​APC 21st October 2020         
“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
 
Welcome and Introduction          
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Midweek worship.  Thank you for all the encouraging comments you have sent me about the Harvest service.  Today we return to our short series looking at the Lord’s Prayer.  We’ve been reminded that God is like a perfect parent, we can come to Him anytime and we know that he will listen to us because He loves us.  But He is also in heaven.  He is different and so much greater than us.  So we must hallow or respect His name.  That means believing that He is real, remembering that He sees and hears all we say and do and being willing to praise and honour Him by the way that we worship and the lives that we live.  Today we will be thinking about what it will mean for us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
But first let’s take a moment to pause and to talk to our heavenly Father, let’s pray…
 
Opening Prayer
Almighty and most wonderful God, unsearchable and inexhaustible, greater than we can ever imagine, higher than our highest thoughts, enthroned in glory and splendor, we come to give you our worship, to offer our praise and to make our confession, recognizing that your ways are not our ways, you’re your thoughts are not our thoughts.
 
Lord have mercy on us…
 
Forgive us our misplaced pride and arrogance – we have been full of our own importance, preferring our ways to yours, imagining we know all there is to know about you, trusting in our own wisdom instead of your guidance, setting ourselves up in your place.  But your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts.
 
Lord have mercy on us…
 
Forgive us our narrow vision and our closed minds- we have tied you down to our own understanding, closing our hearts to anything which challenges our restricted horizons, losing sight of your greatness, failing to listen to your voice or the voice of others, refusing to accept that others beside ourselves have insights to share.  But your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts.
 
Lord have mercy on us…
 
Almighty and most wonderful God, remind us that you have always more to say, more to reveal and more to do.  Open our eyes, our minds and our hearts to who and what you are.  Remind us that your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts.
 
Lord have mercy on us…
 
And so fill us with awe and wonder, joy and thanksgiving, praise and worship, now and for evermore, Amen.
 
Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together…
 
 
 
Our Father, which 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.
 
Introduction to the Bible Reading
 
Bible Reading
 
Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations conspire[a]
    and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains
    and throw off their shackles.”
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
    the Lord scoffs at them.
5 He rebukes them in his anger
    and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 “I have installed my king
    on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son;
    today I have become your father.
8 Ask me,
    and I will make the nations your inheritance,
    the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will break them with a rod of iron[b];
    you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
    be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear
    and celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry
    and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
    Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
 
Isaiah 9 v 6-7
 
6 For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.
 
 
Reflection       “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.”
 
Today we are going to look at the third line of the prayer that Jesus taught his friends to pray. “Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  Before we can understand what it will mean for us to pray this prayer, we need to understand what this phrase would have meant to the people it was originally spoken to – the disciples of Jesus.
 
To begin with these early followers of Jesus would all have been Jewish.  Being from a Jewish background they would have been very familiar with the concept of Kingship and the long-standing religious and political debate running throughout their nation’s history – Should Israel have a King?
 
You see, in Israel, the country that Jesus grew up in, there were many periods when the people had no earthly King.  At that time most people thought, “God is the King of the whole world.  He’s in charge of everything.  We don’t need a human person to rule over us.”  So for long periods of time Israel was governed instead by Judges.
 
But as the years went by, many people in Israel began to think differently.  They began to say things like, “Well, even though God is our King, many people aren’t living the way God wants.  Many of the other countries around us have a King and they want to fight us.  Without our own King we are spiritually and politically vulnerable.  Maybe if we had our own King, then He could make sure people obeyed God.  The King could also organise us better to help us to win the battles if our enemies come to fight us.”
 
Eventually God gave the people of Israel what they wanted and allowed them to have a King.  For years Israel had Kings.  Some of them were good.  Some of them were bad.  But no matter how hard even the good Kings tried, they could never get the people to always obey God.  Sometimes the people would obey God for a time and God would reward them.  But then they would forget about God and start doing things that made God angry.  Then God would come and discipline them so that they would realise they were doing wrong and change their ways.
 
During this time, God communicated with His people by giving special messages to certain people.  These people were called ‘prophets’.  The prophets would tell God’s messages to the people of Israel.  Often in these messages, God would promise that one day He would send a very, very special King called the Messiah.  When this Messiah came, He would bring God’s Kingdom to earth.  In fact, He would actually set up God’s Kingdom in people’s hearts so that they would be able to love and obey God in a way that they had never really been able to before.
 
Eventually God did send this special King, this Messiah.  His name was Jesus.  Jesus was God’s special King on earth.  He lived on earth.  He taught people lots of things about how God wants us to live.  He showed people the way God wants us to treat each other by the way that He lived.  He died on the cross.  He came back to life again.  He went back up into heaven where He now reigns and rules as the King of the earth.  One day King Jesus is coming back to earth to judge the whole world and to set up God’s New kingdom called the New Heaven and the New earth.  In that Kingdom, everything will be perfect and people will live happily together forever.
 
When Jesus told his friends to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” he was talking about this whole idea of God’s Kingdom that we have just been talking about and which they would have been familiar with.  Of course unlike us, the disciples did not have the benefit of hindsight.  It would take them many years to understand that Jesus was the promised Messiah and to understand what His Kingdom was really like.
 
But for now all I want us to see is that when Jesus told his followers to pray Thy Kingdom come, they would have had some understanding of the promises that God had given to His people that one day He would send a special King who would bring God’s Kingdom to rule in their lives in new and better ways.
 
Another important clue to what this phrase would have meant to the disciples comes from an understanding of their language and culture.
 
One of the languages Jesus and his friends spoke was Hebrew.  Hebrew is the language many people in Israel still speak today.  In Hebrew, people often repeat a phrase twice.  This is called ‘parallelism.’  When they do this, the second thing they say explains or reinforces the first thing they have said.
 
So for example the Psalmist says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet.  It is a light to my path”.  Jesus often used this style of language in His teaching.  For example in Matthew 19 he says, “Many that are first shall be last and the last shall be first.”
 
So when Jesus tells his friends to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” that is what he is doing.  He is using parallelism.  He is saying, “Pray that God’s Kingdom will come.”  “Pray that God’s will, will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
 
You see, that’s what God’s Kingdom is.  It is not just a place but it is a place where God’s will is done perfectly.  It’s a place where people always do what is right and what makes God happy.  It’s a place where no one suffers and everyone is treated fairly.
 
So when we pray, “Lord may your Kingdom come” we are really saying “Lord let people on earth obey you and love each other the way people do in heaven.”
 
This is why Jesus came.  He came to bring in a New Era of God’s Kingdom on the earth.  You see, before Jesus came to earth people did not have the Holy Spirit living in them all the time.  That’s why they could never really love and obey God consistently, even if they had a human King who was spiritual.  So for centuries the Jewish nation were waiting and hoping for the day when Jesus, the Messiah, God’s Heavenly King would come.
 
When Jesus did come, He died, He rose again and He went back to heaven.  Even though He is sat down in heaven today, Jesus is still busy.  One of the things He does now is this.  When someone is so sorry for the wrong things they do that they want to change; when they believe that Jesus died for them and when they ask Jesus to come and be the King of their lives, Jesus hears the prayer of their heart and He sends His Spirit (the Holy Spirit) to live in that person.
 
The Holy Spirit will then motivate that person to want to stop doing and saying things that hurt themselves and others.  The Holy Spirit will give that person a new desire and a new ability to actually start living in ways that are good and kind.  In this way, Jesus sets up His kingdom in that person’s life.  Other people around will feel the positive effects of these changes.
 
So while people in the past longed for God’s Kingdom, in the present God’s Kingdom does actually come to earth when people trust in Jesus and when Jesus motivates and helps them to obey God’s ways.  When people start living more the way God wants, the way people in heaven are living, God’s Kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven.
 
So to pray, “May your Kingdom come, may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” is to say to God, “Lord, let more people trust in Jesus.  Let their lives be changed by you so that they live more like the people in heaven.”
 
It is also to pray, “Lord, continue to help me to change by your Holy Spirit so that I might live more like the people in heaven too.”
 
Perhaps you have been struggling for years to be a better person or to give up a particular habit but you just cannot seem to do so.  Could it be that you don’t have the Holy Spirit living in you?  Why don’t you cry out to God and ask Him for the gift of His Spirit – invite Him to come and take up the reigns of your life.
 
Maybe you have already done that years ago, but presently you’ve been neglecting your relationship with God or deliberately refusing to go God’s way.  Perhaps you have grieved the Holy Spirit and don’t sense His presence or His power in your life.  Then don’t waste another moment, fall on your knees and confess your sins to God.  His forgiveness and His refilling with His presence and power are only a prayer away.
 
And lastly, who are the people who you know and care for at home or in work who desperately need the Holy Spirit in their lives?  Why not take some time this week and pray for them, asking that God would have mercy on them and come and set up His Kingdom in their hearts and lives.
 
 
Prayer- Teach us to Pray
 
Lord God our Father, like the apostles of old we ask, “Teach us how to pray”
 
Teach us the secret of prayer – when to speak and when to keep silent, when to accept and when to keep on seeking, when to persevere and when to let go.  Like the apostles of old we ask, “Teach us how to pray”
 
Teach us the power of prayer – its ability to challenge to encourage to transform all of life.  Like the apostles of old we ask, “Teach us how to pray”
 
Teach us the blessing of prayer – its ability to teach, comfort and strengthen.  Like the apostles of old we ask, “Teach us how to pray”
Teach us the potential of prayer – its ability to help us express our worship, discover your will and hear your voice.  Like the apostles of old we ask, “Teach us how to pray”
 
Teach us the joy of prayer – its ability to convey your forgiveness, to reveal more of your love, and open up new experiences of your presence.  Like the apostles of old we ask, “Teach us to pray”
 
Lord God our Father, hear our prayer so that all we do and ask and think may give you the glory that is rightfully yours.
 
Take a moment in silence now to pray for one or two people you know who need God’s help….
 
We offer all these prayers in the name of Christ, Amen.
 
 
Closing Words
 
It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today. Thanks again for logging on.  I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection on the third line of the Lord’s Prayer.  Please do spend some time in quiet over the next couple of days and ask yourself, what do the words, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” mean to you?
 
Unfortunately with the new restrictions we are unable to meet for church services for the immediate future.  So for the next while I’m planning to have online reflections on Sundays and on Wednesdays to keep us encouraged and in spiritually good shape.  We’ll be looking at the Lord’s Prayer and in between having the odd special service. 
 
At the end of November we will be entering the wonderfully reflective season of Advent.  This Sunday we will be thinking some more about what it will mean for us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and really mean it.  I will include a video clip for the children and we’ll post a printable colouring page for you to download to help them learn the lesson for the day.
 
Let me encourage you to be generous in your financial support of our two chosen Harvest charities.  You can contribute using the church Bank details that you will find on the church website.  Just remember to mark your transaction for the Harvest.  Alternatively you can ring Aleida our treasurer and organise an alternative method of payment that would be more suitable for you.
 
So there’s lots to look forward to.  So let’s keep positive and keep on tuning in.
 
In the meantime, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together…
 
Benediction   
Almighty God,
your ascended Son has sent us into the world
to preach the good news of your kingdom:
inspire us with your Spirit
and fill our hearts with the fire of your love,
that all who watch our lives and hear your Word
may be drawn to you,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.”
 
 
 

APC 18th October 2020 Harvest Celebration (Online)
 
Part 1              Michael
 
Welcome and Introduction  
 
Good morning everyone and welcome to our very special Harvest Celebration.  I want to begin today by passing on our deepest sympathies to Dorothy Mclean and all her family.  Sadly Dorothy’s father passed away recently.  Dorothy has been back and forwards to England over the last number of months but now that she is returned home, I wanted to take this opportunity to pass on our deepest condolences from our church family.  Please do keep Dorothy, her mum, Stuart, Joseph, Orla and the wider family in your prayers at this time.
 
Today we meet to thank God for all his goodness to us and also to remind ourselves that because God has been so generous to us we must share with others.  Today we will hear particularly about the work of two local charities- Purple House Cancer Support and the Arklow Lifeboat.  I hope that all of us will take this harvest opportunity to generously support the work of these two organisations.
 
 
But to begin I want to read you the words of a Psalm.  Psalm 67 is a beautiful song written by one of the Israelites during one of Israel’s harvest festivals.  Let’s listen to its words as we join together today to offer our praise to God for all His goodness to us…
 
Call to Worship      Psalm 67        
Lord God, Be gracious to us and bless us
Make Your face shine on us so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
Then the land will yield its harvest;
and God, our God, will bless us.
God will bless us
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
 
Introduction to Kid’s Praise
Let’s join together in singing God’s praise as our children’s choir lead us in the harvest hymn “All Things bright and beautiful.”
 
Kid’s Choir      All Things bright and beautiful         (VIDEO)
 
 
Part 2              Michael
 
Introduction to Opening Prayer
 
Boys and girls that was just lovely.  Thank you so much for leading us so well in our praise to God.  Now let’s take a few moments to talk to God.  Let us pray…
 
Opening Prayer
 
Almighty and eternal God, we rejoice today in the greatness of your love and the fullness of your provision.  We come together surrounded by the fruits of your creation, the rich variety and the plenty of another harvest. 
 
Once more you have blessed us, and we thank you.
 
Receive then our worship- for your giving and sustaining of life, for the constancy of the seasons, for the regular pattern of day and night, for the wonderful riches of our world.
 
Once more you have blessed us, and we thank you.
 
Receive also our praise for the human labour that is part of our harvest – the preparing and sowing, the cultivating and growing, the reaping and packaging, the transporting and selling.
 
Once more you have blessed us, and we thank you.
 
Eternal God, we thank you that you allow us to work hand in hand with you, nurturing and gathering in the fruitfulness of your creation.  Help us to recognise the responsibility that involves and so to be faithful stewards of all you have given.  So may our lives as well as our words offer to you our joyful praise and heartfelt worship.
Once more you have blessed us, and we thank you, Amen.
 
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
 
We are so blessed to have so many young people in our church family.  We’re all in for a real treat now as the boys and girls lead us in saying the Lord’s Prayer together…
 
Kid’s Lord’s Prayer                (VIDEO)
 
Our Father, which 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.
 
Part 3              Michael
 
Boys and girls that was very special, thank you.  I can’t believe how well those of you who are much younger can read.  You are obviously working very hard in school!  We’ve been blessed over this Covid 19 period with some beautiful choir pieces and solos online and in church.  So I’m delighted that Alison and our virtual choir will now lead us in the beautiful harvest piece, “Come ye thankful people come.”
 
 
Virtual Choir    Come ye thankful people come      (VIDEO)
 
Part 4              Michael
 
Introduction to Bible Reading
 
In the Old Testament we discover that God instructed his people the Israelites to stop at various points in the year and to bring him a portion of their Harvest as a ‘thank’ offering.  He also gave them instructions not to harvest right to the edge of their fields but to leave some of the crop for the people who were poor so that they could share in the harvest.  Listen to how this is recorded in Leviticus Chapter 19 v 9 and 10.
 
 
Bible Reading         Leviticus 19 v 9-10
 
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.”
 
 
All Age Talk            “Why do we celebrate Harvest?”
 
Has anyone here ever seen the TV series or read the books called “Horrible histories”?  Finding out about what happened many years ago in different parts of the world can be really fun and interesting.
 
