John Barton, A History of the Bible (Penguin / Radio 4)

 Eminent Old Testament scholar John Barton's prize-winning A History of the Bible: The Books and Its Faiths (Allen Lane, 2019) 640pp is being serialised on Radio 4 and was lively enough to keep me awake. 

Barton takes what might be called a classical liberal / historical-critical approach which was dominant in Oxford in my undergraduate days (where Barton was Prof). Though other places seemed excited by Post Modern or Canonical readings we were still focusing on dating lots of stuff to the post Exilic period! 

Readers and hearers might be interested in Dr Martin Davie's reviews. If one were to read Davie's review mischievously, one might say that on Barton's view the Old Testament has no coherent message and both Judaism and Christianity get it wrong! The authoritative essence, if there is one, is always in the eye of the reader / writer. 

The episode I heard seemed rather speculative, building much on slender evidence. 

For example, we were told that the Ten Commandments were likely late because the Sabbath commands suggests settled agriculture rather than a nomadic desert existence as does the list of your neighbours property that you are not meant to covet. To my mind, that simply does not follow. And even if it did, God and or Moses could have been writing commands that were intended to last for centuries - indeed for ever. If the witness of the Old Testament can be believed at all, the people had long longed for their own land. 

Barton claimed that it would be hard to find any Old Testament event which all scholars are agreed is historical, but I think that tells us more about scholars than about the Old Testament! 

I was also not convinced that the details of the Old Testament documents found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls show reliably what Bible manuscripts were known and trusted in wider Judaism. Granted there was some diversity in Judaism, such as it is, the evidence in the DSS suggests to me a relatively complete and settled Old Testament canon. 

It would be interesting to see if Barton's book interacts with Roger Beckwith's The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church: and its Background in Early Judaism.

One should expect simplifications and generalisations in a book of this sort, I suppose. but my experience of Anglicanism is not that the books of the Apocrypha are half in and half out of the Bible. They are not canonical but they are read for instruction (Article VI). 

Barton's book is no doubt engaging and valuable but Evangelicals will have fundamental differences with it and there will be much to quibble with in the detailed presentation and arguments. 

See also:

Ian Paul 

and Jeremy Marshall 

Some further jottings from all the other episodes and discussion: https://www.facebook.com/malloyd/posts/10157438898436573

Assorted Non-Profound Covid Reflections

 We have had a relatively easy experience of Covid. Mrs Lloyd and I have largely been able to work from home. We can get by financially and have some savings. We have reasonable internet access. With four kids, we have plenty of company!

Yet even while we count our many blessings, some things about Covid have been hard. 

Mrs Lloyd has really missed singing with others and has found it hard to enjoy keeping up her singing and playing without obvious goals such as performances and lessons. 

No doubt our home schooling would be better next time! 

In a way I quite enjoyed the first Lockdown. I felt needed. And it was challenge to respond quickly to the new situation. We could innovate, even if the fabled extra time for reading never materialised. I felt we did a good job at a tough time.  

It has been nice to travel less and to have fewer meetings that we may not have needed. Sometimes my evenings were a bit freer. Even if I had an online meeting, at least I didn't have to venture out. 

It was a weird Easter. There were new opportunities online. 

But the adrenaline wears off. One can't keep going at 120% for ever. Lockdown becomes boring. 

And last minute relatively high stakes and repeated decision making is tiring. 

Regulations happened to change just before Remembrance Sunday and just before Christmas and this was a situation in which we couldn't please all the people all of the time. 

The difficulty of planning for the future has been frustrating. 

Attitudes to risk vary wildly. For some we moved too fast, for others we were too slow. Everyone has an opinion, sometimes several contradictory ones, as I sometimes feel I do myself! 

Waiting for test results and self-isolation showed our lack of patience. Limbo even for a few days was uncomfortable as we counted off days in the diary and wondered what we would do if we had to blank out Christmas. 

When we were only meant to go out for exercise once a day and I had done that by 9am, I could find myself climbing up the wall pretty quickly. 

The children have apparently taken it all in their stride. 

The presence of Christ in the Supper

 The whole Christ is truly received by faith in the power of the Spirit in the Supper.

As God, Christ is omnipresent. 

Bodily he is at the right hand of the Father. 

He is specially present among his covenant people on the Lord's Day to judge and to bless. 

He dwells in our hearts by his Spirit. 

He is not specially physically present in the bread or the wine. 

Church and Christian Leadership Scandals

 We've seen plenty. Of course, people are sinners. But we really need to think about the institutional and cultural factors which have enabled abuse and which have made it harder for us to deal with these things well. These may include a baffling mixture of:

Celebrity

Clericalism 

Deference

Secrecy

An old boy network

A them and us attitude / inner circle 

Lack of accountability / oversight 

Suspicion of diocese / bishops etc. 

Lack of independence for those with a safeguarding role

A faulty concept of forgiveness

Attitudes to celibacy 

Attitudes to sex

Attitudes to homosexuality 

Attitudes to women 

Attitudes to children

Prioritising reputational and institutional protection

Fear of the consequences of speaking up

Fear of the damage of false accusations  

A confusion between whistle blowing and gossip / trouble-making 

The role of lawyers

Money

Lack of resources for safeguarding 

Administrative incompetence / inertia 

Optimism about change / the problem going away

And probably a whole lot more. 

