Shipley Church Self-Service

Sunday 30th August 2020

Thought for the Week – Get thee behind me, Satan

When Jesus predicted to his disciples that he was to die and afterwards be raised to life, Peter instinctively replied, “Surely not. This will never happen to you, Lord!” But Jesus reproves him for dissuading him from his eventual destiny with the words, “Get thee behind me, Satan” – the very same words with which Jesus responded to Satan when he was originally tempted by him in the desert. (Matthew 4:1-10) The context here is that Jesus recognised Satan to be working through his own followers, (Judas, too, was persuaded to betray Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane). Though Peter loved Jesus and didn’t want to see him die, he was suggesting that he would not be raised from the dead, and thus was unwittingly opposed to the will of God. (Matthew 16:21-27)

Devil’s Dyke on the South Downs is described in local folklore as the work of the Devil. He is supposed to have started digging a trench 300ft deep one night to allow the sea to flood the many Christian churches of the Sussex Weald. But he mistook an old lady’s candle and the sound of a cock crowing for the approach of dawn, and fled before he could complete the job. The last shovel of earth he threw over his shoulder fell into the sea, forming the Isle of Wight! 

The defeat of the Devil’s work was achieved through Jesus’ death.

Hymn

The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord;

She is her new creation, by water and the word;

From heav’n he came and sought her to be his holy bride,

With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.

Prayers

We pray for God’s great mercy to guide us to his will, to make our minds steadfast, and to strengthen us against temptation and shield us against our foes.

Note: The Readings set for today can be downloaded from the top right hand corner of this page