History is really important.  What happened in the past always shapes what things are like in the present and what happens today will shape what things will be like in the future!
 
Today we have gathered online to have a special Harvest Thanksgiving Service.  The reason we do that has a lot to do with history! 
 
You see, thousands of years ago, God told a group of people called ‘the Israelites’ to hold 2 Special Celebrations every year.  Do you know what they were called?  Well to help us remember I have brought two familiar food items with me this morning.
       
Fruit Pastilles- The first festival took place in April and was called the “Feast of the First Fruits”.
 
Time Out-  The second festival took place in June and was called the “Feast of Weeks” and to celebrate it the people were allowed a whole day off work!
 
At that time in history most of the people were farmers.  During these two Festivals they brought God some of the food and animals and drink that they had been producing during the year.  They brought bread and wine and cows and sheep and they gave them to the Priest who then said a prayer to ask God to accept the gifts that they had brought.
 
It might seem like a strange thing to do, but at that time in history, in that culture, this was the Israelite’s way of saying ‘thank you’ to God for sending the sun and the rain to help their crops and animals and grapes for the wine to grow.
 
People who are Jews around the world today still continue to celebrate these two festivals every year.
 
About 2,000 years ago the Christian church began.  It was started mainly by Jewish people who believed that Jesus was the Son of God.
 
Over the years, the Christian church realised that they too needed to have a Special Festival every year in order to say ‘thank you’ to God for all the food and things he provides them with.
 
That’s why we are having a special online harvest festival today.
We have met to sing, to pray, to remember all the good things that God has provided for us over the past year, and to say a big “Thank You” to God for all that He gives us every day.
 
As Christian people, there are many reasons why it’s really important for us to maintain our tradition of a Harvest Festival?
 
For one thing, it forces us to stop in our busy lives and to actively remind ourselves that ultimately everything we have including our food and drink comes from God.  It would simply be rude of us not to stop and say thank you to God for all that He gives us.
 
Apart from having a church service, there are also other ways that we can show God that we really do appreciate everything that He gives us in our lives?
 
Before we eat anything we can quietly pause and inwardly say ‘thank you’ to God.  We can do our best to look after the environment and try our best not to waste things but to make things last. We can talk to God regularly and thank Him for all the good things He gives us.
 
There is one other ancient harvest tradition that we try to keep alive in our Church Services.
 
In the Feast of Weeks one of the instructions God gave the Israelites was that when they gathered in the crops in their fields they were not allowed to cut the grain at the edges of the fields. And if they dropped some stalks of grain they weren’t allowed to pick them up again.
They did this so that poor people could come along after the harvest was over and gather up enough grain to make bread to keep them alive.
 
Telling His people to follow this tradition was God’s way of reminding His people that because He had shared the sun and rain with them to make their crops grow, they ought to share their harvest with people who were poor.
 
In the same way, throughout its history, the Christian church has always made sure that at every Harvest Service there is a collection to help other people who are in need. 
This year as a church we have decided to have a collection for two local charities.  The first is Purple House Cancer support in Bray and the second is the RNLI Arklow Lifeboat Station.  So that you can understand a little more about these two charities and how the money you give to them will be used, I have invited two representatives of these organisations to send us a short video presentation.  So without further ado let me introduce you to Mr Conor O’Leary who is the Manager for Purple House and Mr Tommy Annesley who is the Chair of the Arklow Lifeboat Committee.
 
3 VIDEO PRESENTATIONS-  
 
Conor O’Leary    Manager Purple House Cancer Support (Promo)
 
                           Purple House Covid Impact (Video)
 
Tommy Annesley    Chair of Arklow Lifeboat Committee (Video)
 
Part 5              Michael
 
Harvest is a time for thanking God for all the food and good things He gives us.  Harvest is a time for sharing with others. Let me encourage you to be generous in your financial support of these charities.  You can contribute using the church Bank details that you will find on the church website, just remember to mark your transaction as for the Harvest Appeal.  Alternatively, you can ring Aleida our treasurer and organise an alternative method of payment that would be more suitable for you.
 
Introduction to Prayers for Others
 
As well as many children we are also blessed by the number of fantastic teenagers that we have in our church family.  It’s been such a shame that with Covid restrictions it’s been almost impossible to be able to get them together but we do look forward to being able to do that again in the future.  But I’m just delighted this morning that some of our teenagers and some of our younger children are going to lead us now in prayers for others.  So let’s pray…
 
 
Prayer for Others                   (VIDEO)
 
Prayer 1 (Zander Crammond)
 
Thank you God for farmers like my grandad and dad who grow crops for us to eat, Amen.
 
Prayer 2 (Chloe Crammond)
 
Thank you for the tatoes and the carrots and the beans, Amen.
 
Prayer 3 (Magnus Coelho)
 
Dear God, please be with the fishermen who give us fish to eat.  Also protect the people who work for the RNLI as they go out sometimes in stormy weather, Amen.
 
Prayer 4 (April Prestage)
 
Dear God, thank you for the lovely weather, trees and flowers.  Please help us to be more careful with your world and not to create too much pollution, Amen.
 
Prayer 5 (Jasmin Quintin)
 
Thank you for our friends and family.  Keep them safe and well.  And help the doctors and nurses to look after everyone who is unwell.
 
Prayer 6 (Patrick Anderson)         
 
God we thank you for all that you have provided for us and all that we enjoy.
Help us to share what you have given us with people who are in need.
 
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
 
Prayer 7 (Roisin Quintin)              
 
Today we thank you for all the staff working in Purple House.
We pray that through all their efforts people who have lost family members from cancer would find comfort, healing and the encouragement they need to still enjoy life despite their loss.
 
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
 
Prayer 8 (Joshua and Matthew Theron)              
 
Today we also thank you for all the staff who work so that we can have a lifeboat here in Arklow.
Thank you for all the work they do and for how many people they have helped over the years.  Please continue to provide all the resources they need to keep this service running.  Please keep all the crew safe as they risk their lives to save the lives of others.
 
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
In Jesus’ name we ask it.  Amen.
 
Part 6
 
Closing Words and Introduction to Virtual Choir
 
It’s just so great to see and hear so many of our young people leading us in prayer.  Our huge thanks to you and to your parents for helping us with that.
I really do hope you have enjoyed our Online Harvest service this morning.  It’s been many weeks in the making and it’s been a real team effort.  I’m so proud of everyone who has taken part and who has enabled the service to be so special.  I would like to give a special thanks to our new Clerk of Session Mrs Edna Crammond – Edna thank you for brightening up my office this week for the recording with your beautiful flowers and vegetables.  A huge thanks also goes to Isabelle Fenton who stitched lots of the prayers together on her computer.  Well done Izzy.  Special thanks also to Tara and Emma for coordinating the prayers and to Alison and all the members of our virtual choirs for the lovely music.  Thanks to our charity representatives Conor and Tommy for sending me on their little recordings.  And last but not least, thank you so much to Dave Hendry who had to put over 10 different videos together in order to give us what we have enjoyed this morning.  Let me encourage you to be generous in your financial support of these charities.  You can contribute using the church Bank details that you will find on the church website.  Just mark your transaction for the Harvest Appeal.  Alternatively you can ring Aleida our treasurer and organise an alternative method of payment that would be more suitable for you. Don’t forget to log in again on Wednesday morning when we will be reflecting on what it means to pray “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
 
Do stay logged on as in a moment, I want to invite you to join in and sing together as Alison and all the members of our virtual choir lead us in the wonderful harvest hymn “We plough the fields and scatter”…
 
But just before that, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together…
 
Benediction   
 
May God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is the source of all goodness and growth,
pour his blessing upon all things created,
and upon you his children,
that you may use his gifts to his glory and the welfare of all
people, and….
 
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.”
 
Closing Praise   We plough the fields and scatter         (VIDEO)
 
 
 
 

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www.arklowpresbyterianchurch.com/get-information.html

​APC 14th October 2020          “Hallowed be your name.”
 
Welcome and Introduction          
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Midweek worship.  On Sunday we began our new series looking together at The Lord’s Prayer.  As we reflected on the opening line, “Our Father in heaven,” we discovered some wonderful insights to help us in our own personal prayers.  Today we will be thinking about what it will mean for us to pray, “Hallowed be your name.”  But first let’s take a moment to pause and to talk to our heavenly Father, let’s pray…
 
Opening Prayer
Sovereign God, great and wonderful, almighty and all-powerful, in grateful praise we bring you our worship today.
We praise you that you are greater than our minds can grasp – higher than our highest thoughts, beyond expression in words.
In grateful praise we bring you our worship today.
We praise you that you are the source of all that is and has been, that you are at work in our world and in our lives, always seeking to fulfil your purposes, never resting until your will is accomplished.
In grateful praise we bring you our worship today.
We praise you that you came to our world in Christ, and that through Him you come to us again, revealing your love, renewing our faith, showing your mercy, giving us life.
In grateful praise we bring you our worship today.
Forgive us that we have not always appreciated who you are and all you have done – despite all the signs in creation we have doubted your existence, despite all your provision we have failed to give you thanks, we have not kept our first sense of wonder at your greatness, we have not given you praise that is rightfully yours, we have presumed to limit you to our own expectations. We have been closed to your Holy Spirit’s prompting, we have kept Christ at arm’s length when His challenge has disturbed us.  Yet you have shown mercy to us, constantly reaching out to forgive and renew.
In grateful praise we bring you our worship today.
Come to us now as we worship you today.  Through your loving mercy give us guidance for the days ahead.  Help us to grow stronger in faith, more committed in discipleship, more faithful in the service of Christ until that day when He is all in all.
In grateful praise we bring you our worship today to the glory of your name, Amen.
Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together…
 
Our Father, which 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.
 
Introduction to the Bible Reading
 
Did you know that there are actually two records of the Lord’s Prayer found in Holy Scripture.  On Sunday we read the version that is recorded in Matthew’s gospel and today we look at the recording in Luke.
 
Bible Reading         Luke 11 v 1-4
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
    for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.”
 
