Category: Worship

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Sitting in different chairs, joining in at different times throughout the day, God’s people still gather for worship on this, the Lord’s day. Welcome, to Sunday worship.

Call to Worship with parts in bold to say aloud:

Based on Psalm 145.

We will extol you, O Lord our God and king,

and bless your name for ever.

Great is the Lord,

and greatly to be praised,

God’s greatness is unsearchable.

We celebrate your mighty deeds,

and proclaim your abundant goodness.

For you, O Lord, are gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Let us worship God,

let us praise God

in heart, soul, mind and strength.

HYMN Jesus is the Name we Honour

All-Age Prayer

God of love,

thank you for this

wonderful world

we live in.

Thank you for

all the animals,

wild and tame,

on land and in sea

that you have made.

Thank you for

all the amazing

places and people

you have made.

You love it all

you have no

favourites,

everything is equal

in your eyes.

Help us see it all

as you see it

and love it all

as you do.

Amen.

Reading: Matthew 20:1-16 read by Sheila Black

Dramatised reading:

Reflection:

Sunday School for all ages:

Clocks

You will need: paper plates, felt tip pens, card, scissors, split pins, stickers, hole punch.

Give each person a paper plate and ask them to write the numbers around the edge to make a clock face. Give each person some card and ask them to draw, colour and cut out ‘hands’ for the clock. At the base of each hand punch a hole.

Attach the ‘hands’ to the centre of the plate using a split pin.

Ask the children to decorate the clock face with stickers and felt tip pens.

Use the clocks the children have made to tell the story.

Discuss with the children what seems fair and unfair to them in the story. Talk about the story helping us to understand how God loves each of us equally and how we can work together so that everyone has what they need.

Rice Man Social Experiment – Would a Child Help the Homeless?

Do children have the same thoughts and approaches to wealth and poverty that adults do?

HYMN – Christ be Our Light

Prayers for Others and Ourselves

Generous God,

thank you for loving us

and for eternally being willing to forgive us

and let us rebuild our relationship with you.

Lord Jesus, you showed us

by your life how we can let go of hate

and choose to love

and reconcile with our enemies.

As we look at our broken world

we see so many people

who have inherited

centuries of hate and violence

and can see no way out

except through a continuation of

hate and violence.

We thank you for the people

engaging in the hard work

of peace and reconciliation

a work that needs everyone

to sit at the table and be open to each other.

We pray for the people

whose lives have been destroyed

by hate and violence

who continue to live in fear and anxiety

and see no way to peace and safety.

We thank you for the people

using their gifts to enable people

to find safe places to live

and work to feed their families.

We pray for the people

whose lives have been impacted

in so many different ways

by the pandemic of Covid-19;

for the radical changes

that have forced them to adapt and cope

with this new way of living.

We thank you for the people who have led

and advised us through these strange days,

for all who have worked hard to help us

find a way forward and who have put aside

any differences they may have had

and chosen to work together with others

who can bring the changes we need.

Lord, may we be willing to make the changes we need

and to let go of our fears and mistrust of others,

so that together we can all move forward

and find a way of peace and reconciliation

that works for everyone,

whoever and wherever they are.

Amen.

Offering – you can now give safely and securely to the church online via the donate button:

HYMN – Give Thanks

Prayer of Dedication

Generous One,

we cannot thank you enough

for all that you have given to us.

In return for your love and generosity

we bring before you

our offerings of money:

they are but signs and symbols

of our very lives

which we offer freely to you,

today and always.

Amen.

HYMN – Lord for the Years

Sending

God’s unlimited love and grace be with us

as we close our time of worship.

Let us commit ourselves

to taking this love and grace

out into the world in which we live and move.

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ

the love of God

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit

be with us all,

this day and always. Amen

Sitting in different chairs, joining in at different times throughout the day, God’s people still gather for worship on this, the Lord’s day. Welcome, to Sunday worship.

