St Clement Church Third Sunday after EASTER Community Service
Good morning everyone and a warm welcome to our Sunday morning service on this the Third Sunday after Easter. We give thanks that we are once again able to worship in St Clement Church but we are aware that we still need to be cautious as the Pandemic is not over yet.
Whether you are in church this morning or worshipping at home may the love of God enfold you in his ever-protecting arms.
God Bless
With my love
Liz
Let us pray:
Living God, long ago, faithful women proclaimed the good news of Jesus’ resurrection, and the world was changed forever. Help us to keep faith with them, that our witness may be as bold, our love as deep, and our joy and amazement as real as was theirs when He appeared to them.
Gracious God help us all to play an active part in the vision of your Church ever focusing on Christ’s call to all of us to be witnesses and to make disciples of all mankind.
Amen
Hymn - A brighter dawn is breaking
Our prayers of Penitence
Loving God, we confess that at times we do not share in the joy of the resurrection but are caught up in the worries of the world.
Lord, have mercy
We confess that we do not always live in the spirit of new life but remain discontent, grumbling and anxious. Forgive us for not sharing in the Good News.
Christ, have mercy
Forgive us when we find it more comfortable to worry and complain than to risk the joy and encouragement of new life in Christ.
Lord, have mercy
Call us back to Your ways, O God, to seek hope and reconciliation and peace.
May our Almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners, bring us his pardon and peace, now and for ever.
Amen.
Old Testament reading: Acts 3. 12 - 19
New Testament reading: 1 John 3. 1 – 7
Let us pray our Collect for today.
Almighty Father, who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples with the sight of the risen Lord: give us such knowledge of his presence with us, that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life and serve you continually in righteousness and truth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen
Hymn - Lord of the Dance
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke (Ch 24. 36-48)
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord
While the eleven and their companions were talking about what they had heard, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, and thought they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you – that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’
(This is the Gospel of the Lord.)
Response: Praise to you, O Christ.
Reflections
I wonder, have you ever thought about what the Bible is all about? If you had to put it into a few short sentences, what would you say is the main message of the Scriptures? Different people have different opinions about the Bible and what it is saying. This verse or that is taken out of context and twisted to make it fit his or her purpose. Often people approach the Bible with their own presuppositions and then find in the Bible what they want to find. BUT, if You HAD to sum it up, what really is the main message of the Bible and HOW would you know if you had summed it up correctly?
What do we have to do to understand the Scriptures? It’s not enough just to have read some of the Bible and come up with our own opinions. How do we understand what God intends us to know and believe?
Well, on our own, we CANNOT rightly understand the Scriptures.
We can forget guesswork and random speculation because today someone is telling us what the Bible IS all about. And more than that, He is someone who knows what He’s talking about. It’s Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord.
Our minds are in darkness, spiritually speaking, until Christ shines the light of the Gospel into our lives. Then the Holy Spirit removes the veil and enlightens our understanding, and we begin to grasp the purpose that God has for us in giving us his Word.
In today’s Gospel reading from Luke, it’s Easter, the evening of the day that Christ rises from the dead. He suddenly appears in the room with his disciples, and greets them with ‘Peace be with you!’ They think it’s a ghost. How could that be their Master, Jesus, alive and standing among them? Why, he was crucified and died and was buried just three days ago! How can this be Him? But Jesus reassures them and shows them His hands and His feet, still bearing the marks of His crucifixion. No, this is no ghost. This is Jesus Himself, alive, risen from the dead, raised bodily, flesh and bone. He asks for something to eat to show His physicality.
So, it is THIS Risen Christ, Jesus raised from the dead, who tells His disciples what it all means. He reminds them that He has already told them that there must be fulfillment of everything written about Him in the Old Testament Scriptures: ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’
Yes, Jesus has already said that He is the one prophesied in the Old Testament, namely, the Messiah to come. Jesus has already said that the Scriptures are ultimately about Him. Jesus has even told His opponents, those like the Scribes and Pharisees, who wrongly think that they can merit salvation by their keeping the Law – Jesus has told them: ‘You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.’ The Scribes and Pharisees are reading the Bible, but they are missing the main point, the chief purpose, which is to point us to salvation in Christ. So, Jesus is telling his astonished disciples that everything prophesied about Him in the Bible has been fulfilled. There has been a divine necessity about it and that included His crucifixion and Resurrection.