Reflection                       “Hallowed be your name.”
Last Sunday we began our new series on the Lord’s Prayer by reflecting on the opening line – “Our Father, who art in heaven”.
We learned that God is like a perfect parent who wants the best for us and whom we can talk confidently to, about anything, anytime and anywhere.  We also learned that because God is so special and so perfect that we should respect Him and give Him the honour that He deserves.  This brings us nicely to the second line of the Lord’s Prayer which is our focus for today, “Hallowed be Thy name.”
The Greek word ‘Hagios’ translated here as ‘hallowed’ means to be set apart, to be separate or different.
When something is really special to us we say that it is “Hallowed”.  For example, if a sports stadium was a really famous and special one, we would say that the grass on the pitch was ‘hallowed’ turf.  You might have a china teapot or a baptismal gown that is ‘hallowed’.  It is special because it has been in the family for generations and you feel a responsibility to care for it and look after it so that it can be passed on to your own children.  When Jesus teaches us to say to God, “Hallowed be your name,” He is reminding us of taking time to pray, “God, help me and help people in the world to Honour and respect you”.
But what will it mean practically for us to give God’s name the honour and respect that He deserves?
Very often when a new baby is born the parents will give the baby a name because the name has a special meaning.  Do any of you know what your name means?  Conor means “Lover of Dogs.”
When we talk about God’s name, we mean everything about God- His character.  What He is like.  So when we say to God, “Hallowed be your name” what we are really saying is, “God everything about you is really special and we want everyone to respect You.”
But how can we make this concept a reality in our own lives?  And how can we be an influence for good on the people we rub shoulders with so that they may also begin to hallow God’s name?
Well the first thing we must do if we are to hallow God’s name is to believe wholeheartedly that God is real!  It saddens me deeply that in today’s society it seems to be a badge of honour and intelligence to believe that there is no such thing as God or to say, “I’m just not sure if God is real or not!”
The Psalmist says, “The fool says in his heart that there is no God.”  But why is it foolish to refuse to believe that God is real?
Well for a start, look at the world around you!  Look at the amazing mountains, the sky, the sun, the creatures, the flowers and trees, the beaches and the sea.  Think about the vast array of stars and galaxies.  Think about the order of the systems by which nature functions.  Think about the complexity and the wonder of the human body and its genetic code. 
Now imagine that wrist watches had never been invented.  You are walking along a beach when suddenly your eye catches something sparkling in the sand.  You pick it up and there find a beautiful gold object with a strap, a glass face with tiny needle-like hands one of which is circling at precise intervals making a ticking noise as it goes along.  You turn it over and remove the back.  Inside there is an intricate system of wheels and cogs turning in complete synchronisation.  Then you turn to your friend beside you and say, “Isn’t it amazing what the rain and the sun and the water and sand has created?!”  Or do you turn to them and say, “Wow, I don’t know what this is but somebody really intelligent must have made it!  I hope these make it to full production soon!”
Let me be frank.  If you don’t believe in God, or if you are sitting on the fence saying, “I’m not sure if I believe in God or not” you are deliberately refusing to believe all the evidence that He has provided in the world around you of His existence.  You may think you are being very clever or even very modern and mature in your thinking.  But let me advise you that you are actually being very stubborn and foolish.  You have no excuse.  To hold to the view that God does not exist is not an intellectual position to be proud of, it is a dangerous and foolish belief which will keep you from knowing the greatest relationship that life can give you and isolate you from the greatest source of love and power to help you be the person you have always wished to be.
Listen, as C.S. Lewis’ wonderful book the Screw tape letters remind us - the devil is real.  He will do everything that He can to keep you from believing in God, even when he subtly whispers in your ear- “You really are very clever, after all, this is what most intelligent individuals believe these days.”  Don’t listen to him.  If you do you will not only regret it in this life but you will regret it for all eternity in the life that is to come.
If we are to honour God in our lives we must begin by believing that He is real.  And as Tim Keller suggests in his book ‘The Reason for God’, let us not be afraid as Christians not only to have our own beliefs challenged by others but to challenge our atheist friends politely but robustly to examine why they hold the position that they do in the light of all that screams in the world around us of the existence of our Creator.
To hallow God’s name begins with believing that He is real.
But something else is necessary for us to hallow God’s name.  In addition to believing that God exists, we must also understand what He is like.  God’s ‘name’ is His character and if we are to honour Him, we must know what He is like.
Looking at the wonder of the world around us not only points us to the fact that God exists it also gives us some clues as to what He is like. 
The intricacy and beauty of creation and the natural systems or laws of physics that operate in the universe show us that God is wise and intelligent.  A flash of lightening and the crash of waves show us that He is powerful and strong.  The provision of nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables for the needs of all living creatures remind us that God is loving and caring. 
Beyond that, I will be the first to admit that we are at the mercy of God to reveal Himself to us if we are to understand what He is like.  Thankfully, that is exactly what God has done.  Throughout the centuries from the creation of the world, God has chosen to reveal Himself and to explain His nature to people.  Principally this has happened through the nation of Israel.  God chose a nation of people to explain His character and ways to so that they in turn could be a light to the other nations.  That means they could show the other nations in the world what God was like.  So when we read the OT Scriptures, the nation of Israel are a light to us.  For as we read the History of their nation, we discover what these people learned about God and what guidelines He gave them for living and worshipping Him. 
But the greatest and clearest way that God has revealed Himself to the world is when He decided to come to earth Himself in the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is God come in human flesh.  There is more evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ than for most other historical figures including Julius Caesar.  In other words, Jesus Christ definitely lived on earth just over 2000 years ago.  Secondly, when the normal criteria that are used to decide if an historical document is reliable are applied to the 4 biographies of the life of Jesus what do we find? 
We discover that there is much more evidence that the gospels are reliable sources than for many other works of literature that we consider to be reliable.  In other words, Jesus definitely lived and the 4 gospels are reliable accounts of his life.  So believing the gospels and doubting Davinchy is not just a cop out by the unintelligent.  It is by far the more scientifically accurate and more intellectual response to accept the reliability of the gospels and to leave the books of Davinchy to the genre that they are- Works of Fiction which make great cinema viewing.
When we read the gospels we discover that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God.  God come in human flesh.  So when you study His life and teaching you are discovering what God is like.  And what do we find?  He healed the sick.  He raised the dead.  He stilled a storm.  He forgave sins.  He had compassion on the people that society despised.  He died on the cross and rose from the dead so we could be forgiven and brought back into a friendship with God.  He went back up into heaven and sent out His Holy Spirit.  That same Spirit now lives in all who trust in Him.  Christ’s Spirit guides us, comforts us, warns us and empowers us to turn from ways that are wrong and to live more and more each day in ways that are right and good.  He taught us many ways of how to live life in all its fullness.  Ways which often contradict the wisdom of our age.
Perhaps you are finding it hard to believe in God.  Perhaps you struggle to talk to Him regularly.  In one sense there is no shortcut answer to this.  Rather let me encourage you to go for walks and deliberately take in the beauty and the wonder of the world around you.  Let me encourage you to read books on the wonder of the human body and of the universe.  Let me encourage you to turn off your laptop, set down your Financial Times and give the same time that you give to these things to the reading and study of the library of books that we know as the bible (Hold up Bible).  Don’t just get it second hand from me or someone else as to what God is like and how you can know Him.  You are an intelligent individual.  You can read and can understand the bible for yourself.  You are responsible to God for how seriously you take that! 
I am amazed at how much emphasis we put on academic study and achievement both personally and for our children and yet we spend so little time in the study of Theology- the study of God.  What could be more important?  I mean what will it profit you or your family if you gain the whole world but lose your soul? 
I will never forget the story that Canon J John tells about the day he was invited to a Business Man’s breakfast.  He was seated beside a man considered to be an economic giant in the business world.  During their conversation at the table, the man waxed lyrically about all his achievements and turned to J. John who he hoped was suitably impressed.  J. John thought for a moment and then responded with these words.  “Sir, you are indeed an economic giant but you are a spiritual minnow!”
Sometimes we need to be shocked into the reality of our situation!  If we want to honour God we need to believe that He exists.  If we want to give Him the respect that He deserves, then we need to make the time to find out what He is like.  That means we need to make church a priority, and we need to make every effort to read and study the bible for ourselves.  Jesus said, to whom much is given, much will be required.  We have bookshops in Dublin and we can go online and order a huge array of fantastic books to help us understand the bible more accurately.  Let me encourage you not to remain a spiritual minnow but to make it your lifetime goal to become a spiritual giant.
It has been my experience and therefore it is my deep conviction that if you are willing to make the effort to discover what God is really like, He will show you.  He will draw your heart and passions out in renewed affection towards Him and your life will be changed for the better in the deepest and most meaningful ways.  As this happens, the prayer, “Hallowed be your name” will become a reality in your life and not just words from your lips on a Sunday morning.
To hallow God’s name means to give Him the respect and place in our thoughts and lives that He deserves and to desire for this to happen in the lives of others also.
To do that we must believe that He is real.  To do that we must take the time to understand what His name or what is His character is like.  This comes through the prayerful study of nature and the Holy Scriptures.
But there is a third thing that we must be willing to do if we are to be able to pray this prayer without hypocrisy.  To hallow God’s name we must cultivate an awareness that we are always in the presence of God.  Important as it is to believe in God, to study His word to discover what He is like, and to meet together regularly for worship, we must forever resist the temptation to keep God confined to one little part of our lives – the times when we are praying or singing in church, or whatever.  The truth is God is everywhere at all times.  Therefore all of life is spiritual.  “Hallowing His name” then will also mean learning to practice the presence of God.  God watches how we drive the car.  He sees how we treat the waitress in a restaurant.  He knows how we complete our tax return.  He is aware of how we speak to our children or our spouse.  He is beside us when we are watching the TV or trawling through the Internet.  He is seated at our Board Meetings and is an extra player on our hockey team.  Training ourselves to practice His presence, reminding ourselves that God is in us, with us and around us, will enable us to cultivate a holy respect for ourselves, and for the way we treat other people.  As we learn to do that we will be hallowing God’s name.
There remains one final ingredient in reverence. Hallowing God’s name means believing He exists, making the effort to understand what He is like and learning to view all of life as lived in God’s presence.  But we may have all these things and still not have reverence.  To all these things must be added obedience and submission.  In his Catechism, Martin Luther asks, “How is God’s name hallowed among us?”  His answer is, “When both our life and doctrine are truly Christian.”
In other words, God’s name is hallowed among us when our convictions and our practical actions are in full submission to the will of God.  This doesn’t mean that we live perfect lives.  Such a thing is impossible.  But it does mean that we pray and ask God to help us to live right and have the right attitudes.  It does that mean that we say sorry when we have done wrong and that we are willing to repent on a regular basis.
To believe that God exists, to understand what God is like and what His will is through prayer and scripture reading, to be constantly aware of His presence and to be willing to obey Him in every area of our lives- this is reverence and this is what we pray for when we say, “Hallowed be your name.”
May God by His Spirit, give each of us the desire and ability to pray this prayer.  May He increasingly enable us by His Spirit to give Him the reverence that His nature and character deserve...
 
Prayer for others
Lord Jesus Christ, the way the truth and the life, we pray today for those who seek the truth- the truth about themselves, about others, about this world we live in, about You.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who study and research into the working of the universe, the deep mysteries of life, the complexities of this world, the mechanics of science.  Give them insight and humility, patience and understanding.
We pray for those in mass media – journalists, reporters, photographers, cameramen, editors of news bulletins and newspapers, presenters and program-makers, authors and script writers- all those who in different ways have the power to shape public opinion.  Give them honesty and integrity, courage and perception.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for theologians, preachers, evangelists and individual Christians, seeking to understand more about the reality of God and to communicate this to others, responsible for leading others to a greater knowledge of your love.  Give them vision and dedication, vision and open-mindedness.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who cannot face the truth, who find it too challenging, too depressing, too frustrating or too frightening to contemplate.  Give them courage and help, hope and perseverance.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray too for those who deny the truth, twisting and distorting it, leading others astray, blind to right and wrong.  Give them honesty to recognize their mistakes, and grace to amend them.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray finally for those who work to help people come to terms with truth, counsellors, psychiatrists, ministers, workers, doctors, philosophers.  Give them compassion and sensitivity, understanding and inspiration.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
 
Take a few moments to bring your own prayers for people on your mind to God…
Lord, we offer you all these prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
 
Closing Words
It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today. Thanks again for logging on.  I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection on the second line of the Lord’s Prayer.  Please do spend some time in quiet over the next couple of days and ask yourself, what do the words, “Halowed be your name” mean to me? 
 
Unfortunately with the new restrictions we are unable to meet for church services for the immediate future.  So for the next while I’m planning to have online reflections on Sundays and on Wednesdays to keep us encouraged and in spiritually good shape.  We’ll be looking at the Lord’s Prayer and in between having the odd special service. 
 
At the end of November we will be entering the wonderfully reflective season of Advent.  Each Sunday I will include a video clip for the children and we’ll post a printable colouring page for you to download to help them learn the lesson for the day.
 
Do tune in at 10am this Sunday for a very special online Harvest Celebration.  Our Sunday school have been working very hard behind the scenes to provide us with some beautiful prayers and songs.  So thanks to the children and to Tara and all the parents for that.  We’ll also be hearing personally from representatives of the two charities that we will be supporting this year.  One from Purple House Cancer Support in Bray and one from the Arklow Lifeboats.  Let me encourage you to be generous in your financial support of these charities.  You can contribute using the church Bank details that you will find on the church website or you can ring Aleida our treasurer and organise an alternative method of payment that would be more suitable for you.
 
So there’s lots to look forward to.  So let’s keep positive and keep on tuning in.
 
Do stay online at the end of this recording to listen to a beautiful song reminding us of the amazing truth that God is a perfect parent to us and loves us so much.
 
In the meantime, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together…
 
Benediction   
Go now and hallow God’s name.  Not just through your words but what you do and who you are.  May others as they meet with you, meet with Christ and know His living presence for themselves.  Amen.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.”
 
 

APC 11th October 2020          “Our Father in heaven.”
 
Welcome and Introduction          
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday morning worship.  Today we’re beginning our new series as we spend a few weeks looking together at The Lord’s Prayer.  This morning we will be reflecting on the opening line, “Our Father in heaven.”  And discovering what we can learn from this about our personal relationship with God.  But first let’s take a moment to pause and to talk to our heavenly Father, let’s pray…
 
Opening Prayer
Eternal God, we come once more to this familiar place at this familiar time, even if we can’t see all the familiar faces!  We come as we have come so many times, to listen, to join together in well-loved prayers, to listen again to well-loved words of scripture and to encourage one another with our well-loved benediction.
 
Eternal God, we thank you for all that is familiar; all that has become so much part of our lives.  But save us we pray, from ever becoming over-familiar – over-familiar with you, so that we lose the sense of awe we should feel in your presence; over-familiar with one another, so that we lose sight of the worth in each one of us; over-familiar with our faith, so that we come to see only what we expect rather than everything you would show us; over-familiar with the world about us, so that we fail to glimpse your hand at work in the wonder of creation.
 
Speak to us through all we know and love so well.
 
Eternal God, open our eyes again to your greatness, our hearts to one another, our lives to all your people in every place, and our souls to the work of your Kingdom across the world.  Deepen our insight, increase our love, enlarge our vision, widen our horizons.
 
Speak to us through all we know and love so well.
 
And so, inspired by all that you have done, all you are doing, and all you have yet to do, may we worship you more truly, and serve you more faithfully, to the glory of your name,  Amen.
 
Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together…
 
Our Father, which 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.
 
Introduction to Kids Video
It’s been lovely over the last few months to see so many of our children in church and to see them really listening and watching the videos we’ve shown them with great interest and producing some amazing colouring in pictures.  Well, we don’t want you to be left out now that we’re back online, so starting today each Sunday we will be having a slot just for you and afterward you can print off a colouring sheet from our church website to help you remember what we’ve learned and to have some fun!  So if your kids aren’t beside you right now, why not pause the recording and call them in to watch a Puppet called Douglas explain what we are saying when we pray the Lord’s Prayer together in church…And at the end of this video I’ve a few words to say to the children so don’t let them rush away.
​
(BEGINNING PART 2)
Kid’s Talk Summary
Isn’t it wonderful to know that God is like a perfect mam or dad.  We know that He loves us and wants to be our friend.  It doesn’t matter how young you are you can talk to God.  That’s called praying.  Over the next few weeks we’re going to learn much more about how we can talk to God.  I hope you talk to him.  Maybe you could make a little video telling us how you’re getting on with that and what God means to you or even what you find difficult about talking to Him.  Just remember He loves you and you can talk to Him any time anywhere about anything.  Hope you enjoyed tuning in today and don’t forget there’s a colouring in sheet on our church website that mam or dad can print off for you. That way you can have fun while mum or dad or your brothers or sisters are watching the rest of this service!
 
Colouring Sheet Link
http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/christianity-bible/lords-prayer (Sheet Number 7 - Doodle)
 
Introduction to Bible Reading
 
Bible Reading         Matthew 6 v 1-13
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
    but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’
 
Reflection               The Lord’s Prayer- “Our father in heaven”
 
The older I get, the more I realise that during our lives we never get our ‘L Plates’ down.  There are always new things for us to learn.
 
Jesus was always teaching his friends new things about God.  That’s why his friends were called ‘disciples’.  The word disciple means, ‘a learner’.
 
One of the best ways to learn something is to watch someone else do it.  For example, if you want to learn how to knit, the best way is to watch a friend doing it and then have them watch you to see what you are doing well and to show you where you are going wrong.
 
As Jesus’ friends watched him, they saw him do one thing a lot.  They saw Jesus do this by Himself, they watched him do it with friends, they observed him doing this in the Synagogue and before any big decision.  And like all faithful Jews, the disciples saw Jesus do this in the morning, at dinner time and at night.
 
Of course we are talking about prayer.  The amazing thing is that even though He was the Son of God, Jesus still prayed often.  Since the disciples spent so much time with him over a 3 year period, just from watching Jesus, they would have learned that prayer must be something that is important.
 
As well as watching someone do something, another good way of learning is to ask questions.  As Jews, Jesus’ friends knew that talking to God is important, but to be honest, it seems that they still didn’t really know how to do it.  Or perhaps looking at Jesus’ life and the things he did, they probably felt that His prayers were more effective than their own!
 
So, one day one of Jesus’ friends was very brave.  He stuck up his hand and he asked Jesus, “Lord, can you teach us how to pray?”
 
What do you think Jesus said?  Do you think he was cross that one of his friends asked that question?  Do you think he said, “Haven’t you been paying attention!?”
 
No!  Jesus was really pleased that his friends had asked this question.  Because now Jesus knew that prayer was something the disciples were struggling with.  Now He could help them to learn how to pray.
 
You know we are just like Jesus’ friends.  If we are honest, most of us find it hard to pray.  It’s hard talking to someone you can’t see.  Sometimes we don’t know what to say!
So it’s good for us to be honest and say to God, “Lord Jesus, please teach me how to pray!”
 
In order to teach his friends how to pray, Jesus actually said a prayer.  The good news for us is that 2 of Jesus’ friends, Matthew and Luke, listened to Jesus’ prayer and wrote it down.  You can find it in Matthew and Luke’s gospel.  The shorter version which is in Luke is probably the most ancient and most accurate, but both versions are used in the worldwide Christian church.  This prayer is called ‘The Lord’s Prayer’.
 
Since lockdown I think we have all become more conscious of our own frailty and our need of God’s help.  Therefore I thought it would be good for us to take a few weeks thinking about our relationship with God.  Hopefully as we look at the Lord’s Prayer together all of us will feel encouraged to talk to God and to learn a little bit more about what that might look and feel like.  And if you’ve been to the Prayer Course over the last few weeks, don’t worry, this is all completely new material and will enable us to go even deeper in our understanding of Jesus’ famous prayer.
 
This morning I want to draw our attention to the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer and see what lessons we can learn.  Jesus says to his disciples, “When you pray begin with these words… ‘Our Father who is in Heaven’.”
 
This is a very short and very simple phrase, but if we take a few moments to stop and think about it, we will soon discover that it teaches us some really profound and very encouraging things about God and about the relationship we can have with Him.
 
The first lesson we can learn is that
 
1      God is a Father to us:
 
Here Jesus says that when we talk to God we can call Him ‘Father’.  The word he uses is the word Aramaic word ‘Abba’ which literally means ‘Dad.’
 
