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.