Sunday 13th September 2020 (14th Sunday after Trinity)
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. Because of a technical problem last week, the opening Call to Worship is the one from our August services.
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
We love you, O Lord our strength.
The Lord is our rock, our fortress and our deliverer;
our God is our rock, in whom we take refuge, our shield, our salvation, our stronghold.
You reached down from on high and took hold of us,
you drew us out of deep waters, you rescued us because you delight in us.
The Lord lives!
Praise be to our Rock! Exalted be God our Saviour!
Therefore we will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;
We will sing the praises of your name. [Based on Psalm 18]
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
The sermon is based on Acts 12:25-13:3 and 14:21-28. At the moment our daily Bible readings (in the morning) are taking us through the book of Acts. The Sunday sermon will pick up on something read the previous week. For our daily Bible readings and reflections click here. The gospel reading is Luke 6:12-23.
The Bible passage from Acts can be read here (at Bible Gateway). The following video has both Bible readings and the sermon.
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?
creed and prayers
The Prayers from our morning service. Sorry that the sound quality is very poor.
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
With minds prepared for action, and being fully sober,
set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires
you had when you lived in ignorance.
But just as he who called you is holy,
so be holy in all you do. [1 Peter 1:13-15]
God of love,
as in Jesus Christ you gave yourself to us,
so may we give ourselves to you,
living according to your holy will.
Keep our feet firmly in the way
where Christ leads us;
help our lips speak the truth
that Christ teaches us;
fill our bodies with the life
that is Christ within us.
In his holy name we pray.
Amen.
blessing
Behold, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
who by night stand in the house of the Lord!
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.
The Lord who made heaven and earth
bless you from Zion. [Psalm 134]
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 able to attend the morning services, please come along!
Read the important letter so you know how we are keeping people safe.
Click HERE for the letter.
This week we have “The Blessing” from the UK. If you can find a ‘Blessing’ video from a country we have not yet seen, please let me know!
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.
hymns and song to learn for the future
This is a lovely song to express faith in God when life is very hard.
“My Hope is Built On Nothing Less” - what a great hymn. Do you know it? Click the ‘Settings’ icon (gear-wheel) at the bottom of the video and turn on the English Subtitles if you want to see the words.
Most of you will know this well but it is good to be reminded.