I wonder what you think God is like?  Some people think that God is like Santy.  He’s just there to give us whatever we want.  He can never say ‘No’ to our wishes.  But of course that is not true.  God knows better than we do about our lives.  Often He may say ‘No’ to us about things we thought would be best for us.  It may be ‘No’ to a particular job, or dream or ‘No’ to a particular relationship or a certain course of action.
 
Then of course some people think God is like an angry Gard or an angry teacher.  They feel that He is always watching out for us to make a mistake so that He can bash us or punish us in some way.  This too is a completely wrong picture of what God is like. 
 
By telling us that we can call God “Daddy,” Jesus reminds us that God is like the best parent in the world.  He made us.  We are special to him.  He loves us very much.  He wants to listen to us.  He wants to help us.  He is thrilled when we take time out to sit down and talk with Him and also when we shoot off silent prayers in the middle of a busy day.
 
So the first lesson we can learn from Our Lord’s Prayer is simply this- we don’t need to be afraid of God.  We can go to Him and talk to him just as we might go to our best friend or a good parent.  When we go to God we can be certain that He will give us a sympathetic and a listening ear.
 
“Do you have a right image of God, do you understand how much He loves you?”
 
 
2      God is ‘Our’ Father:
 
The second lesson the Lord’s Prayer teaches us is that God is ‘Our’ Father.  Jesus doesn’t teach us to say “My Father”.  In fact the words, “I, Me, Mine” aren’t found anywhere in the Lord’s Prayer.  You know, sometimes people think God belongs to them- to their particular church or to their particular country.
 
The truth is God doesn’t belong to anyone.  God is the Father of all humanity.  Because of that, He loves everyone He has made.  He longs for everyone He has made to get to know Him and to love Him.  And because God is the Father of all humanity we need to remember that means to some extent that we are all brothers and sisters.  It doesn’t matter if we are black or white, rich or poor, what country we come from or what language we speak.  We are all part of the family of the world that God has made and loves.  That means we need to respect and appreciate each other and the differences between us.  It means we need to try our best to love and forgive each other and to live in peace with each other rather than fighting and squabbling.
 
“Do you ever think that you have a closer access to God than someone else?”  “Is there someone who for whatever reason you are thinking badly about?  Is there someone you are refusing to accept is made in the image of God just as much as you?”  “Is there someone that you need to pray for and start loving again, because that is the way God feels about them?”
 
Because of the fact that He is the Father of all humanity I believe God listens to the prayers of anyone who honestly seeks to talk to Him.  The story of Cornelius in the book of Acts is a great example of this truth.  Even before he became a full blown Christian who had the Holy Spirit living inside him, Cornelius prayed and God heard and answered him in quite miraculous ways.  So let’s not be too quick or arrogant to write people off.
 
But at the same time, we also know that when someone turns to Jesus and invites them into their lives they become an adopted child of God in a whole new way.  I know this is true because that was my experience.  Growing up I attended church willingly every week for nearly twenty years.  I was baptised and confirmed but if I’m honest, I never really talked to God like I talk to my friends.  But all that changed instantaneously when one evening I knelt at my bedside and invited Jesus Christ to enter my life in a real and living way.  When I got up from that prayer I didn’t feel any different but boy did I realise in the weeks and months to follow that God had answered my prayer.  From that day until this, my relationship with God has been totally different.  I go to church because I want to.  I talk to God like I’m talking to you now.  I’m more conscious of living right and I think I’ve become a much less selfish individual.  While God has always been my Father, before I became a Christian he was like a distant father who I never saw.  But since the day Christ entered my life, God has been like a father who is always by my side ready to listen and wanting to share every aspect of my life.
 
What about you?  Is God like a distant parent or is your relationship with him close and living and real?
 
3      God is our Father ‘in Heaven’:
 
The last lesson I want to share with you from the start of the Lord’s Prayer is this, even though God is a Father to us, who loves us and wants us to be best friends, He is still ‘in heaven’.  That probably means a number of things.  It of course reminds us that as well as being present everywhere at once by His Spirit, God also lives in His Special Kingdom.  There He sits on the throne and rules the world. 
 
It also reminds us that even though we are made in God’s image and we can reflect His good character, at the same time God is different to us.  He is so much better than us.  He is so much wiser than we are.  He is much stronger and more powerful than anything we can make.  That means as well as being able to talk to God as if He is our best friend, we also need to really respect Him.  That’s why Jesus tells us in the second line of his prayer to say, “Hallowed be your name.” 
 
When something is really special to us we say that it is “Hallowed”.  For example, if a sports stadium was a really famous and special one, we would say that the grass on the pitch was ‘hallowed’ turf.  When Jesus teaches us to say to God, “Hallowed be your name,”  he is reminding us of taking time to pray, “God your name is very special”.
Very often when a new baby is born the mam and dad will give the baby a name because the name has a special meaning.  Do any of you know what your name means?  Erin fro example means “a girl from Ireland”.
When we talk about God’s name, we mean everything about God- His character.  What He is like.  So when we say to God, “Hallowed be your name” what we are really saying is, “God everything about you is really special and we want everyone to respect You.”
You know that’s a really important lesson for us about how we should pray.  It’s great to know that we can come boldly and confidently to God like a young child will burst into its father’s study or a young pup will jump onto its owner’s lap.  But it’s also really important for us to remember just who we are approaching when we pray and to do so with appropriate reverence and respect.
We need to come to God humbly, confessing our sins, and with a genuine desire to listen to His advice and a sincere commitment to doing what He says.  If we don’t, the reality is we will make God sad and even cross.  If we are disobedient or disrespectful or ignore him for long periods, we may in fact be forcing Him like any loving parent to have to discipline us.
 
How that discipline will show itself in our lives I’m not quite sure but if we stop long enough to think about it, we may just realise that the hand of our God is heavy upon us because He is trying to get our attention or teach us a lesson that we really need to learn. 
 
So when we pray our Father “in heaven” it’s a reminder that we should respect God.  We need to be willing to do what He says. He deserves our weekly worship and all the praise that we can give.  If we find that we are losing interest in Him, then we need to stop and be really honest with Him and try to get our relationship with Him back on track.  The story of the Prodigal Son reminds us that God stands with open arms just longing for us to pray to Him again.
 
Conclusion:
 
In life, we are always learning.  One of the most important lessons is how to pray.
 
Jesus shows us how to pray in the Lord’s Prayer.  It begins, “Our Father who is in Heaven”.
 
Here Jesus reminds us not to be afraid to come to God.  He is a perfect Father who loves us and longs to share conversation with us.
 
Here Jesus teaches us a lesson we are quick to forget.  God is not ‘my’ God.  He is ‘Our’ God.  No one has a monopoly on Him.  He loves everyone He has made and hears the prayers of all who seek Him sincerely.  But when we place our trust in Jesus our relationship with God becomes much more intimate than we had ever thought possible.
 
Here Jesus shows us that while we should approach God confidently because He loves us, that we should do so with the greatest respect.  We should not be too familiar with God.  We must remember that He is different to us, so much greater and wiser.  We must approach Him with respect, with a willingness to obey and with the praise and worship He deserves.
 
Prayer for others
Lord we pray for our government and for the members of NPhet.  Help them to work well together and give them great wisdom in knowing how we can best keep people safe and at the same enable as many people as possible to maintain their livelihoods.  Help us as individuals and as a nation to be as supportive and understanding of them as possible in these days of very difficult decisions.
Lord we thank you for all our ministers and church members who are doing their best to continue to provide online services.  Thank you that we have had many weeks when we have been able to meet in church.  Help us to accept these recent changes and to stay close to you and to each other through these online interactions.
We thank you for the many people working on a vaccine to provide immunity against Covid-19. We pray that they would continue to make quick progress to find a safe and cost-effective result.
We pray that in your mercy just as viruses in the past have burned themselves out, that you would cause this Corona virus to do the same.
We think especially for the people that increased restrictions will hit the hardest both financially and emotionally.  We pray too for those people who are elderly or have underlying health issues who are most likely to feel afraid.
Lord give us great wisdom to know how to help and support those who are most vulnerable in these days.
We pray especially for hospital workers and ask that you might give them courage and strength for every day.
We thank you that our schools and colleges have been able to stay open both physically and online.  Continue to give wisdom, courage and patience to all teaching and support staff and grant that these services will continue to be a blessing to all the students who benefit from them.
Lord thank you for the continued blessings that we enjoy despite the difficulties that we face.  Thank you for food and clothing, for good homes, for the beautiful part of the world that we live in, with so many places to walk and so much beautiful scenery to enjoy.  Thank you for our pets, for Xbox and Internet and for how we can keep in touch with family and friends through modern technology.  Thank you for each other and the relationships we can enjoy.
We remember again all those who are sick and those who are coming to terms with the loss of someone they have loved.  Lord as we draw near to you, please draw near to us and give us all the help and grace that we need.
Take a few moments to bring your own prayers for people on your mind to God…
Lord, we offer you all these prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
 
Closing Words
It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today.  Thanks again for logging on. 
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection on the opening line of the Lord’s Prayer.  Please do spend some time in quiet over the next couple of days and ask yourself, what do the words, “Our father in heaven” mean to me? 
 
Unfortunately with the new restrictions we are unable to meet for church services or for bible studies or face to face meetings for the next few weeks.
 
But we still have the internet and we still have Zoom.  So don’t despair.
 
For the next while I’m planning to have online reflections on Sundays and on Wednesdays to keep us encouraged and in spiritually good shape.  We’ll be looking at the Lord’s Prayer and in between having the odd special service. 
 
At the end of November we will be entering the wonderfully reflective season of Advent.  Each week I will include a video clip for the children and we’ll post a printable colouring page for you to download to help them learn the lesson for the day.
 
Next Sunday we’re going ahead with our online Harvest Celebration.  I know that some of the Sunday school children will be taking part, we’ll have some wonderful choir pieces from all ages in our church, and we’ll be hearing personally from representatives of the two charities that we will be supporting this year.  One from Purple House Cancer Support in Bray and one from the Arklow Lifeboats.  Let me encourage you to be generous in your financial support of these charities.  You can contribute using the church Bank details that you will find on the church website or you can ring Aleida our treasurer and organise an alternative method of payment that would be more suitable for you.  Oh, and I might just squeeze in a little scriptural reflection about Harvest as well!
 
So there’s lots to look forward to.  So let’s keep positive and don’t forget to tune in again on Wednesday morning when we’ll be reflecting on what it means to pray, “Hallowed be your name”.
 
Do stay online at the end of this recording to listen to a beautiful song reminding us of the amazing truth that God is a perfect parent to us and loves us so much.
 
In the meantime, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together…
 
Benediction   
Do not worry about anything in life-
what you’ll eat, or what you’ll wear.
Look at the birds of the air,
or the flowers in the field.
If God takes such good care of such transient things,
how much more can you depend on God to care for you?
For you have a Father who loves you,
a Father who knows all your needs.
So don’t be afraid.
Instead, live lives of love and generosity,
storing up your treasure in heaven
instead of here on earth.
 
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.”

APC 4th October 2020            “Love always perseveres.”
 
Welcome and Introduction           Michael
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday morning worship.  Today we’ll be asking ourselves - what did Paul mean when he says “love always perseveres?” 
 
As we begin today on behalf of us all I would like to pass on our deepest condolences to Lisa and Clive and to all the family of Hilda Crammond who passed away during the week. 
Hilda was such a faithful servant of God and of our church here in Arklow and she will be sadly missed by us all.  Please do keep the family in your thoughts and prayers at this time.
 
Let’s begin by reminding ourselves why we are here – because God has called us to worship Him, to experience His presence and to receive the help that only He can give.
 
Call to Worship
In the midst of our failures,
We stand in God’s grace.
In the midst of our struggles,
We boast in our hope through Christ.
In the midst of our suffering,
We claim the endurance given by the Holy Spirit.
In every part of our lives,
The love of our Divine Creator has been poured into our hearts.
Let us be open to this love as we join together in worship.
Let us pray…
 
 
Opening Prayer
Living God, we thank you that you are a God of love and compassion, slow to anger and full of mercy, a God of infinite patience, infinite goodness, infinite care, with infinite time for each of us.
 
Living God, help us to make time for you.
We thank you that though we so often fail to make time for you and so often fail to make time to serve you, yet you are always ready to receive us, to accept us, to respond to us and to help us in our time of need.
 
Living God, help us to make time for you.
 
Teach us to create space in our lives for you, for one another and for ourselves.  Help us to measure time not by our standards, but by yours, and so may we live our lives as you would have us lead them.
 
Living God, help us to make time for you.
 
In the name of Christ we pray…
 
Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together…
 
Our Father, which 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.
 
Bible Reading 1      Genesis 29 v 14-30
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, 15 Laban said to him, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”
16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah had weak[a] eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. 18 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”
19 Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.”
22 So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. 23 But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her. 24 And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant.
25 When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”
26 Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. 27 Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”
28 And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. 30 Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
 
Bible Reading 2      1 Corinth 13 v 4-7           
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
 
Short Reflection             “Love always perseveres” 
 