Call to Worship with parts in bold to say aloud

Into your presence we come,

Lord of freedom,

remembering those who fled captivity

and found freedom in your sanctuary.

Into your presence we come,

Lord of forgiveness,

remembering your Son’s gift to us,

and your gracious reconciliation.

Into your presence we come,

Lord of grace,

and we know your generosity to us

is beyond our understanding.

Into your presence we come,

may we lift up our praise to you!

HYMN – We Want to See Jesus Lifted High

All-Age Prayer

God, we are here today

because you love us,

you made us, and

you want us to be your friends.

You have given each one of us

the skills we need,

to help make the universe

all it was meant to be.

From being kind and helpful,

to forgiving someone who has hurt us.

You sent Jesus to help us to learn

how to live and love each other.

Saying sorry when we get things wrong,

and forgiving others when they hurt us

are just two things we can do

to make the world

a better place for everyone.

Neither of these are easy,

but life is not always easy.

Help us to try to do all we can

to make our world a better,

happier place. Amen.

Reading: Matthew 18 v 21 – 35 read by Erika Pryde

Dramatised Reading:

Reflection:

HYMN – Purify my Heart

Sunday School for all ages:

Numbers

You will need: sheets of paper with various numbers of dots (7, 49, 77, 490)

Show a piece of paper with the number 7 and 7 dots. Ask the children what 7×7 makes. Show a piece of paper with the number 49 and 49 dots. Show a sheet with 77 dots on it and see if the children can guess how many dots are on it. Then ask the children what 70×7 makes. Show a piece of paper with the number 490 and 490 dots. Show the paper with 7 dots alongside the paper with 490 dots. Talk about the difference between them and how God keeps on forgiving us and wants us to forgive others.

Note that this week’s passage mentions Jesus promoting forgiving seventy-seven times, but this can also be translated seventy times seven. It means a lot either way!

Prayers for Others and Ourselves

God of grace and mercy,

your love for us is wider, deeper, and higher

than we could ever imagine,

and we are grateful for it.

You call us friends,

and invite us to be co-creators of your kingdom,

here on earth with you.

We know that our world is struggling:

there is an increased risk of disease,

an ongoing abuse of resources,

poor decision making leading to

long term damage for short term gains.

Christians have played a part in this

over many generations,

but perhaps now, as our old way of life unravels,

and a new way of living unfolds,

we can face up to our mistakes

and try to make better choices

that will bring your kingdom, here and now.

Our country is rich,

profiting from years of slavery

and mining other countries’ resources.

For too long we have not acknowledged

nor admitted our mistakes.

We need help to accept them,

and to turn from them, seeking forgiveness

from those we have damaged and hurt.

We need to become humble,

and let go of our sense of entitlement

to ruling the world;

instead we need to become servants of the world,

looking for ways to bring

justice and equality to all people.

The mistaken choices of our ancestors

have caused misery and suffering for millions,

and if we do not acknowledge and turn from

their mistakes we will cause further

misery and suffering to future generations.

We have been given an opportunity,

due to the pandemic,

to stop and make big changes

to how we choose to live.

We have the chance to heal our world,

to make right some of our mistakes.

We have the ongoing invitation from you, Lord God,

to continue to co-create

and make this wonderful world

more like heaven.

Help us to choose to be filled with love for creation,

to seek new ways to bring justice and equality for all people.

Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayers.

Amen.

HYMN – When we are Living

The Offering:

Prayer of Dedication

Generous God of love,

giver of every good gift,

receive the gifts we offer this day,

our money, our love, and our faith in you.

Give us a desire to give ourselves fully

to the work of creating your kingdom,

here on earth as in heaven.

Amen.

HYMN – Dear Lord and Father of Mankind

Sending

Forgiveness is hard to receive

and often more difficult to give.

As we close our time of worship,

know that God can cope.

Seventy-seven times

Is a lot of forgiveness,

and it is yours.

Receive it and go on.

Go on into this new week:

forgiven by God,

loved by Jesus,

and led by the Holy Spirit. Amen.