Sunday 1st November 2020 (4th Sunday before Advent)
This online service is here for those who could not attend the morning service at church. The sermon and prayers were recorded and are here for you. Other parts of the service were recorded at a previous service and the words added to the video for you.
Before you begin, take a moment to pray. Ask your heavenly Father to show you the grace of Jesus, and to fill you afresh with his Holy Spirit. Think of a few other members of the church (if you are from St George’s) and pray also for them.
Start of Service
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This is the day that the LORD has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it. [Psalm 118:24]
Praise the LORD, O all you nations;
all you peoples, sing his praise.
For his love is great towards us;
his commitment lasts always.
He is faithful now and ever.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! [Psalm 117 from Sing Psalms]
As you come to the Lord Jesus, the living Stone, you are like living stones being built into a temple of the Spirit, to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, God’s special possession,
so that you may declare the praises of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once we were not a people
but now you are God’s people.
Once we had not received mercy
but now you have received mercy.
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives in this world that, even if you are accused of doing wrong, people may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Amen. [1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-12]
We now turn to Almighty God to confess our sins. The song ‘The Steadfast Love’ has been incorporated into this next video.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we claim we have not sinned, we make God out to be a liar and his word is not in us. Let us confess our sins to the God of life: [1 John 1:8,10]
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us,
forgive us all that is past
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name.
Amen.
If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One – and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. [1 John 1:9 & 2:1-2]
May God who loved the world so much that he sent his Son to be our Saviour forgive you your sins and make you holy to serve him in the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end;
They are new every morning, new every morning,
great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord,
great is Thy faithfulness. [Lamentations 3:22-23]
For the past twenty weeks we have had questions-and-answers from the New City Catechism.
We have now finished the first of three major sections of the catechism and will take a break until the new year.
bible reading and sermon
Most weeks the sermon is based on a part of the Bible from the previous week’s morning readings. From today until mid-December the morning readings and our sermons will be looking at the book of Revelation.
The sermon is based on Revelation 1:1-11 (find it here at Bible Gateway) and Luke 19:37-48.
After the sermon, take time to respond to God’s Word to you. Whenever we hear from God a good practice is to think of TSP (“teaspoon”):
T for Thank You - what do you need to praise God for?
S for Sorry - what do you need to confess?
P for Please - what do you need to ask of God, for yourself and others?
After a sermon thinking about the Resurrection, here’s a very suitable hymn!
creed and prayers
Today the prayers were led by Penny Ross.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and forever.
Amen.
blessing
commissioning
Father God, you have adopted us as your daughters and sons:
help us to live as children of light
bringing glory to your holy name.
Jesus Christ, you suffered and rose again for us:
teach us to seek first your kingdom
as we deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow you.
Holy Spirit, you stir us to love and good works:
strengthen us to fight against sin, the world, and the devil
so that your will, not ours, may be done.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you have saved us:
send us into the world to proclaim your gospel. Amen.
Final blessing
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace. [Numbers 6:24-26]
The blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen!
We have been told that the new lockdown means that churches will be closed from thursday. as before services will be here, pre-recorded, ready for you.
We are holding a Communion Service this Wednesday (4th) at 10am. You are welcome to attend.
This week we have The Irish Blessing - featuring a different song from the other videos.
If you are not a regular member of St George’s but want to connect with us, please please contact us via this page. We have Evening Prayer using Zoom every day (except Saturdays) at 5pm and you are welcome to join us. Contact us for details. Our Prayer page gives you Bible readings and reflections for each day and many of us are finding these such an encouragement.
Find out more about hope during the coronavirus pandemic.