For most of us modern life is so fast paced.  The society we live in is so instant.  There can be many benefits to this.  I love nothing more than an instant coffee or instant noodles.  Wifi gives us instant access to any information and enables us to instantly contact any of our friends in any part of the world.  24hr shopping means we can pick up our bread and milk at any time of the day or night and a simple swipe of our phone gives us instant access to our bank account when we want to make a purchase or check our balance.
But there are downsides to all of this.  One of them is that because we can access everything so easily we can fall into the trap of assuming that all of life should be easy and that good things should always come quickly to us without much effort.  This can lead to a runaway approach to problems.  When the going gets tough, when we don’t like what we’re feeling, when people aren’t meeting our needs or fulfilling our desires, the temptation is to run out rather than seeing things through or taking the time and effort to resolve the issues.
There are so many areas of life where people are more likely to give up today than they were even twenty or thirty years ago.  In the past it was common to stay in one job for life.  Today a Millennial is likely to do 12 different jobs in their lifetime.  In the past it was very rare for people to get divorced.  Today there’s probably about a 45% chance of a marriage ending in divorce.  In the past people were more likely to commit to one sports club or organisation for life.  Today it’s common for people to try many different sports or to move around from club to club.  In the past it was more common for people to spend countless hours mastering a particular skill or trade.  Today many of those skills are on the decline because people just don’t have the time or the stick-ability to become a master of the art.  Sadly there is an ever increasing rate of suicide as people even decide to give up on life.
Now I’m not saying that there is never a time to give up.  We all know that in the past people have remained in abusive work or marriage situations where they were miserable because of a twisted religious or societal pressure that it was always the done-thing to have a stiff upper lip and keep going.  One of the huge positives of the modern world and the attitude of the younger generation is that they are willing to make changes and to try something new rather than settle for a miserable existence.
If we’re suffering from burnout one of the kindest things we can do is to love ourselves.  As difficult as it might be, that will involve swallowing our pride and admitting that we can’t just keep on trying to juggle all the balls of life while ignoring ourselves.  It might mean taking time off, it will certainly mean making changes and above all it will mean creating time in our week for us to rest and do things that make us laugh and that we enjoy.
But there is also great benefit in learning the art of perseverance.  There are so many examples in life when it is a good thing to be able to keep on keeping on, even when we don’t feel like it.  So how can we develop this characteristic in our lives? 
Well I think one of the most important things is to learn to love.  When we love something we are more likely to persevere.  It’s my love for my two dogs that helps me to get out around 7.00 am and take them for a walk when I’d much rather just pour myself another cup of coffee and put on a slice of toast.  It’s my love for my children that keeps me driving them to hobbies and activities, that keeps me working to provide for them and to make the necessary sacrifices so that they can have what they need.  It’s my love for people that enables me to keep in contact with them, trying to encourage them and that enables me to face a blank page every week in the church office as I begin another sermon.  It’s our love for a teacher that keeps us interested in a subject at school.  It’s our love for a subject or a personal interest that motivates us to stay on in a job when the going gets tough or the hours are long.  In the current climate, however difficult we’re finding it, it’s our love for other people that motivates us to keep on sanitising, wearing masks, completing e-forms and keeping our distance when we’d much rather just not bother because of the inconvenience.
There are a number of practical takeaways from all this.  If you’re a young person thinking about what you might do in the future my advice is simple- follow the path of the things you are good at and the things that you love.  You will spend most of your life working.  If you choose a field you love and have a natural interest in, you are more likely to enjoy it and to be willing to persevere on those days when it’s just not as exciting.
Don’t marry for money or because of someone else’s expectations.  Marry for love.  That said, the sparks of first love easily fade for all of us over time.  So love needs to be worked at every day.  Time needs to be carved out in a busy month to keep love alive.  If we really love someone we will try our best to work it out and not give up at the first sign of difficulties.
Some people are easy to love.  Others, let’s face it, are extremely difficult.  It’s a challenge for all of us to learn to live with difficult people.  But God calls us to love even our enemies because that’s what He does.  You see, we forget that we too are sinners.  We often go about doing our own thing with no real concern for God.  If God was to treat us as we deserve, He would simply give up on us.  But He doesn’t because He made us, we’re His children, and He loves us.  Sure, He must often weep at the way we ignore Him or treat one another, but He never gives up on us.  Despite all that he knows about us, God sent Jesus to die on the cross to take the judgement we deserve and to offer us complete forgiveness for free.
You know, they say that 7 days without prayer makes one week!  When I feel my love for God growing weaker, when I feel like giving up on ministry, when I couldn’t be bothered dealing with difficult people anymore, when I’m tempted to just let the kids do whatever they want or not turn up at rugby training for a week, I get on my knees and I pray a simple prayer… “Lord, show me your love.” 
In the quiet, God brings me to the foot of the cross.  There I see Jesus dying for me and hear His words dripping with grace, “father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”
And the longer I sit, the more I feel my heart strangely warmed.  The more I sense the love of God filling my spirit.  And in that moment I feel myself receiving a strength and motivation that is supernatural.  And that’s what helps me to keep on keeping on.
I’m convinced it is the love of God shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit that will enable us to persevere in the areas of our lives where we feel like throwing in the towel.
It’s the knowledge of God’s deep love for me, that enables me to love myself enough to hear His voice whisper – “Michael are you looking after yourself too?”
That’s something of what I feel St Paul means when He says, “Love always perseveres.”
So let me ask you as I’ve asked myself this week.  What is God saying to you when you hear the words, “Love always perseveres?”
Where do you need the love of God to empower you not to give up?
Where do you need the love of God to inspire and motivate you to care for yourself?
Let us pray…
 
Prayer for others
Lord, we pray for our government leaders.  Please continue to give them wisdom, energy and strength as they seek to make policies to guide us through these difficult times.
We thank you for the many people working on a vaccine to provide immunity against Covid-19. We pray that they would continue to make quick progress to find a safe and cost-effective result.
We pray that in your mercy just as viruses in the past have burned themselves out, that you would cause this Corona virus to do the same.
We continue to ask for energy, strength, perseverance and safety for all those working in hospitals and in all essential services and industries where there is a high degree of contact between people.
We ask you to draw near all those we know who are sick at this time bringing them courage and comfort and all the help that they need.
We remember those who mourn.  We think especially of the family and friends of Hilda Crammond.  We thank you for the example of faith that Hilda has given us and ask that in their loss that you would bring great comfort to her family at this time.
Lord we thank you for the faithfulness of Emily Kearon over nearly 20 years as our Clerk of Session.  We thank you also for the faithfulness of Brian as an elder.  As they step back from these roles we pray that they may know how grateful we are for their commitment to you and to our church.  May they enjoy many more healthy and happy years together.
We pray for the many harvest services that will take place this month, including our own.  We ask that through them we would be reminded to be thankful to God and generous in sharing his blessings.
We remember our Moderator, Rev David Bruce, as he embarks on his first Presbytery Tour of Down.  As he preaches in various churches and engages with civic officials give him wisdom and make him a great encouragement to everyone he meets. Keep him safe in that work as well.
We thank you for our chaplains who are serving in the Forces and in prisons. Give thanks for those using their gifts in very specialized and often demanding situations. 
We pray for the people these chaplains minister to, both those who value the Christian support they receive and those who have a limited knowledge of faith. Pray that the chaplains would be able to show and share faith in all these situations. 
We pray for the officers of the General Council Standing Committee as they deal with annual items of business; assessments and stipends etc. and report to the Council for decisions. Pray especially for the Financial Secretary, Clive Knox and the Support Services Committee Convener, David Thomson.
We remember Profs Stafford Carson (Principal) and Gordon Campbell (Principal Designate), as they lead tour training College in Belfast, having to make challenging decisions for the well-being of the College and its staff and students in these exceptional times.
Take a few moments to bring your own prayers for people on your mind to God…
Lord, we offer you all these prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
 
Closing Words
It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today.  Thanks again for logging on. 
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection on the nature of Christian love.  Please do spend some time in quiet over the next few days reflecting on the truth that love never gives up.  Ask God to fill you with his love and power to keep going and to give you wisdom to know best how to care for yourself.
 
Just a little reminder that our midweek bible study meets again tomorrow night from 7pm to 8pm in the church.
 
Unfortunately due to the Covid Restrictions imposed on Dublin Emily and Brian’s family are unable to travel to Arklow.  So we are postponing the presentation to Emily and Brian for all their faithful service over the years.  Edna behind the scenes has taken over duties as our new Clerk of session and we will officially welcome her when travel restrictions are lifted.
 
On Sunday 18th October we will be celebrating Harvest.  At that service we will be hearing brief reports from the two charitable organisations that we have agreed to support this year.  That’s Purple House Cancer Support and the Arklow Lifeboat.  So please do put that in your diary.
 
The Sunday School hopes to restart a week or two after the Harvest service.  Tara will be emailing all parents with the details of how that will operate and with our new registration forms.  We are still looking at the possibilities for the Youth Group.  We had provisionally booked bowling in Wicklow but unfortunately the bowling alley in Wicklow rang us to say they were having to close.  Further details for the other activities will follow in the days to come.
 
Next Sunday we will be staring a short series on Prayer as we look at the Lord’s Prayer together.  I think all of us have been increasingly aware of how much we need the Lord’s help in these days so I hope you find this series will be a real help in encouraging you in your own prayers.
 
With changes to government guidelines we are now able to have two pods of up to 50 providing each pod is separate and socially distancing of 2m is maintained within each pod.  This will enable us to have more than 50 people in total safely accommodated between our church sanctuary and the hall.  So in short, we are now allowed a few more people than 50.  The same rules of socially distancing, hand sanitising, wearing face masks and pre booking apply.  So don’t forget, if you’re coming to church, to send Aleida a text by Friday evening at the latest.
 
Do stay tuned at the end of this recording to listen to a beautiful song reminding us of the mysterious truth that it’s often as we persevere through the difficult days of life that God shapes us and moulds us more into the likeness of His Son. 
In the meantime, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together…
 
Benediction   
Living God, go with us on our journey of faith – revive us when we grow weary, direct us when we go astray, inspire us when we lose heart warn us when we turn back.  Keep us travelling ever onwards a pilgrim people, looking to Jesus who has run the race before us and who waits to welcome is home.
 
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.”
 

APC 27th September 2020            “Love always hopes.”
 
Welcome and Introduction           Michael
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday morning worship.  Today we will be reflecting on the words of St. Paul, “Love always hopes.”  What will it mean for us to remain hopeful in these difficult days and through that, to bear witness to our Christian faith to those around us?
 
But before we consider that, let me lead you in a prayer of worship as we thank God for His faithful presence in all circumstances and for the hope that we enjoy in Him.
Let us pray…
 
Opening Prayer      “Hope in despair”
Gracious God, we thank you that you are always with us, in the bad times as well as the good, the difficult as well as the easy, the sad as well as the happy.
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
We thank you that though we have sometimes been unsure of the way ahead, you have always been there to guide us, though we have felt discouraged, you have offered us fresh inspiration, though we have been in despair, you have given us hope.
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
We thank you for the assurance this brings us that your steadfast love never ceases, that your mercies are new every morning, that great is your faithfulness.
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
May that conviction give us confidence in the days ahead, so that whatever problems we face, whatever disappointments we experience, whatever sorrows may befall us, we will still find reason to look forward, reason to believe in the future and reason to hope.
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
In Jesus name we ask it, Amen.
 
Join with me as we say the Lord’s Prayer together…
 
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, which 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.
 
Bible Readings
Jeremiah 29 v 10 – 14
This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.[a] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
 
Romans 5 v 1-5
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
 
1 Corinth 13 v 4-7    
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
 
Reflection                       “Love always hopes.”
Without this, students get discouraged and drop out of college.  Sports teams fall into a slump and continue to lose.  Addicts return to their habits, marriage partners decide to divorce. Inventors, artists, entertainers and entrepreneurs lose their creativity.  What am I talking about?.....Hope! 
Hope isn’t merely a nice option that helps us temporarily clear a hurdle.  It is something that is essential to our very survival.  One of the greatest examples of this can be found in the experience of the psychologist Victor Frankl.
In 1941 Frankl married his first wife, Tilly Grosser who later that year was forced to have an abortion by the Gestapo to prevent Jewish overpopulation.  In 1942 Frankl, his wife and parents were relocated to the Theresienstadt Ghetto where his father was laid to rest due to starvation and exhaustion. Frankl’s wife and mother were then murdered in the gas chambers at Auschwitz.
Over the next three years, Frankl was subjected to the horrible conditions of the concentration camps. During his imprisonment in the camps Frankl dug ditches, set up a suicide prevention program, and volunteered at the typhus ward.
In addition to these activities, one of the things that kept Frankl alive was the hope that if he himself could mentally and emotionally survive the holocaust then one day in the future he would be able to help other people who were suffering from mental and emotional problems.  Here is an extract from his book “Man’s Search for Meaning” where he describes one incident in the concentration camp where he discovers the power of love to conquer evil and to bring hope in a situation of complete despair…
“We stumbled on in the darkness, over big stones and through large puddles, along the one road running through the camp. The accompanying guards kept shouting at us and driving us with the butts of their rifles. Anyone with very sore feet supported himself on his neighbour's arm. Hardly a word was spoken; the icy wind did not encourage talk. Hiding his hand behind his upturned collar, the man marching next to me whispered suddenly: "If our wives could see us now! I do hope they are better off in their camps and don't know what is happening to us."
 
That brought thoughts of my own wife to mind. And as we stumbled on for miles, slipping on icy spots, supporting each other time and again, dragging one another on and upward, nothing was said, but we both knew: each of us was thinking of his wife. Occasionally I looked at the sky, where the stars were fading and the pink light of the morning was beginning to spread behind a dark bank of clouds. But my mind clung to my wife's image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look. Real or not, her look then was more luminous than the sun which was beginning to rise.
 
A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth--that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world may still know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position of utter desolation, when a man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way--an honourable way--in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfilment. For the first time in my life, I was able to understand the words, "The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory."
 
It was the belief that his suffering had a greater purpose that enabled Victor Frankl to survive the Holocaust.  It was his focus on the love of His wife that enabled him to sustain hope in a situation where that seemed impossible.
So too, writing to the Corinthian church which was riddled with problems, strife, division and colourful characters whose actions could easily have graced many a tabloid headline, Paul encourages them to persevere with the reminder that, “Love hopes all things.”
You see, given the circumstances, it would have been so easy for people in the Corinthian congregation to throw in the towel and walk away.  At that time in history, in that part of the world, that would not have meant simply joining a neighbouring parish.  The truth is there wasn’t one.  It would have meant giving up on Christianity altogether.
“I know you’re sorely tempted,” says Paul, “I can totally empathise with what you’re feeling”, “but please, please hang in there, because love always hopes.” 
The word Paul uses for hope is the Greek word ‘Elpizo’ which means to ‘trust’ or ‘expect’.  It describes an assured expectancy and belief that however difficult life is, God has a plan and purpose for us that is good.  It is to hold onto the promises that
God is always for us, not against us and that He can do immeasurably more than we can ever ask or imagine.  It is to understand that nothing is impossible for God, that with Him we can do all things.  It is to be assured that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness and to know that ultimately nothing, not even death itself, can ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.
Listen, I’m aware that we’re all continuing to find this pandemic a challenge physically and emotionally.  I’m aware of some of the other challenges that many of you are facing.  And be assured by the way, that if you share something with me, it will be kept in the strictest confidence.  But there will also be things that I’m unaware of or that you don’t feel you can share.  And there are things that to be honest, I would never really be able to empathise with because I’ve never experienced it personally.  But whatever those things are, however painful or difficult, however much they cause you to despair, or tempt you to walk away from God or to give up on life altogether, let me encourage you that “love hopes all things.” 
That’s what Victor Frankyl discovered.  Against all the odds, the love of his wife and the hope that somehow his suffering had a purpose, enabled Victor Frankyl to survive the Haulocost.  As he had hoped, his experiences enabled him to become one of the greatest psychologists of all time, helping thousands of people to find purpose in their suffering.
You know there is an old Arabian proverb that says, “All sunshine brings a desert”.
It’s a way of reminding us that often the greatest lessons we learn are through our failures or the mistakes we make.
Often the things we see as our greatest weakness are also our greatest strength.  It’s learning to cope with a chronic illness that creates within us the strength of resilience and the empathy to draw alongside other people in ways that no one else can.
Often it’s the thunderstorms in our lives that cause the ripest fruit to grow in our hearts.  
You know, when silver is being purified it must be held in a hot flame until all the impurities are burned away.  If it is held in the flame for even a fraction too long it will be destroyed.  When a silversmith was asked, “how do you know when to remove the silver from the flame”, she replied, “When I can see my reflection.”
So often, it’s the times in life when we feel the burn, that the character of Jesus will be reflected most brightly. 
Love hopes all things.  It believes that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are being conformed into His likeness.  Hope trusts in the long-term game plan of God to make us like Jesus.  It never considers anyone a lost cause.  It motivates us to stop and pick one another up when we fall down however badly.  It accepts that we are all a work in progress especially on those days when it’s hard to see.  It is slow to criticise and quick to encourage.  It has the courage to gently challenge rather than quietly letting someone drift out of the game.  It trusts that God has a plan and a purpose – to purify us into the likeness of his Son.  To transform the entire cosmos one day and restore it to its former glory.  To give us a share in that future new heaven and earth where there will be no more sickness, suffering or death.
God has begun this work in our world and even within us.  He will never walk away from that and will bring what he has started to completion.
So let me ask you as I’ve asked myself this week…
What is it that is causing you sleepless nights?
What is holding you back personally?
Who have you almost given up on?
Let the spirit of God fill you once again with Hope.  Hope to believe that God is still at work, in you, in other people and in this world, even in the things that are tough.
Love always hopes.  Let us pray…
 
Prayers for Others         “Broken Dreams”
Loving God, we pray for those whose dreams have been destroyed, those who no longer have the heart to look forward, who have lost their vision for the future.  So many people, known and unknown – whose happiness and hopes have been dashed by tragedy, whose faith in loved ones has been betrayed, who face poverty, unemployment, homelessness, disease, starvation, even death p whose trust in you has been tested beyond the limit.
God of hope, light a new flame in their hearts.
We pray for all those who plod wearily through life with no sense of purpose – those who feel the future is empty, bereft of promise, and those who live only for today, fearful of tomorrow.
God of hope, light a new flame in their hearts.
Touch their hearts we pray, stir their imagination, rekindle their faith, renew their hope.  And so may new dreams and new visions be born in the most broken of lives.
God of hope, light a new flame in their hearts.
Take a few moments in quiet now to pray for the renewal of your own hope and for the renewal of hope and purpose in people who you know who are struggling at the minute…
God of hope, hear our prayers, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
 
Closing Words
It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today.  Thanks again for logging on. 
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection on the nature of Christian love.  Please do spend some time in quiet over the next few days.  Take time to reflect on the truth that love always hopes.  Then ask God the Holy spirit to fill you with real hope that God has a plan and purpose for you that is good.
 
