St Clement Church Community Sunday Service 27.7.25
Good morning to you all as we celebrate the 6th Sunday of Trinity. This Service of the Word is for you to read at home if you’re unable to worship with us in person on Sunday.
Much love and may Christ’s love sustain you always.
Rev Di and family xx
Let us pray;
Creator God, you made us all in your image: may we discern you in all that we see, and serve you in all that we do: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn: ‘Crown Him with many Crowns’
Our prayers of Penitence
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.
Let us confess our failures truly to serve God and our neighbour:
Most merciful God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
In your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be;
that we may do justly, love mercy,
and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.
May Almighty God have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray our Collect for the 6th Sunday after Trinity
Merciful God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as pass our understanding: pour into our hearts such love toward you that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Readings: Genesis 18. 20-32 Colossians 2. 6-15 (16-19)
Hymn; ‘Blest are the Pure in Heart’
Gospel: Luke 11. 1-13
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’
And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’
(This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.)
Reflection
There’s no getting away from the fact that we live in an age of communication, with ways to contact each other that were totally unimaginable 50 years ago, and the youngsters of this generation will no doubt see, in their lifetimes, even more developments that are only just dreamt of now. I must admit, I’ve definitely been left behind in the world of technology, not only with mobiles, but ipads, tablets, twitter, and facebook, so much so, that I have to rely on my grandson to keep me up to date nowadays.
The Covid pandemic certainly brought technology to the fore didn’t it, Zoom meetings are now an accepted part of life, even church life. Our house rabbit Wilson was famous for joining in with Zoom meetings, and just as famous for ending them by biting through the camera cable…….
But all these different methods of communication available to us, bring an increase in attempts at communication with us, and I say "attempts," because many of them are unsuccessful.
For instance, spam emails, and I don’t mean the tinned meat variety!
As well as our phone answering machines playing back unwanted messages; which may even be recorded announcements recorded yet again.
And then there’s those nuisance calls attempting to hack into our bank accounts to be avoided, though if you’d like to know how to deal with calls from Mumbai then just ask Ken……..
But there are times when we're the ones who want to communicate, we send an email, or text, and no response comes. We leave a phone message, and it gets lost, or the person we're trying to contact is; "in a meeting," or "away from their desk," or "on another line."
Or what about when we’ve been sitting in a restaurant for ages ready to order our meal, and start to wonder whether the waiting staff have been kidnaped, and it's up to us to pay the ransom.
And, added to all this, is that communication can often turn out to be a lost cause, due to how we’re feeling at the time. Any one of us can enter into a communication with someone full of distraction, because of something else going on in our lives at the time, which prevents us from hearing, or responding in ways that the other person will appreciate. So, it can look as though sometimes; "human communication" is a contradiction in terms.
But the problem is, we often assume communication with God, traditionally called prayer, is beset with the same problems.
Perhaps we imagine God as a stressed Company Director who returns from lunch to a desk covered with pink post it notes entitled; ‘WHILE YOU WERE OUT’ And that on one of them he notices our name as the person to call back, but only snorts to himself, crumples the paper, and throws it away. You know, like something from that ‘Bruce Almighty’ film if you’ve seen it.
Well, today's Gospel reading reminds us that communication with God isn’t like that, and that the responsibility to keep in touch rests, not with God, but with us.
Jesus tells a story about a neighbour that I’ll call; "The Midnight Nuisance." Remember that back in those days, nobody had electricity, so no email, T.V. or mobile phones, can you imagine that folks! So, in those times, when night fell, most people went to bed because it became very dark indeed, and they rose at first light.
Moreover, when people made bread, they only made enough for that day because there was no way of preserving it and it went stale very quickly. When Jesus mentions "our daily bread" in the prayer he taught his disciples, he meant daily, and they’d understand that.
So, what would happen when a guest arrived on our doorstep late in the day and a sacred obligation was felt to practice hospitality, but the bread baked that morning was all gone?
Well, we might go over to a neighbour’s house, it was a culture that practiced solidarity, and the neighbour might feel as much obliged to provide our guest with something to eat as we do.
On the other hand, however, maybe this neighbour is already in bed, he might have several small children, and they've finally fallen asleep. He doesn't want to get up and wake them when you call, so
will he answer the door?
Well, Jesus says he will, perhaps out of a sense of duty, or maybe just to get you to go away and leave them in peace, hoping he can get back into bed without waking everyone up.
In any case, he puts the bread he has left over into your hands, enough to feed your guest. You tell him; "Thanks!" and then return home through the blackness of the night.
I think Jesus offers this story to give us hope. If people will get out of bed to help in a situation like that, ordinary, tired people, risking waking their children, then shouldn’t we think that God, whose mercy endures forever, may be just as approachable by those who pray to him? That those who search for his house through the darkness, who knock on his door in need, will have that door opened for them, and have thrust into their hands something far more than a few crusts of bread? Because our God is more generous than we are, even when we’re at our very best.
And Jesus knows how anything this gracious is difficult for our small minds and tough hearts to accept, so as the gospel reading continues, he makes the point again in different terms.
