us in our church building.
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; ‘I the Lord of Sea and Sky’
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; ‘O Worship the King’
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.
(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 within the Diocese. ‘Here am I, send someone else!’ May be more apt though……a natural reaction as none of us like change.
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 my 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 needs 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 people 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 Deanery plan with our ideas for ministry here and at St Allen, 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 communities, and may we continue to let down our nets and bring people 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 Helen Dunbar
In the power of the spirit and in union with Christ let us pray to the Father.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, you promised through your Son Jesus Christ to hear us when we pray in faith.
We pray for all who minister to us, for our diocese, as well as for the Anglican Communion and the Church throughout the world; praying especially for Christians being persecuted for their faith. Give the Church the courage and strength to speak up for justice and peace and to help the oppressed.
Dear Lord, give us courage to answer your call and keep us faithful to our life-giving word. Send us out to be the good news of your love for all people. Guide the Church to preach your word with power and confidence, but also with the sensitivity to the needs of each individual. Let all people look on the wonders of your creation and praise your power.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Help us all to be mindful that we are all created equal in your sight and accept our deep regret that despite this there is so much inequality to be found. Lord, we thank you for the earth; for the hills, mountains and forests, grasslands and deserts, for those who fish and those who farm. For all people who work on the land and all those whose work brings food to our tables.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Help us to use influence within our families and communities to bring peace, joy and fun into people’s lives. Help us to be reliable and honest in what we do, and friendly to all we meet in our daily lives.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
We pray for all who minister in our Church here at St Clement; we ask God’s blessing on our own much-loved Revd. Diane, for the very difficult areas of her ministry she sometimes has to deal with, and we also ask for God’s blessing on all her family.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
We pray for all nations; grant wisdom to those in authority. Strengthen peacekeepers, ambassadors, military personnel and disaster relief workers. Protect families who have to leave their homes because of war, natural disasters, or rejection by their communities, and not forgetting the ongoing troubles in Israel and Palestine and the war in Ukraine. Our thoughts and prayers also go to the people of the Greek islands of Amorgos and Santorini, who have left their homes because of the threat of a major earthquake.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Loving God, we ask for your healing touch on all who are ill or suffering. We especially pray for any we know who are experiencing emotional pain or are broken in spirit through personal or family problems.
We especially pray for: Ken and Reverend Diane, May, Susan, Lynda, Terry and Dot, Margaret, Maureen, Pam and David, Sandra, Roger, Michael and Patricia, Daphne and Dave, Rob and Alison, Stella, Jeremy, Anita and Stephen, Felicity, Callum and Elaine, Sue and Martin, Margaret and John, Dave and Jeanette, Carrie and John Paul, and those who have no one to pray for them.
We remember the recently departed and ask God’ blessing on them and their families.
We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time and we pray for: Grace Woosey, William Charles George, Douglas Eddy, Jack Trudgeon and Brian Gilmour.
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; ‘Forth in Thy Name, O Lord I Go’
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.