Sunday 29th November 2020 (Advent 1)
Some parts of this service are the same each week. The sermon, the Bible readings and the prayers are recorded for each new Sunday.
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]
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 19 although you also need to know the background in Revelation 18. The following video has this reading together with a gospel reading from Luke 13.
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?
“Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus” is a classic Advent hymn. This version has a new verse written for 20 Schemes. 20 Schemes is a movement to plant Jesus-centred churches in the twenty poorest “schemes” of Scotland (we would call them “housing estates”).
creed and prayers
We do not have a prayer video this week. The following prayers (found in The Worship Sourcebook) are based on the ‘O Antiphons’, a traditional prayer that inspired the hymn ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’.
O Immanuel,
child of promise and sign of hope,
you come from a distance far beyond our reach,
yet are closer to us than we are to ourselves:
remain with us in our own days of expectation,
that we may give birth to what is just, true, beautiful, and good—
through the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
abides with us, one God now and forever. Amen.
O Wisdom,
your words uttered in the beginning
generated a world of beauty and goodness,
giving purpose and value to each creature;
instruct us in the way of prudence,
that we may nurture the world with justice and joy.
Help us to resist evil and to obey you,
so that we may walk in your ways and
the beauty of your creation may flourish—
through the one whom we know as the Wisdom of the ages,
even Christ, our Lord. Amen.
O Lord of might,
master of the universe and ruler of the house of Israel,
your mighty acts have rescued remnants of your people
from the midst of slavery, exile, war, and holocaust:
raise your scepter over us, that your saving rule
may be extended to all people in all places—
for the sake of him who we know as Lord of all,
even Jesus, the Christ. Amen.
O Root of Jesse,
you reach deep down into the darkness of the earth
and stir the world’s longings for deliverance and hope:
raise up within our own lives
a spirit of courage and strength, of wisdom and insight,
that we may do your work for the coming of your kingdom—
through the merits of the one we know as the beginning of the ages,
even Christ, our Lord. Amen.
O Key of David and throne of glory,
you open the way to the future and no one closes;
you close the way to the past and no one opens.
Release us and all your people from the oppressions of the past,
that we may face the future with boldness and purpose—
through the merits of the Son of David, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
O Rising Dawn,
you shine with warm brightness and clean freshness,
chasing the fearsome shadows of the night away:
enlighten the lives of your people with visions of shalom
until you bring all things into the harmony of your kingdom—
for the sake of him we call the light of the world, Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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!
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.
If you want further encouragement through music and song, here are three videos for you.
First, a rousing sea-shanty of a song based on Psalm 136.
Second, a Psalm that I hope we can introduce one day to St George’s. Based on Psalm 119:169-176
Before Thee let my cry come near, O LORD; true to Thy word, teach me.
Before Thee let my pleading come; True to Thy promise, rescue me.
Since Thou Thy statutes teachest me, O let my lips Thy praise confess.
Yea, of Thy word my tongue would sing, For Thy commands are righteousness.
Be ready with Thy hand to help, Because Thy precepts are my choice.
I've longed for Thy salvation, LORD, And in Thy holy law rejoice.
O let Thine ordinances help; My soul shall live and praise Thee yet.
A straying sheep, Thy servant, seek, For Thy commands I ne'er forget.
Finally, the following video is ready to start at 1hr 48min, which is when the choir begins the four pieces of music based on Psalm 2 that precede the Hallelujah Chorus.
(YouTube is a bit unreliable - sometimes the video doesn’t quite start at the right place. If the choir are singing ‘the ends of the world’ then you are at the right place, with ‘Why do the nations’ about to start)
Why do the nations so furiously rage together, and why do the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His Anointed. (Psalm 2: 1-2)
41. Chorus
Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from us. (Psalm 2: 3)
42. Recitative
Tenor
He that dwelleth in Heav'n shall laugh them to scorn; The Lord shall have them in derision. (Psalm 2: 4)
43. Air
Tenor
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. (Psalm 2: 9)
44. Chorus
Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. (Revelation 19: 6)
The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord,
and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11: 15)
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19: 16)
Hallelujah!