Two weeks ago we recommenced our midweek bible study.  We’ve been enjoying a fantastic time reflecting on the Lord’s Prayer together using the video series called the Prayer Course by Pete Greig.  If you are unable to join us, you can catch it online by searching the Prayer Course online or on our website and clicking on Sessions 1, 2 and 3.  Even if you missed the last few weeks you are still more than welcome to attend this week.  It will be in the church again tomorrow night from 7pm to 8pm.  The premises will have had a deep clean, hands will be sanitised on entry and exit, we will be socially distanced and all participants are asked to wear face coverings.
 
Next Sunday we will be having a special presentation to Emily Kearon to thank her for the amazing commitment she has given to our church over nearly 20 years as the Clerk of Session.  Emily will be retiring from this role while maintaining her responsibilities as an elder.  We will also be officially welcoming Edna Crammond as our new Clerk of Session.  We are so thrilled that Edna has agreed to take up this important position.
 
On Sunday 18th October we will be celebrating Harvest.  At that service we will be hearing brief reports from the two charitable organisations that we have agreed to support this year.  That’s Purple House Cancer Support and the Arklow Lifeboat.  So please do put that in your diary.
At our session meeting a few weeks ago we agreed to the phased opening of a number of our activities.  Sunday School and Youth Fellowship and the Women’s Bible Study hope to start back at some point in October.  The Wednesday Club and Coffee Doc will begin after the Halloween holidays and the Friday club will start in January.   The Sunday School hopes to restart a week or two after the Harvest service.  Further details for the other activities will follow in the days to come.
 
Next Sunday we will be thinking about how love ‘always perseveres’.  In these difficult days that will be an important reminder for us to help us keep positive.
 
With changes to government guidelines we are now able to have two pods of up to 50 providing each pod is separate and socially distancing of 2m is maintained within each pod.  This will enable us to have more than 50 people in total safely accommodated between our church sanctuary and the hall.  So in short, we are now allowed a few more people than 50.  The same rules of socially distancing, hand sanitising, wearing face masks and pre booking apply.  So don’t forget, if you’re coming to church, to send Aleida a text by Friday evening at the latest.
 
Do stay tuned at the end of this recording to listen to a beautiful song reminding us of the wonderful hope we have in Christ. 
 
In the meantime, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together…
                               
Benediction
We thank You, Lord, for re-igniting the flame of hope within us, for filling our hearts with light and evicting the darkness,
and for giving us a new vision of the hope that we have in Christ.
 
So go now, as light-bearers to a world in darkness,
Go now, as hope-carriers to a world in despair;
 
And May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and forevermore, Amen.
 
 

APC 20th September 2020            “Love always protects.”
 
Welcome and Introduction           Michael
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday morning worship.  We bring a special congratulations to David and Agreneth and their families and friends as they gathered in church today for the baptism of their son Luke.  And so it’s very appropriate today that we will be reflecting on the words of St. Paul, “Love always protects.”  What will it mean for you and me to protect not only our children and family members, but everyone whom God has created?
 
But first, let me lead you in a prayer of worship as we tell God how much we value His love and protection in our own lives.
Let us pray…
 
Opening Prayer
Glory and honour are offered to you,
O Lord Most High, Almighty King of creation.

In you, O Lord my God, do we trust!
You have been our refuge, our shelter from the storms of life,
and we rest securely in you,
for you are our dwelling place.

You protect us from the evils of the day and night.
You guard and guide our footsteps,
and even when we trip and fall—you are there,
to hold us fast in your strong hands of love.

We rest in you, O Lord our God;
we trust in your holy Name;
we cling to your side,
trusting in your saving and redeeming power.

Whenever we call, you are always there for us.
You give us a deep sense of satisfaction,
because we know our lives are in your hands.
 
Heavenly Father, as we gather to worship you today, we pray that you will draw near to us to encourage us, reassure us and give us confidence in you.  May the knowledge of your protection inspire us to do all we can to love and protect everyone we know and all the people of our world. 
 
Let us now thoughtfully and sincerely share in the words of the Lord’s Prayer together…
 
The Lord’s Prayer         
 
Our Father, which 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.
        
Bible Reading 1     Psalm 91         ‘God our Protector’
 
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”
Bible Reading 2      1 Corinth 13 v 4-7       “Love explained”
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
 
Reflection               “Love always protects” 

Let me introduce you to the “Deborah Savings Group” (See image above).   It is a happy band of 14 women and two men, from a church in Haiti that is a partner to the aid agency Hope International.
Inspired by the Old Testament prophetess, Deborah, they faithfully gather to battle against the isolation, fear, and injustices of poverty—not only in their own lives, but in those of their neighbors as well.
One member of the group, Kerline, describes what they do like this…
“If there is a community member in need, even when that person isn’t part of the group, we collect money together. We have an offering within the group to support that person,”
The group means everything to Kerline who runs a small restaurant alongside a bustling highway in Haiti.
At one point she and her children were on the verge of losing their home and the restaurant.  She told the savings group about her situation.  They gave her a small loan and through that she was able to secure her accommodation and continue her business.
Being a member of the savings group has meant more to Kerline than just housing and income, though. On her birthday, group members visited her home to clean it and bring her gifts to celebrate. “I felt like I was part of a family,” she shares. “I feel valued when I’m part of the group—and I know that when I’m with the group, I feel important.”
And Kerline says that the hope she’s found is rooted in Christ: “It’s really different when I’m comparing my spiritual life before the saving group and after the savings group. Sometimes, before, I used to think, ‘What am I going to do with these children that I have to raise?’ But now, I don’t think about these things, because I have more confidence that God will sustain me.”
Kerline’s story is a perfect example of what Paul means when writing to the Christians in Corinth he says, “Love always protects.”
The word that he uses is the Greek word ‘stegei’ which literally means ‘to cover’.  It carries the idea of protecting or preserving.
We all know what it’s like to get caught out in a heavy shower.  What a relief it is when a friend runs over and allows us to stand under their umbrella.
Baptism is a bit like that.  When we baptise a child, as we did in church this morning, they are brought under God’s umbrella.  They are brought under the protection of God’s family the church.
It’s important for us as parents and as God’s people to realise that and to take our responsibility to protect children seriously.  That’s why all churches including the Presbyterian church are legally obligated to have a Child Protection policy in place and to ensure that any people who work with children are Garda vetted.
But loving our children and loving each other the way God loves us will also involve so many other things…
It will mean providing physical protection.  Sometimes we become weary of Health and Safety Policies including everything that we are currently trying to do to prevent the spread of Covid 19.  But at the end of the day, these are practical ways of showing God’s love by protecting people from danger.
Driving within speed limits, putting warning signs on chemicals, having age limits for drinking, providing a dependable car and a secure home for your family, resisting the temptation to gamble with our finances, acting with discretion with the opposite sex, and implementing a GDPR policy can all be ways of physically protecting those we love.
But as well as physical protection, it’s important that we also provide our children and other people with emotional protection.  Taking time at the end of a school day to listen to our children, a spouse or a work colleague, praising and encouraging people rather than always pointing out their faults, refusing to use an aggressive tone or hurtful words, avoiding racist or homophobic attitudes, giving people proper breaks from work and taking any form of bullying seriously- these are all examples of how we can afford people the emotional protection that they deserve.
The last thought I want to leave with you is the responsibility we have to protect someone’s reputation and humanity even when they have let themselves, us and others down.
A beautiful example of this comes from the story of the birth of Jesus.  When Mary became pregnant, Joseph was faced with a choice.  To expose her to public disgrace or to divorce her quietly.  Joseph being a righteous man, decided to keep the matter quiet, covering what he saw as the fault of Mary and protecting her from public shame.
When someone sins, it’s very tempting to become self-righteous like the religious leaders who dragged a woman who’d had an affair into the public eye.  But that is not love.  Love seeks to cover other people’s failures.  Even when we’ve been hurt, love shows mercy and discretion.  When we are tempted to gossip and say, “Here, did you hear about so and so…” we are not acting in love.  Rather, love conceals what is not attractive in another person and refuses to tarnish their reputation.  In a similar way, even when we have to say difficult things to someone, love cushions the blow.  Instead of pointing the finger, when correcting someone, we should approach people with grace and in a way that will make it clear to them that we understand the truth, “but for the grace of God there go I”.
Of course, none of what I’ve said means we excuse or seek to hide wrongdoing.  It doesn’t mean that we try to avoid the seriousness or devastating consequences of some sins.  Love always seeks to strengthen what is weak, shield those that are vulnerable and provide healing to those who have been hurt.
But it also mean that we seek to protect our own sanity and souls by somehow finding it in our hearts to forgive.  And it demands that we somehow look to see the image of the divine in every human being however marred, and hope beyond hope that somehow they might find the transforming power of God to change their ways and make amends.
 
Reflection
Love always protects…
Who or what is God calling you to protect?
What will that look like physically, emotionally and spiritually?
 
Prayer for others
Sovereign God, we pray for the weak and vulnerable in our world – those who feel powerless in the face of the massive problems that confront them.
Help of the helpless, reach out to strengthen and support.
We pray for the poor, the hungry, the diseased the dying.
Help of the helpless, reach out to strengthen and support.
We pray for the oppressed, the exploited, the abused, the tortured,
Help of the helpless, reach out to strengthen and support.
We pray for the frightened, the lonely, the hurt, the depressed,
Help of the helpless, reach out to strengthen and support.
We pray for those who live in lands racked by tension, those who face famine and starvation, those who are unemployed, those who are homeless.
Help of the helpless, reach out to strengthen and support.
Sovereign God, you have expressed a special concern for the bruised, the needy and the weak of our world.  May that concern bring strength to all in such need, and may it inspire people everywhere to work for a more just society, standing up for the needy, and working for that time when there will be an end to suffering, mourning and pain; that time when your Kingdom will come and your will be done.
Help of the helpless, reach out to strengthen and support.
In the name of Christ, Amen.
 
Closing Words
It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today.  Thanks again for logging on. 
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection on the nature of Christian love.  Please do spend some time in quiet over the next few days.  Take time to reflect on the truth that God is your protector.  Then ask God to show you the ways that he would like you to protect other people. 
 
Two weeks ago we recommenced our midweek bible study.  We’ve been enjoying a fantastic time reflecting on the Lord’s Prayer together using the video series called the Prayer Course by Pete Greig.  If you are unable to join us, you can catch it online by searching the Prayer Course online or on our website and clicking on Sessions 1 and 2.  Even if you missed the last 2 weeks you are still more than welcome to attend this week.  It will be in the church again tomorrow night from 7pm to 8pm.  The premises will have had a deep clean, hands will be sanitised on entry and exit, we will be socially distanced and all participants are asked to wear face coverings.
 
At our session meeting last week we agreed to the phased opening of a number of our activities.  Sunday School and Youth Fellowship and the Women’s Bible Study hope to start back at some point in October.  The Wednesday Club and Coffee Doc will begin after the Halloween holidays and the Friday club will start in January.   We will give you further details in the days to come.
 
Next Sunday we will be thinking about how love ‘always hopes’.  In these difficult days that will be an important reminder for us to help us keep positive.
 
Don’t forget, if you’re coming to church, to send Aleida a text by Friday evening at the latest.
Do stay tuned at the end of this recording to listen to a beautiful song that we sang in church this morning.  It’s St Patrick’s Breastplate and it reminds us that whether we are just starting out on life, or we’ve been on the road for many years, Christ our Protector walks beside us every step along the way.
 
In the meantime, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together…
 
Benediction
As you go from here remember the promise of God: “I will rescue those who love me.  I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honour them.”  So go from here with joy, confident that the love and mercy of God goes with you. 
 
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.”
 
 

APC 13th September 2020     “Love always trusts / believes all things.”
 
Welcome and Introduction          
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday morning worship.  Today we’ll be asking ourselves - what did Paul mean when he says “love always trusts and always believes all things?” 
 
Let’s begin by reminding ourselves why we’ve tuned in – because God has called us to worship Him, to learn from Him and receive His help.  And so as always let’s take a moment to talk to God, let’s pray…
 
Let us pray…
 
Opening Prayer
 
Almighty and loving God, we thank you for the assurance we have that you are always with us, that in you we will find help and strength in times of trouble, that whatever we face you will always be there to reach out and save us.
 
Great is your faithfulness from one generation to another.
 
We thank you that you are present not only here but everywhere, that no one is outside your love and no place beyond your concern.
Great is your faithfulness from one generation to another.
 
We thank you that you hold firmly to us, even when we try and struggle from your grasp.
Great is your faithfulness from one generation to another.
We thank you that your mercy never runs dry despite our repeated faithlessness.
Great is your faithfulness from one generation to another.
 
We thank you that your patience is never exhausted, no matter how many times we let you down.
Great is your faithfulness from one generation to another.
 
So now we worship you, you who alone are God, worthy of praise and honour.
Great is your faithfulness from one generation to another.
 
We come with gladness and thanksgiving, joy and celebration.
Great is your faithfulness from one generation to another.
 
We come in awe and wonder, hope and faith.
Great is your faithfulness from one generation to another.
 
We come to make our confession, offer our petition and bring our intercessions.
Great is your faithfulness from one generation to another.
 
Almighty and loving God, take our faith, weak though it is.  Kindle the sparks of life within us and fan a new flame of love within our hearts; and so may we set out into another week with renewed purpose, resolved to live and work for you, in the assurance that you are with us, now and always.
Great is your faithfulness from one generation to another.
Thanks be to God, Amen.
 
Join with me as we say the Lord’s Prayer together
 
The Lord’s Prayer          On Screen (All say together)
 
Our Father, which 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.
 