Now Jesus puts it into perspective for them and for us. Jesus opens their minds to understand the Scriptures, and to do so, He proceeds to sum up in just a few short words what the Bible is all about. He says: ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.’
There it is! Jesus’ own summary of the Bible! ‘Thus it is written,’ He says. And He ought to know, after all, He IS the Son of God. The message Jesus gives the disciples turns their darkness and fear into courage and light BUT it is not only for them but for us also. We can truly understand the message of the Bible only when we see how God has included us in the picture: That Jesus Christ suffered for us, for our sins and forgiveness. That Jesus Christ rose again from the dead for us, to show us that God accepted the sacrifice Christ made on the cross, and that because of it, death is overcome and life is now restored. That God is calling US to repentance and to faith in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. ‘Thus it is written,’ and this is for us.
So, today we know that Jesus our Risen Lord is here in our midst, and has opened our minds to understand the Scriptures.
Amen
‘Now the green blade riseth’ – sung by Martin Davies
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 all 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 by Liz Davies
Creator God, you gave us a beautiful world to live in and care for. We know that in many areas our stewardship has been a failure, yet, through the victory of Jesus Christ, we know also that you can restore all things in glory; and so, we pray for a change of heart and attitude, an awakening to a better way of living, and the courage to reject
wrong principles. We especially pray for those suffering from the economic impact of the Covid Pandemic here in Cornwall.
Lord, hear us Lord, graciously hear us
Father God, we pray for our Church communities here in Cornwall, that each of us may make use of our individual talents enabling each Church group to flourish as a witness to the ‘One Body’ of the Church. Help us to spread the warmth of your love to everyone we meet.
Lord, hear us Lord, graciously hear us
Loving God, we pray for those who do not share our Easter Joy especially those living in the shadow of darkness and despair and for those whose illness narrows their view of the world. We remember all who need our prayers at this time and we especially bring before you, Susan, Ken and Diane, Sue, Kate and Martin and in the quietness of our hearts we bring before you those each of us know who are also in need.
Lord, hear us Lord, graciously hear us Merciful God, we pray for those whose hearts have been saddened by the death of someone close and dear to them, for members of our families who have died and whose anniversary we recall. Help us to feel 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.
Lord, hear us Lord, graciously hear us
Faithful God, whose wisdom is beyond our understanding, surround the Queen and the Royal Family with your love, that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness and strength to meet the days to come.
Lord, hear us Lord, graciously hear us
Faithful God, you gave us the Bible and Your Son, Jesus Christ, to show us the way and the Holy Spirit to be our Guide. Help us to read and inwardly digest the words you have given us and to listen for your still small voice when life gets tough.
Merciful Father: accept these prayers for the sake of You 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.
An Easter Affirmation
Your light is the only light we need as we travel through life’s mystery
Your word the only voice we hear that still small voice that leads us to the place where we should be
Your presence is the only company we need as we walk this narrow road
Your fellowship the warmth we crave to help us on our way
May the truth of Easter The joy of Easter And the blessings of Easter Be with us this day and all days. (by John Birch)
Amen
The Peace
Lord Jesus Christ, you know our faults and have heard our prayers. You have ripped apart the barriers that separate us from God and opened us to the grace of God through Your sacrifice of love on a cross, and Your resurrection from the dead.
Promise of God, fill Your people and give us peace.
The peace be with us all.
Amen
Hymn - Good Christian men rejoice and sing
We say together:
I have a purpose. I am a child of the one true God. I am favoured. I am cleansed. I am forgiven. I am set free from sin. I am a new creation. I am clothed in righteousness through Christ. I am an heir, with the greatest inheritance. I am known by God. I am cherished by God. I am immensely loved by God. THAT is who I am.
Blessing
Now may the Lord of peace himself give us peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with us all.
Amen