Friday 29 May 6pm - St Anne's, Porirua Anglicans
Theme: Prayer, Care & Reconciliation
Call to Worship
Well we know that it was no perishable stuff,
like gold or silver, that bought our freedom.
The price was paid in precious blood, the blood of Christ.
Gospel Reflection
Why do we look at the speck in someone else’s eye
but ignore the log in our own?
The measure we use for others, God will use for us.
If we do not judge others, God will not judge us;
if we do not condemn others, God will not condemn us;
if we forgive, God forgives us even more;
so let us give, and God will give to us a full measure,
a generous helping, poured into our hands,
more than we can hold.
The measure we use for others,
God will use for us.
Jesus, you are the giver and the gift.
Silence for meditation.
2 Corinthians 5
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;[b] even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Call to Worship
Well we know that it was no perishable stuff,
like gold or silver, that bought our freedom.
The price was paid in precious blood, the blood of Christ.
Gospel Reflection
Why do we look at the speck in someone else’s eye
but ignore the log in our own?
The measure we use for others, God will use for us.
If we do not judge others, God will not judge us;
if we do not condemn others, God will not condemn us;
if we forgive, God forgives us even more;
so let us give, and God will give to us a full measure,
a generous helping, poured into our hands,
more than we can hold.
The measure we use for others,
God will use for us.
Jesus, you are the giver and the gift.
Silence for meditation.
2 Corinthians 5
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;[b] even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Silence
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Prayer & Care (& Reconciliation)
Thy Kingdom Come Is about change: the great change that occurs in a person’s life when they accept Jesus as Lord and welcome him as Saviour, Master and Friend. Scripture assures us that at that moment they become part of the Kingdom of God’s beloved Son. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” writes St Paul (2 Corinthians 5:17). So, we pray each year between the Ascension and Pentecost that families, friends, communities and countries would come to know the saving love of God in Jesus Christ. When we do that, we are following the example of the disciples in Acts 1:14 who, in a revolutionary ground-breaking manner united in constant, heartfelt world-changing prayer.
The prayer led to practical planning. The group, in a totally culturally-relevant way, appointed a replacement for Judas Iscariot and waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit who will drive them out of their comfort zone into the city whose authorities had condemned Christ to declare the Good News of God’s transforming love in the death and resurrection of his Son. The Change of Kingdom is not the end, it’s the beginning of lifelong, life-enhancing transformation. At the launch of Thy Kingdom Come the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, noted the huge issues we are facing including Covid-19, climate change, poverty and selfish apathy. All those things bring into sharp focus the world's need of Jesus and the call of God on us to pray for transformation and, as Christ calls us into his Kingdom, to become agents of that transformation in the world he loves. The prayer of Acts 1:14, broke down cultural barriers, prepared for Pentecost, and gave birth to worldwide evangelism. Against the background of this pandemic, God calls all those who have received his saving love for themselves to be channels of his Kingdom in the world; men and women who demonstrate and embody God’s transforming love to bring real change to the lives of those in greatest need. In his commentary on Acts, John Stott put it like this: “It is part of the responsibility of Spirit-filled believers to alleviate need and abolish destitution in the new community of Jesus.” As we continue to read Luke’s story of the first Christians, those whom their enemies soon describes as the ones who had “Turned the world upside-down” (Acts 17:6) we see that preaching the Gospel wasn’t done in a vacuum. Peter and John notice the lame beggar at the gate of the temple and heal him in Jesus’ name. Poverty in the church was noticed and assuaged by sacrificial sharing and very careful organisation. When those who spoke only Greek were being missed out of the food distribution in Acts 6 the Apostles thought it important enough that Stephen and six others are appointed to sort it out and ensure transparency and fairness. In fact, when Peter and John have been arrested and threatened by the Sanhedrin in chapter 4 they respond with a prayer for more opportunities to preach and to show the power of God in transformed lives touched by the Good News and power of God. The Archbishop I always think of as the founder of Anglicanism, Thomas Cranmer, who was the agent of the reformation of the Church of England and ended up giving his life for the Gospel of Christ showed the link between conversion and transformation in a letter he wrote to Henry VIII in 1538. He said this: “If the profession of our faith of the remission of our own sins enter within us, into the deepness of our hearts, then it must kindle a warm fire of love in our hearts towards God, and towards all others. For the love of God - a fervent mind to seek and procure God’s honour, will, and pleasure in all things - a good will and mind to help every one and to do good unto them, so far as our might, wisdom, learning, counsel, health, strength, and all other gifts which we have received of God will extend.” Prayer and Care go together in Thy Kingdom Come because they go together in the Scriptures. They go together in the story of the Acts of the Apostles which, of course, continues the story of Jesus who when faced with a hungry crowd told his disciples to give them something to eat. Whether it is influencing those who shape the global economy so that the poor do not pay the price of the pandemic, or checking on the elderly, the lonely, the sick and the exhausted, we are called to notice the needs with the eyes of Jesus; to love the needy with the heart of Jesus and show practical care with the hands of Jesus. We are called to pray that people are changed by Jesus and become those who in their turn help turn the world the right way up. The Very Revd Robert Key, Anglican Communion Lead, Thy Kingdom Come Silence |
Evening Collect
Holy and everliving God,
by your power we are created
and by your love we are redeemed;
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves to your service
and live this day in love to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen.
Glory to the Father and ′ to the ′ Son:
and ′ to the ′ Holy ′ Spirit;
as it was in the be′ginning · is ′ now:
and shall be for ′ ever. ′ A′men.
Prayers
Our Father,
forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Saviour, hanging on the cross declaring God’s love to us,
you are forgiveness.
Beside you hangs a thief,
beneath you waits Mary the forgiven,
and all around watch those many people
to whom you give new life and hope.
To us you give new life and hope.
Forgiven sinners become your body and your Church;
may the reconciliation we share
bring your gospel to all the world.
God, you call us to serve you with all the strength we have:
you are faithful to those you call;
may Jesus’ resurrection raise us if we stumble,
the Christ light beckon us if we lose our way,
and we shall have strength once more
to walk with you to the cross.
Preserve us, O God, while waking,
and guard us while sleeping,
that awake we may watch with Christ,
and asleep may rest in your peace.
Amen.
Dismissal
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May we continue to dwell in Christ,
so that when he appears,
we may be confident and unashamed before him
at his coming.
Alleluia, Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
Alleluia, Amen.
Holy and everliving God,
by your power we are created
and by your love we are redeemed;
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves to your service
and live this day in love to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen.
Glory to the Father and ′ to the ′ Son:
and ′ to the ′ Holy ′ Spirit;
as it was in the be′ginning · is ′ now:
and shall be for ′ ever. ′ A′men.
Prayers
Our Father,
forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Saviour, hanging on the cross declaring God’s love to us,
you are forgiveness.
Beside you hangs a thief,
beneath you waits Mary the forgiven,
and all around watch those many people
to whom you give new life and hope.
To us you give new life and hope.
Forgiven sinners become your body and your Church;
may the reconciliation we share
bring your gospel to all the world.
God, you call us to serve you with all the strength we have:
you are faithful to those you call;
may Jesus’ resurrection raise us if we stumble,
the Christ light beckon us if we lose our way,
and we shall have strength once more
to walk with you to the cross.
Preserve us, O God, while waking,
and guard us while sleeping,
that awake we may watch with Christ,
and asleep may rest in your peace.
Amen.
Dismissal
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May we continue to dwell in Christ,
so that when he appears,
we may be confident and unashamed before him
at his coming.
Alleluia, Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
Alleluia, Amen.