Bible Reading 1      Acts 9: 19-31 (Barnabus ‘believes’ in Paul)
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews,[a] but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
 
Bible Reading 2      1 Corinth 13 v 4-7           
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
 
Short Reflection             “Love always trusts / believes all things” 
 
“When I am down, and, oh, my soul, so weary
When troubles come, and my heart burdened be,
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until you come and sit awhile with me.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be.”
“You Raise Me Up” was composed by an Irish-Norwegian duo known as ‘Secret Garden’, performers of primarily instrumental music.   The music was composed by Rolf Lovland.  The song was originally written as an instrumental piece, with parts of the melody drawing on inspiration from Londonderry Air, which is the tune used for Danny Boy.
Lovland performed the song the first time at his mother’s funeral.  He noted “there’s something about the song people are embracing – which becomes emotionally strong. I believe people think of it as a song they use for their own stuff.”
The melody was originally titled “Silent Story”.  When in studio, the original mix was made with the violin.
Lovland then approached author and songwriter Brendan Graham to write the lyrics.  Graham is said to have finished the song that very night with no rewrites needed. The song was first performed in 2002 by the group, with Brian Kennedy, serving as lead singer.  The song was released on the Secret Garden album ‘Once in a Red Moon’.   When Brian Kennedy became ill and unable to tour, Jan Werner Danielsen, a Norweigan singer took his place and later recorded the song with the group. The release had moderate success but did not chart. In 2003, Producer David Foster was introduced to the song and decided on an up-and coming young musician Josh Groban, to record the song.
Groban’s version made it to #1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart in early 2004 and remained there for six weeks.  This version was nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award.
When Groban performed the song at the 2004 Super Bowl, on the Oprah Winfrey Show, and various other television appearances, the song gained national and international exposure.
In 2007, Groban appeared on the BBC talent show Any Dream Will Do, and soon after charted in the UK.
There have been over 125 covers of this song over the years and my personal favourite is the one sung by the Irish singer Brian Kennedy.  But the person who made it famous was the singer Josh Groban.
‘You raise me up’ is not specifically a Christian song but it’s been a song that over the years I have turned to again and again when I have been going through ‘stuff’. 
Perhaps Rolf Lovland was recalling his mother’s encouragement when he composed this music for her funeral.  Perhaps Brendan Graham was thinking about all the friends and mentors in his life when he added the lyrics.
For Josh Groban, the song has spiritual significance for he says that it is God who raises him up. 
I begin with this introduction because I believe this is exactly what the apostle Paul is referring to when he reminds the Corinthian Christians that ‘love believes all things’ or as it’s often translated, ‘love always trusts’.
Of course, Paul is not saying that love is naïve or gullible.  He is not advocating that we should never stop to make wise judgements especially when we get phone calls from a complete stranger asking us to send them our bank details!
He is not saying that we can believe and act anyway we want.  No, God is real, the bible is His word and the guidelines for living that we find in its pages are wise and will help us to get the greatest enjoyment out of life and our relationships.
What Paul is saying is that love trusts God, love believes that He has our best interests at heart even when the dark clouds come.  Even when church life is painful as it was for the Corinthians, we need to trust that God will help us through.
Do you know, for me the Christian church has been the place where I have received the greatest encouragements and the deepest hurts.  I’ve also lived long enough and sat in enough front rooms and beside hospital beds to know that some of life is just painful.  There are things that have happened in my life and the lives of people I’ve walked with and things that I see happening in our world today, which, if I’m honest, at times make me question my faith.  I call these things my ‘coffee shop’ moments.
What I mean by that is this-  If I said, “I’ll meet you at Costa at 11.00am”.  By 11.30am you still haven’t arrived.  At 11.45 there’s still no sign of you.  By 12 noon I realize you aren’t coming.  At that moment I don’t know why you haven’t shown up but I know there must be some explanation.  In that moment I don’t suddenly think, “right that’s it, our friendship is over”.  I go back to what I do know about you and realize that there must be some genuine reason you couldn’t make it and weren’t able to get in touch. 
In the same way, there are many things in my life and many things I see in the world around me where it seems as if God hasn’t shown up – my ‘coffee shop’ moments.  In those times I go back to what I do know about God.  I try to visualize Jesus on the cross and I remember that it cost Him very dearly to restore me to Himself.  I look at the beauty of the world and consider all the seeds, fruits and vegetables that grow.  All of these things remind me that God loves us and cares deeply about us.  I try to remember some of the promises of God.  Especially where he says that a day is coming when Christ will return.  On that day I will have many genuine questions to ask Him and I believe in mercy He will give me the answers.  But I know that ultimately, however long the delay, God has promised to bring redemption to this entire universe – to put it back into the perfect state it had at the beginning.  And on that day, He will judge the world in righteousness and every wrong will be righted for those who failed to receive justice on earth.
This side of heaven I won’t get answers to some of the questions I have, but I know without any doubt that God loves me, that He is good and fair and kind. I know that He has promised to right all wrongs and to restore this universe to its former glory. That, for me, is enough to keep me wanting to be His friend.
That’s what I think Paul means when he says, “Love believes all things”.  Love takes God at His word and trusts that however much circumstances or other people may be telling us otherwise, God is good, God is love, and He is ultimately for us, not against us.  When we exercise this love, we will find God raising us up to overcome our sorrow, to find healing for our hurts, to find the energy to wash our hands and don our face coverings one more time.
But there’s something else in Paul’s words.  In fact, given the circumstances which led to Paul writing this phrase, I think this is probably the primary lesson Paul is teaching when he says, “love always trusts” or “love believes all things.”
Given the divisions and internal fighting within the Corinthian congregation it was tempting for people to just give up on each other.  It was tempting for people to allow the hurts and the hypocrisies that they had experienced to cause them to stop interacting with each other, to stop including certain individuals or even to walk away from church altogether.  So Paul writes to them to say, you’ve got to keep believing.  You’ve got to keep looking for the potential in one another.  You’ve got to keep trusting that people can change and that there will be better days ahead.
Commenting on this passage the commentator William Barclay says, “We make people what we believe them to be.  If we show that we do not trust people we may make them untrustworthy.  If we show people that we trust them absolutely we make them trustworthy.”
History is full of inspirational stories of how people have fulfilled their potential because someone believed in them despite all the odds or signs to the contrary.
Two examples are the lives of Helen Keller and Emily Blunt.
When Helen Keller was just nineteen months old, she developed an illness that resulted in both blindness and deafness. As Helen grew into a young girl, she and her family became increasingly frustrated with her inability to communicate and her violent outbursts. Not knowing what to do, Helen’s parents consulted Alexander Graham Bell, who worked with the deaf. He suggested they hire a young woman by the name of Anne Sullivan as Helen’s teacher and mentor. This decision changed Helen’s life forever.
After establishing what would become a lifelong friendship, Anne began to teach Helen the alphabet by finger-spelling the sign language letters into the palm of Helen’s hand. The most challenging lesson was to help Helen make the connection between a word and a concept. The world-changing breakthrough happened when Anne pumped well water into one of Helen’s hands while finger spelling the word water onto her other one. At that moment, Helen understood that a word represented a concept or a thing. Soon, Helen began recognizing the letter combinations and this lit a fire within her soul. From that point on, Anne had helped Helen develop a relentless desire to learn. With Anne’s help Helen soon learned how to read Braille, write, and even started trying to speak. With her newfound love for learning, Helen began to have a strong desire to attend college. Although she experienced many trials and hardships along the way, she didn’t allow her physical challenges to set her back from dreaming big and then acting on those dreams.
In 1903 she published ‘The Story of My Life’ at the age of 22. It has since been widely published and is still in print in over fifty languages. It was adapted into the famous Tony award winning play and Oscar winning Hollywood film both entitled ‘The Miracle Worker’. In total, Helen Keller wrote 12 published books during her writing career.
In 1904, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and in so doing became the first deaf blind person to earn a bachelor’s degree.
In 1915 along with George Kessler, she founded the Helen Keller International. This organization combats the causes and consequences of blindness and malnutrition throughout the world.  Today, it is active in 22 countries and ranks among the most effective charities in the world with its programs benefiting millions of people.
Helen Keller was a member of the Socialist Party and actively campaigned and wrote in support of the working class from 1909 to 1921. She was a vocal supporter of women’s right to vote and their right to birth control and campaigned for equal rights for black people.
In 1924, Helen Keller began work for the American Foundation for the Blind, which she continued for more than 40 years.  She devoted much of her later life to raising funds for the organization. Today it is a leader in expanding possibilities for more than 20 million Americans living with vision loss.
Helen Keller was a world renowned speaker.  She travelled across the world making appearances and giving motivational speeches. Many of her speeches are preserved in the Helen Keller Archives owned by the American Foundation for the Blind.
In 1964, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States. In 1965, she was one of the 20 women who were elected to the National Women’s Hall of Fame at the New York World’s Fair.
In 1999, the TIME magazine included Keller in its list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
Her appearances around the world drew considerable attention to the plight of people with disabilities in the countries she visited leading to improvement in their conditions. Her life story, achievements and speeches continue to be a source of inspiration to millions of people across the globe.
But none of this would have been possible without the influence and intervention of someone who ‘believed all things’ and who ‘always trusted’ in the innate potential of all humanity.  I wonder how different Helen Keller’s life would have been if a blind teacher called Anne Sullivan had not dedicated her life to helping Helen succeed?
The second inspiring story about the power of ‘love always believing’ comes from the life of Holywood actress Emily Blunt.
Blunt was born in Wandsworth, London.  Before Blunt was getting nominated for Golden Globes and landing leading roles on the stage and big screen, she could barely carry a conversation with her classmates: Between ages seven and 14, Emily had a major stutter. As she told W magazine, "I was a smart kid, and had a lot to say, but I just couldn't say it. It would just haunt me. I never thought I'd be able to sit and talk to someone like I'm talking to you right now."
When asked by a journalist – “So what happened?” Emily said this…

“It was a combination of a few things. One was just growing out of it. Another one was gaining some kind of confidence. I had a really amazing teacher at that age, when I was 12, and he was really kind and helpful and encouraged me to be in the class plays, which previously I had no interest in being in ‘cause I couldn’t talk. He said, “Well, why don’t you try it in a different voice? Try to do a funny voice or an accent. Maybe that would help.” But it really did, I was actually able to speak fluently. Once you’re able to hear yourself speak fluently, albeit in a ridiculous accent, you gain the confidence to think this could happen again and again. It was easier after that night, of that school play. It all became a bit easier.”
Emily has gone on to win a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and was nominated for two British Academy Film Awards.
She is best known for her roles in the comedy-drama The Devil Wears Prada, the science fiction films Looper and Edge of Tomorrow , the crime thriller Sicario (2015), the mystery thriller The Girl on the Train , the horror film A Quiet Place and the musical fantasies Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns.
Like Helen Keller, we are left wondering what would have become of this stuttering child if it hadn’t been for the love of a secondary school teacher who never stopped believing and always trusted that Emily could overcome her speech impediment and be on the stage.
 
It would have been so easy for people to write off both of these now famous women.  How easy it is for us to do the same in the Christian church.  When conflicts arise, or things don’t go the way we want it’s so easy to start judging and stop loving.  We stop giving people the benefit of the doubt.  We expect others to fail, we think they won’t respond the way they should, we doubt if they will keep their promises, we suspect their motives and intentions.  We analyze every remark, anticipate being offended and rehearse our responses in our minds.  But this is not love and sadly when we live like this, there are consequences.  Above all, it costs us friendship.  Even when we do it to protect ourselves from being hurt, when we doubt others, we close the door to developing deep relationships and strengthening the bonds of Christian fellowship.
Ultimately to live with these attitudes is an offense against God. To doubt people is to doubt the power of God to change people.  It is to doubt God’s promise to complete the work He begins in us to make us more like Christ.  When we refuse to believe in one another and trust in our potential in Christ, we question God’s work and think of Him as someone who begins and then forgets.
Love says Paul is radically different.  It “believe all things.”  That means that we give others the benefit of the doubt. It means that we expect the best. It means that we are able to overlook the offences and failure of others. It means we believe that over time we can commit ourselves to one another. “Believing all things” means that we are willing to trust one another.
Let us love one another here this morning.  Let’s trust others to come through for us when we need them. Let us trust one another’s motives. Let us trust that others have our best purposes in mind. Let us trust that other are looking out for us. Let us believe that God is at work is the lives of other. Let us see the innate potential in others.  Let us open ourselves to others, not fearing being hurt or let down, but being willing to endure momentary offences and failures in light of what God is doing in each of our lives.
Let me finish by quoting again the words of William Barclay who said, -
 “We make people what we believe them to be.  If we show that we do not trust people we may make them untrustworthy.  If we show people that we trust them absolutely we make them trustworthy.”
When times are difficult, let us look to God to raise us up to keep trusting Him and in His plans and purposes for us.
And through our encouragement and prayers let us raise one another up to be all that that God wants us to be.
 
Prayer for others   
Living God, we pray for those people who have lost hope – in their dreams, their circumstances or in life itself. 
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who have lost the hope of finding a partner or of raising a family, the hope of going to college, university or further studies, the hope of finding a home or any permanent roof over their heads, the hope of securing employment or a use for their skills.
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who despair of seeing freedom, justice, peace or reconciliation; those who despair of finding adequate food and clothing, those who despair of receiving help and healing.
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who have given up on life – those with terminal illness, who have lost the will to keep fighting; those whose spirits have been crushed so that they can no longer bounce back; those who want to take their own lives because they have lost all hope; those so afflicted by starvation and disease that they cannot carry on.
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
Living God there is much despair in our world, and for many there seems little reason to hope. Reach out we pray to all whose belief in the future has been destroyed, and grant new dreams where the old have died, rekindled purpose where confidence has been undermined, support when there seems to be nothing left to hold on to, and hope that one day your Kingdom will come and your will be done.
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
In the name of Christ, Amen.
 
Closing Words
It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today.  Thanks again for logging on. 
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection on the nature of Christian love.  Please do spend some time in quiet over the next few days asking the Lord to encourage you to believe in yourself.  Ask Him also to give you the gift of encouragement so that you might learn to always look for the potential in other people.
 
Last Monday we began our midweek bible study.  It was a fantastic evening as we explored the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer together using the video series called the Prayer Course by Pete Greig.  If you missed last week you can catch it online by searching the Prayer Course online or on our website and clicking on Session number 1.  Even if you missed last week you are more than welcome to attend this week.  It will be in the church again tomorrow night from 7pm to 8pm.  The premises will have had a deep clean, hands will be sanitised on entry and exit, we will be socially distanced and all participants are asked to wear face coverings. If you would like to come to the bible study please let Philip or myself know in advance.  Even if you can’t come to the bible study for the whole year, it would be fantastic to see as many of us make time to come to this amazing course.  It will inspire all of us to go deeper in our prayer as individuals and as a community of God’s people. 
 
At our session meeting this last week we agreed to the phased opening of a number of our activities.  Sunday School and Youth Fellowship hope to start back at some point in October once the teachers and youth leaders have had time to be trained and discuss how our programs might be run safely within the current restrictions.  The Wednesday Club and Coffee Doc will begin after Halloween holidays and the Friday club will start in January.   We will give you further details in the days to come.
 
Next Sunday we will be thinking about how love always protects and we will be celebrating the baptism of Luke Redmond.  It will be fantastic in these difficult days to be able to share in such a happy occasion.  There are 13 people in the baptismal party which leaves us 37 further spaces for anyone else who wishes to attend.  So if you would like to attend church next week please book in early so you will not be disappointed.  Next Friday evening is the final deadline so that we can arrange the seating on Saturday morning.
 
