Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.’ I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.’ (Ps 40:8-9 )Hymn: Just as I am, without one plea...Isaiah 49:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9The grace of God has dawned upon the world through our Saviour Jesus Christ, who sacrificed himself for us to purify a people as his own. Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith:Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.John 1:29-42Please see the Message from the Minister.Let us pray, asking for the light of the Lord to be known to everyone: We pray for St Peter’s Church and the Church throughout the world, that we may be starlight beams of his love shining in the darkness. We pray for our planet, that lessons will be learned so that the Earth and all of its creatures will thrive, and that all people will work together in peace. We pray for our friends, families and neighbours - that we may all share the love of Christ and build relationships.We pray for people who are sick or suffering, and for those on our hearts and minds today, that they will know our Lord’s healing presence.We pray for the departed, remembering all who mourn.Let us join in prayer for the coming of God’s kingdom in the prayer that Jesus taught Peter and all of us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.Hymn: There is a Redeemer...May Christ the Son of God perfect in us the image of his glory and gladden our hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and remain with us always.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
Julie Rubidge ended her sermon last Sunday morning with the words `We wish you a happy new year! ` What positive words! We pray for one another, that indeed this will be a happy new year, a brand new year, full of new potential. Our readings today echo positivity and hope, to cheer us as we enter into a new year.Our Gospel reading is a familiar one, the baptism of Jesus, there in all four Gospels. The whole country of Israel is buzzing with excitement as it receives the message of John the Baptist. Could the coming of the Messiah be close? Hundreds are being baptised by John, longing for a new beginning. Jesus himself comes to be baptised and the crowds see something completely new. Matthew describes the Spirit of God coming down on Jesus and alighting on him. The voice from heaven affirms who Jesus is: `This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased.` Something completely new.That new beginning is described in our Epistle reading from Acts 10 as we hear Peter speaking with boldness to the crowds about the Resurrection. He speaks of Jesus` baptism: `You know about Jesus of Nazareth and how God poured out on Him the Holy Spirit and power.` On that day great numbers are baptised, from near and far. Something completely new.And here is our Old Testament reading in Isaiah 42 about the coming of the Messiah: `Here is my servant, whom I strengthen – the one I have chosen, with whom I am pleased. I have filled him with my spirit, and he will bring justice to every nation. ` Verse 6: Through you I will make a covenant with all peoples; through you I will bring light to the nations.` Verse 9: `The things I predicted have now come true. Now I will tell you of new things even before they begin to happen.` Something completely new.God delights in new things. He himself doesn`t change but he is continually making things new. In this new year, he wants to do the same in us. There are so many plans he has for your life and mine. But we struggle. We want to follow Jesus. We want to be in step with him in his church. But so often we fall short.How can we try to make things different in this new year? Perhaps we need to look at our Gospel reading for pointers to the answer.Jesus comes to John to be baptised. He shows the humility of the Messiah. John protests and asks that Jesus baptise him. But Jesus is adamant: `Let it be so for now. For in this way we shall do all that God requires.` What is God calling you to? Is it to take a step of faith? Is it to let go of something we know to be wrong? Imagine you are kneeling at the feet of Jesus. What do we want to offer in his service? Jesus came to be baptised – we need to come to him in repentance, as we allow him to work in us.We need to admit our need of him, just as Jesus acknowledged his need of God`s direction. We need to repent, to turn away from what we know to be wrong and to pray that the Holy Spirit, a person, will work in us. Michael Ramsey, once Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote this: `To put it as simply as possible: where is God? God is above us and around us and everywhere, the world`s creator. Where is God? God is particularly revealed in Jesus, the very image of God. Where is God? God is within me, enabling me to respond to God above me and around me. Why a person? Because God is always personal, not impersonal, so I find myself saying not that there`s an It within me – but just as there is a He to whom I am responding, so there is a He within me enabling me to make that response.` Jesus in his baptism saw the Holy Spirit alighting on him, the Spirit to empower him.In the same way we come to the end of our own resources and rely on the Spirit`s indwelling power. If we look at a series of religious rules, we will find it hard to keep them. If we rely on the depth of our knowledge of the bible, we shall come unstuck. We need to rely on Jesus and his Spirit within us. We need to pray that the power of the Holy Spirit would so empower our lives that what happened throughout the book of Acts is ours too. God longs that we shall allow change. He longs for an obedient and expectant people to come to him, to admit their need of him, and to receive the riches of his kingdom. The voice came from heaven at Jesus` baptism was clear: `This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased.` He says the same to us, his dear sons, his dear daughters, that he delights in us. But he has much more to show us, much more to do in us. May this new year of grace, 2023, be one when each one of us experiences something completely new as our Lord ministers to us in the power of the Holy Spirit and calls us afresh to his service. The Revd Pat Hopkins