He recognises that most parents at least try to be good ones, even if they sometimes fail. For instance, if children in our care ask for fish fingers for tea, we don't throw a live snake at them, do we? Or if they ask for a hard-boiled egg as a snack, not that I could imagine that happening in my household, we wouldn’t hand them a scorpion.
So, when it comes to caring for the children in our families, we don't act like numpties, so why should we suppose that when it comes to his children, God would act like a numpty either?
The Lord God of heaven and earth doesn’t crumple up and throw away the WHILE YOU WERE OUT post it note that's marked with our name. No, far from it. But, then again, it might be a lot easier if he did, then we might regard ourselves as off the hook regarding prayer, our communication with God.
We may be out to lunch, but God is always waiting by the phone.
As one prayer puts it, the Lord is; "always more ready to hear than we to pray," and the Lord is ready to give us; "more than we either desire or deserve." The language of prayer that tells us God has neither a distracted mind nor a small heart.
And Jesus ends today's Gospel with an attack on tunnel vision. Often what we ask of God is too small, for instance, we ask for what might be a part of our lives, rather than our life itself.
Jesus promises that the heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him, what bigger gift can we ask for? What bigger gift can we be given? It’s astounding to realise that God gives his own self away in response to our prayers, our communication with him, even though at times we may forget to honour and reflect that generosity. May our receiving and our giving always be abundant, for all of it comes from God. Amen.
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.
Hymn; ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You have come to us’
Our Intercessions this week are written by Elizabeth Davies
‘Lord, teach us how to pray.’ Your disciples asked you how to pray and we too, whilst using your prayer, ask you to guide us in how we talk to you and the Father.
We lift our prayers to you, O Lord, for all people everywhere, those close to us and those far away.
We pray for those who minister and preach that they may never find themselves rejected out of hand as our Saviour Jesus Christ was.
We pray for the worldwide Church and ask your help for it to grow in faith. Help us to respect the beliefs of others even if we do not share them, to celebrate what we have in common and accept our differences. Guide us in our ministries as we live each day determined to spread the Good News of your Son Jesus Christ in the way we live our lives.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Creator God, look with compassion on the whole human family; take away arrogance and hatred that infects the hearts of those who pursue violence and terrorism; break down the walls that separate us and unite us in bonds of love and peace.
We pray for the people of all countries torn apart by war as their suffering continues, whether attacked by outside forces or internal unrest.
We pray today for peacemakers throughout the world, may they bring hope out of despair, peace out of conflict and prosperity out of poverty. We thank you for all the wonders of your creation… for the beauty, the ruggedness, and the dramatic coastline of our own county; for the amazing scenery around the world with its distinctive flora and fauna; for the wonders of the wildlife, so much of which is so close to extinction due to our demands. Help us to acknowledge and accept responsibility for the care of the natural world so that, not only may it be here for generations to come, but that it may continue to play its part in the wellbeing of all that live on this planet.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Father God, we pray for our families and friends and especially for young people that they may grow up knowing love and hope, valuing life and respecting others. We pray for those who have left school and are moving on to the next stage of their lives, and for those for whom what happens next depends on exam or assessment performance.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Merciful God, we pray for all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit and for those who care for them.
Comfort and sustain all who feel that they have nowhere to turn and no one who cares - may they know that they are never alone.
We pray for any who are in special need of our prayers at this time. We bring before you: Ken and Diane, Brian, May, Susan, Tony, Jan, Lynda, Dot, Maureen, Jan, Pam and David, Sandra, Roger, Michael and Patricia, Rob and Alison, Stella, Jeremy, Anita and Stephen, Callum and Elaine, Sue and Martin, Margaret and John, Barry, Coral and Paul, Lawson, Barbara, Simone, Dinah, those known to each of us and all who have no one to pray for them.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray for those whose hearts have been saddened by the death of someone close and dear to them and for members of our families who have died. Welcome all those whose life’s journey has now come to an end into your eternal kingdom.
Help us, and all families grieving, to experience the comfort of the Holy Spirit within us, and the fellowship of the church family around us until we are reunited once more in your heavenly kingdom.
We especially remember Nan Hurst whose funeral Reverend Di will take tomorrow and her family. We also bring before you those whose anniversary occurs at this time: Phyllis Davey, Lyn P and Mary Loftus.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Faithful God, we pray for ourselves; as we go from our worship today to start the week ahead, may we always hold fast to our belief in you and we ask that in all we do, we may walk more closely with you at our side safe in the knowledge that your Fatherly love and care knows no bounds. Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Andrew, St Allen and St Clement and all the saints.
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; ‘O praise ye the Lord!’
The Peace
We are the body of Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised into one body. Let us then pursue all that makes for peace and build up our common life. May the peace of God be always with us. Amen.
Blessing
May God the Holy Trinity make us strong in faith and love, defend us on every side and guide us in truth and peace. And may the presence of God watch over us, the power of God protect us, those whom we love, and may we never forget that wherever we are, God is with us always, to the end of the age. Amen.