Stay tuned at the end of this recording stay tuned to listen to the wonderful voice of Pete Groban as he sings “You raise me up”.
 
In the meantime, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together…
 
Benediction   
Gracious God, send us back into the world with your eyes rather than ours.  Help us to see not only the bad but the good, not simply the ugly but the beautiful, not just the worst but the best.  Help us to see around us the seeds of your Kingdom and to nurture them lovingly until that day comes when your will is done and you are all in all.
 
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.”
 
 
 
 

APC 6th September 2020       “Love is not hot tempered.”
 
Welcome and Introduction           Michael
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday morning worship.  Today we have gathered because God calls us to worship Him.  We come gladly because God is worthy of our worship.  Part of that means listening to what God says and with his help aligning our lives to his wise advice.  One of the most important things God calls us to, is ‘Love’.  We find one of the greatest descriptions of what love looks like in Pauls’ letter to the Corinthians.  That’s what we’ve been thinking about over the last number of weeks.  As we understand what Love looks like and as we begin to live more like this we worship God with our minds and our lives.  So far we have discovered that true love ‘is not selfish’ that ‘it keeps no records of wrongs’ that ‘it is not jealous’, ‘it is not proud’, ‘it does not take delight in the misfortunes of others,’ it is patient, it is kind and it is not rude.  Today we will be reflecting on the truth that ‘love is not hot tempered’ and seeing what that means for us.  But as always let us begin by talking to God.  Let us pray…
 
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus we thank you for all those who have heard your call across the ages- all those from different walks of life who have come together, at different times, in different ways and in different places to be your people. 
 
Lord Jesus, for your surprising call, receive our thanks.
 
We thank you for the way you have consistently brought together the most unlikely of individuals – from different races, different cultures with different characters and different gifts to become your church.
 
Lord Jesus, for your surprising call, receive our thanks.
 
And above all we thank you that you have called us here with our different outlooks, contrasting temperaments, diverging backgrounds and variety of experiences to be your church in this place.
 
Lord Jesus, for your surprising call, receive our thanks.
 
Lord Jesus Christ, teach us that whoever we are you can use us – you can use anyone and everyone for your Kingdom.  Help us to accept one another and ourselves as we really are- united in our diversity by one common cause.  Take us and use us just as we are, to demonstrate your transforming love and to work for the coming of your Kingdom.
 
Lord Jesus, for your surprising call, receive our thanks.
Amen.
 
The Lord’s Prayer 
 
Our Father, which 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.
 
Bible Reading 1      Ephesians 4 v 26 – 32
26 “In your anger do not sin”[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
 
Bible Reading 2      1 Corinth 13 v 4-7           
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
 
 “Love is not Easily Angered”
 
“If you can keep your head when all around are losing theirs and blaming it on you….you’ll be a man, my son.” 
Those are the opening and closing words of one of Rudyard Kipling’s most famous poems.  Secretly we probably aspire to be a person who always exhibits the unruffled composure he describes.  If only we could sail through the storms of life with calm and peace.  If only we could sleep at night no matter what the day had brought or the morning promised.  But perhaps as Kipling is suggesting by the title of his poem, to be able to live like that, is all a big “If”.
You see the truth is none of us are like that.  None of us are unflappable never mind infallible!  All of us are susceptible to anxiety and stress.  And sometimes, if the right buttons are pushed for long enough, all of us can explode with anger.  This can happen at home, at work and at the clubs and societies we’re involved in.  It can even happen within the church.
It was obviously happening within the church in Corinth.  People were boasting about the gifts they had and despising the abilities of others.  They were forming cliques based on who their favourite preacher was.  The rich were arriving at their communal communion lunches with fancy picnic hampers and refusing to share with their poor brothers and sisters who had nothing.  There was anarchy in their worship services as people talked over the top of one another and shouted out questions.  As a result, tensions were high, divisions were wide and tempers were flying into angry words that were causing deep hurts.
That’s why in the 13th Chapter of his letter, Paul reminds this group of Christians that if they don’t get back to loving each other they will simply implode.  Then he spells out practically what this will look like in one of the most famous descriptions of love ever composed.  In the middle of that poem Paul says “Love is not easily angered.”
You see the truth is that many of us are like walking time bombs.  The frustrations of life and the words of others, have caused a deep pool of anger to well up within us.  At any moment we might suddenly explode and potentially damage our relationships with friends, colleagues and family.
The good news is that bombs can be defused.  So it’s imperative that as Christian people we learn to become experts in recognising and defusing anger within ourselves and the people we live and work with.
As Christian people and as a Christian minister this can be particularly challenging for a number of reasons.  Firstly because there is a perception that Christians and Christian ministers in particular are never meant to be angry.  Through the Holy Spirit they are always expected to be full of peace.  If we’re honest, we often feel the pressure of this public perception.  We try our best to never let the side down and to always present an exterior that seems calm and content.  The problem is that inside we can be full of suppressed anger and bitterness.
So the very first thing that we all need to do is allow ourselves permission to feel angry and frustrated at times.  Whatever else Paul is saying here, he is not saying that we should never disagree, or never feel frustrated or angry.  Conflict is normal.  It will always occur when you get people together.  So we need to release the pressure valve and allow ourselves to feel this way and not feel guilty when we do.  It is not a sin to feel angry or frustrated or to have differences of opinion which at times may even lead to conflict.  That’s why in his letter to the church in Ephesus Paul says, “Be angry, but don’t sin.”
The second positive truth it’s important to realise is that feelings of frustration and anger and having conflict are not just normal, they are neutral!  They have the potential to be destructive but they also have the potential for learning important lessons, deepening our relationships and can even be the seedbed for positive change.  So what’s important is not whether we experience these strong emotions – we will!  What’s important is how we handle them!  The good news is that we can all develop the necessary skills to help us deal with feelings of anger and frustration. 
One of those skills is to remember that we all say and do things at times that cause offence.  We all make decisions that even with the best intentions, may not be the best ones.  For that reason, all of us need to try not to be too prickly.  We need to be willing to accept that when people are tired or under pressure they can easily say or do things which might annoy us.  But most of those things we need to let go of and forgive.  We don’t need to be pulling people up for every little thing they may say or do that wasn’t quite right.  That’s probably the very literal meaning of what Paul is saying here – don’t be too sensitive, don’t allow yourself to get upset too easily.
Having said that, there will be times when things are said or done in a way that causes us deep frustration and anger that is not easily brushed aside.  Those issues may be keeping us awake at night or causing us to give someone a wide birth or dread the thought of meeting them.  Or perhaps we can’t wait to meet them so we can tell them exactly what we think of them!  How do we manage these feelings of anger in a constructive way? 
Well, unwise ways of dealing with it would be to repress it.  That will only allow bitterness and malice to develop inside us with all the unhappiness they bring.  So Paul exhorts the Ephesian Christians not to internalise things by saying “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger… along with every form of malice.”
Another way would be to gossip about it to as many other people as will listen.  Paul describes this as “slander.”  While that might make us feel better in the short term, long term it will simply escalate the problem.  When we choose to gossip, an issue which begins as a small spark can quickly become a forest fire.  These fires are much more difficult to extinguish whether they happen in a family, a company or a Christian fellowship.  The third unwise way to manage our feelings is to allow our anger to simply explode by lashing out angrily and aggressively with words or actions.  So Paul says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen.” And he adds “no brawling!”  Again. in the long term this is only likely to make the problem worse and to cause us significant public embarrassment.
So what are wise ways to manage our anger?
Well one way might be to talk to a trusted friend or colleague.  In doing this we can be discreet so that we don’t undermine the person who has hurt us.  At the same time we can be honest knowing that they will listen and help us understand the reasons why we are angry.  They will affirm us and help us to develop a plan for addressing the situation. 
It’s good to remind ourselves that God loves us and is there to help us.  It’s also good to talk to ourselves, to pray to God and ask Him to help us try and understand ourselves.  Even to ask ourselves- “why am I reacting so strongly?”  It may be that others are being unreasonable but often there’s more to it than that.  Our reactions are often wrapped up in our own ego or sense of security or ambitions or whatever.  God, family, friends, church leaders or even counsellors can all be important sources of help for understanding ourselves and why we might be reacting the way we are.
Above all, we need to make time to prayerfully reflect and to try and identify the issue that is causing such a strong response within us.  If we simply focus on the person or persons that have caused these emotions or even if we focus on the emotions themselves we will probably end up responding in unconstructive ways.  We must learn somehow to focus on the issues that have given rise to our frustrations.  Once we have identified and are clear about the issues and why we feel so frustrated or angry, then we will be in a better position to address things.  Once we have done this we must choose to act rather than simply brushing things under the carpet. So how do we address the issues in a constructive way?
Take the initiative -
Approach the other person and arrange a time when you can both talk, rather than dealing with it immediately.  You may need time to cool down.  The other person may be unaware that there is a problem and need time to think before discussing.  If it’s a committee of people, then ask for the issue to be placed as an item on the next agenda.
 
Speak directly to the other person -
Don’t phone, don’t write a letter and resist the temptation to talk to other people about it.
Think beforehand about what you want to say so that you can express how and why you feel and enable the other person to understand. 
 
Speak to the person privately -
Choose a good time and place.  Allow enough time.  Choose a place where you won’t be disturbed and where you won’t feel trapped.  A public place is often good because it means that neither person feels trapped, and it has a natural capacity to encourage a moderate approach to discussion.
 
Speak to them humbly -
Don’t blame or focus on the other person’s character.  Don’t blame them or tell them what should be done.  Focus on the issue or the behaviour rather than personality.
Be specific and give specific examples.
Listen carefully.  Give the other person time to talk and find out how they feel.  Let them see that you are listening and are glad that you are talking.
Give information (about how you see the problem)
Talk it through, even the difficult areas that bother you.  Don’t forget to ask ‘Is there anything else?’
Agree on the best way forward and be specific about what you have agreed.
 
Have a rain check - Meet up again privately a few weeks down the line just to see how things have been improving.
 
Refuse to get involved -
If someone comes to you with a complaint about George, politely say to them, “I think you need to talk to George about that.”
 
99 times out a hundred following these steps will lead to a resolution to a conflict and the defusing of our frustration and anger.  On the rare occasions this does not work, it is wise to seek the help of someone more senior or a mutual friend who can mediate well.  In that situation in my experience it is always best to discuss things with everyone who is involved around the table. 
 
It’s also important to remember in group or committee situations that despite feeling at times that others are blocking our plans, it is good for all of us to take constructive feedback, to acknowledge that something might not be working or might not be the best idea after all.  We must always be willing to step back and take another look. 
 
Last but not least, whatever happens after following the advice explained, we have a very important choice to make however strong our emotions.  We must choose to forgive. 
We have a right to feel hurt and angry and we have a right to respond.  It is good to own that right.  But then we must sacrifice that right by choosing to forgive.  Forgiveness is surrendering my right to hurt you back if you hurt me.  When we forgive it is for our benefit.  It releases us from the burden of carrying that person or that group around with us everywhere we go.  But it also means that we can receive the forgiveness of God.  George Herbert said,
 
“He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven for everyone has need to be forgiven.” 
 
It can be hard to forgive but meditating on the cross of Christ can help us to do this. That’s why Paul says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as Christ forgave you.”
 
Ultimately we must forgive because God has forgiven us.  We may never forget but we must choose with God’s help to let go.
                                                                                                                                           
Prayerful Reflection…
 
Are you bitter or angry about something or with someone?
 
What is God saying to you today about what you should do about that?
 
Think about Jesus dying on the cross.  Think how differently it would be if he treated you as your sins deserved.
 
Now ask the Lord to give you the grace to let go, to choose to forgive those who have hurt you because He has chosen to forgive you…
 
Prayer for others
Living God, we rejoice that you are a God who is slow to anger and full of steadfast love, infinitely patient, understanding and merciful, always seeking to forgive, to forget, to restore and renew.  Yet do not let us become complacent fro there are times when even your patience is tested to the limit and your anger blazes against us – when we wilfully and stubbornly disobey you when our actions or failure to act causes harm to others when our faithlessness becomes a stumbling block to those who seek you.  Forgive us those times and help us to put right our mistakes.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Loving God help us to realise there are occasions when you have no choice but to feel angry and help us to recognise sometimes that we should feel the same.  Help us to know when those occasions are.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Teach us when anger is unjustified, foolish, petty selfish, when it is more about our hurt pride than right and wrong, when it says more about ourselves than the cause we attribute anger to.  Save us from the errors it might lead us into – thoughtless words, careless deeds and destructive attitudes – and help us then to control our anger.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
But teach us also when we ought to be angry.  When we are faced by anything that denies full living, that demeans and destroys that feeds injustice or exploitation, that cheats corrupts wounds or hurts, that leads the innocent astray, that divides people from one another and from you, teach us then to feel a genuine fury and to express that with proper passion, translating anger into action, speaking out against falsehood, working to right wrongs, overcoming evil with good, giving all for your Kingdom.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Take a moment now to pray for people or circumstances that are on your mind at this time…
In the name of Christ our Lord, Amen.
 
Closing Words
It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today.  Thanks again for logging on.  I hope that you have felt part of our congregation as they are meeting at the same time as this online broadcast.  We are sorry that you aren’t able to join us because of your current circumstances but we hope that in the near future  you will be able to be with us. 
 
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection on the nature of Christian love.  Please do spend some time in quiet over the next few days asking the Lord to show you any blind bittermness or anger in your life and to guide you and give you courage to address it.  May you ask the Lord to give you his grace to forgive.
 
We are hoping to restart our midweek bible study.  This year we are holding it on a Monday night from 7 - 8pm in the church starting on the 7th of September.  We will observe all recommendations for hand hygiene and social distancing and all participants are advised to wear face coverings. For the first semester we will be running a short course on Prayer called ‘The Prayer Course’ designed by Pete Greig.  Each week we will watch a short video focussed on one line of the Lord’s Prayer.  Afterwards there will be opportunity to discuss the video among ourselves and then to spend some time together in prayer.  There is a book which accompanies the course which you can read at your leisure.  If you would like to come to the bible study please let Philip or myself know in advance.  If you would like to pre-order a book, then again please speak to Philip or myself.  Even if you can’t come to the bible study for the whole year, it would be fantastic to see as many of us make time to come to this amazing course.  It will inspire all of us to go deeper in our prayer as individuals and as a community of God’s people.  There is a link on our website to the course if you would like to find out more…
 
We are currently looking tentatively at what it might look like for our Sunday School and Youth activities to restart.  Our denomination has advised that if these do recommence, they should not start until nearer October.  This will allow children time to readjust to returning to school and give us time to assess how that is progressing.  There will be further details on this soon. 
 
Remember if you are planning to come to church next Sunday- do bring your signed Covid 19 policy if you haven’t already emailed that to us.  Remember, we will aim to start at 10.00am as usual but if you can be there earlier than normal that will enable us to get everyone safely seated before we start.  Don’t forget to let us know you are coming by emailing Aleida before next Friday evening.  That will give us time to arrange the seating for Sunday.  In the meantime, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together…
 
Benediction   
Our worship has not ended it has only just begun for God is with us every moment of every day.  Go then and offer the worship He desires – to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with Him every step along the way.
 
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.”