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.’ (Ps 29:3-4)Hymn: Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost...Isaiah 42:1-9; Acts 10:34-43The grace of God has dawned upon the world through our Saviour Jesus Christ, who sacrificed himself for us to purify a people as his own. Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith:Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Heavenly Father, at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son: may we recognise him as our Lord and know ourselves to be your beloved children; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.Matthew 3:13-17Please see the Message from the Minister.Let us pray, asking for the light of the Lord to be known to everyone this New Year: We pray for St Peter’s Church and the Church throughout the world, that we may be starlight beams of his love shining in the darkness. We pray for our planet, that lessons will be learned so that the Earth and all of its creatures will thrive, and that all people will work together in peace. We pray for our friends, families and neighbours - that we may all share the love of Christ and build relationships.We pray for people who are sick or suffering, and for those on our hearts and minds today, that they will know our Lord’s healing presence.We pray for the departed, remembering all who mourn.Let us join in prayer for the coming of God’s kingdom in the prayer that Jesus taught Peter and all of us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.Hymn: O Thou who camest from above...May Christ the Son of God perfect in us the image of his glory and gladden our hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and remain with us always.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
There was someone on the radio this week lamenting that elders are not respected in this country. It got me thinking. There’s a connotation of wisdom around the word ‘elder’, rather than one only of age, like ‘elderly’. How old would one have to be, to be called an elder? I wonder whether those of that age would think of themselves as elders? Would they feel as if they had to behave differently if they did?The wise men, or magi, from our gospel reading came from the East, most likely from Sheba. The word magi is the source of many of our words: ‘magician’, magistrate, and majesty. It was used in the Old Testament for the King’s personal advisors. The wise men who came to see Jesus were probably not kings, but they obviously felt confident in royal circles, as the first thing they did was to approach the king, Herod. The gifts were precious and valuable. They had the status of gifts given to a king from a king. It’s likely that the wise men were important, influential people in their home country. They were probably consulted for their knowledge: not the factual kind, but that of breadth and intelligence, combined with experience and pragmatism. It didn’t occur to them that the newborn king whose star they saw would be any other than a king born to an existing human king. They were unaware of the danger they had placed themselves, the baby and his family in thanks to their visit to Herod. They were wise enough, however, to listen to the warning given in a dream to return by another road. We mark this event as The Epiphany because it was the revelation to outsiders, or gentiles, that the anointed one, the Messiah was born. God had led the wise men. They listened and served God. This is a lesson in itself, for future generations - and for us. Wisdom says listen to God’s voice, and trust in him. To do this, we need to draw ever closer to God in relationship, by setting time aside for daily prayer. God is always with us, but we are not always with God. We need to show up, to consciously spend time with God. This would make a good New Year’s resolution.God’s voice might come to us in a number of ways: it could be during prayer, maybe through the words of other people, in the words of the scriptures, in dreams or visions, at a sacred place, by way of the natural world, or perhaps an inner ‘knowing’. It will always be given to us in more than one way if we’re not sure it’s from God. We must use discernment wisely so that we don’t follow our own desires or imaginations. And it will always pass the test of love: God will never ever invite us to do anything which harms other people - only the opposite, to do what is good and right.Paul, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, reminded the people of his calling to share the good news of the gift of Christ, ‘so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known.’ We are the present day church. It is for us to share the good news too.Having pondered, I’ve concluded that wisdom doesn’t necessarily come with age: not everyone becomes an elder. When it does come to any one of us it’s also tied in with the responsibility to share it - as with all God’s gifts.Whatever our calling, being a follower of Jesus for every one of us means sharing ourselves and him, with everyone we meet. By the grace of God, we like St Paul and St Peter will be given the boldness and confidence we need to do that in 2023, through our faith in Jesus Christ.Happy New Year everybody!Amen. Julie Rubidge, Lay Minister