Silence and Sabbath

 My conservative evangelical tribe has arguably neglected these practices. 

We rightly observe that in the Bible prayer is talking to God. And that Jesus is the Word and the Bible is words and God seems to be all for words and is, at times, talkative. We react against some lauding of silence and yet we would do well to slow down, to be quiet, to think and to pray and to consciously enjoy the presence of God. Yes, read the Bible and pray, but why not just also be with Jesus maybe for 10 minutes a day? Why would we find that so hard? Try it. Ten minutes is a long time! 

We have argued about the Sabbath and the Lord's Day. We have normally said it is good to have a day off. But we have tended to downplay and normalise special gathered covenant renewal worship. And we have treated Sunday like any other day. 

And, you know, many evangelicals are doers, achievers, as well as talkers. Activism is one of our hallmarks. We love projects and a busy diary. We are all for success and good works and small groups and one to one ministries and maybe even soup kitchens. Certainly there is a perishing world and an urgent word to be shared. 

I wonder what we've been missing and what some of the fruit of it all is. 

Don't follow your passion

 I happened to see on the interweb yesterday a persuasive exhortation to young people that they should not necessarily follow their passion as their career. 

However, the speaker suggested that in fact the young people ought to find what they are good at and work hard at it until they become excellent at it. 

Well, maybe, it all depends. 

By definition, only a few people can be excellent. Most people will be, well, more or less average. 

And that would be fine. Good. 

There are more important things that being rich or famous or making a contribution to science or literature or....

Love God. Love your neighbour. And do what you reasonably can to feed yourself and your family and have something to save and give away. 

It may be that you pursue your passions through your leisure time and that your great contribution to the good of society is something very quiet and ordinary or only seen in the lives of your great great grandchildren. Many great breakthroughs are entirely unplanned and come along the way.  

Giveness

 One of the most basic things we need to grasp is a kind of "giveness". 

All life is a gift. That's wonderful. 

But it also comes with limits, a shape, a given form and with consequent obligations. 

I can't be whoever I want to be if my wants don't respect my prior giveness. 

This has implications for the beginning and end of life. And for the body and gender and sexuality and many other things. 

It is right that to an extent I respect your individual autonomy and your right to choose. But I must also recognise that my choices must respect my creator and my judge and have implications for you and others. God has placed us in families and communities. We have a prior given history and our choices and actions will also sow a communal destiny. 

Be whoever you want to be, do whatever you want to do could have some pretty dark consequences for you, for those near you and for society. 

Patient Martyrs

 Our generation, as much as any other, requires patient martyrs. 

A martyr is one who bears witness. She is willing to die for something greater than herself. In principle she embraces death because she is always willing to say no to herself so that she might say yes to God. 

But there can be a selfish vain glorious seeking of martyrdom which is more about me than the cause. In a way, death can sometimes be easier than patiently enduring suffering. It offers a way out. The grand gesture can appeal to some who ought to plod on in quiet faithfulness. 

Let us be ready to die if they come for us and always willing to speak up with gentleness and respect if wisdom suggests there is an opportunity or a need. But let us not grasp at the martyrs crown before our Saviour calls time. 

The City of God

 Salvation is not merely individualistic. God is doing more than rescuing souls from destruction for blessing. Salvation is from hell for heaven (and the New Creation): the telos is a communal destiny. 

God saves a people. And that people is not a mob but a polis, a city, an organised community. The people of God are citizens of an administration ordered by justice where there ought to be peace. They are bound together by a common love and common interest. They are members of a commonwealth, a household, an economy. This civilization will have its laws, customs, officers and outward forms which flow from its nature and are ordered towards its goals. 

Two Popes

 I watched a bit of this the other day, which I had heard good things about.

Of course any accounts of private conversations between Benedict and Francis would be speculative. 

And I am no expert on the Pope's theology. 

And one has to tolerate some simplification for a mainstream film. 

But I did not find Francis' supposed theology at all likely. For example, if I recall correctly he directly asserted that God changes, which is no doubt a contradiction of official Roman Catholic teaching. 

Failure

 I have started reading English Professor Joe Moran's If You Should Fail: A Book of Solace (Penguin / Viking, 2020). 

Moran elegantly debunks the idea that failure is often the necessary roadway to success. For all our motivational talk of growth mindsets, many failures are just that. Some matter little, some more. Failure and perceived failure are unavoidable facts of life.

Understood in context, Samuel Beckett's famous words: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” are not perhaps as inspiring as has often been suggested. 

(Perhaps more on this as my reading progresses). 

My Lloyd Family Christmas / New Year News Letter 2020-21

 

Let’s take the cliches about 2020 for granted and get straight into talking about us! We have been largely alert, safe and at home with some (negative) Covid tests thrown in for excitement.

 

Mrs Lloyd’s great enthusiasm has been singing and after some lessons and much toil, she covered herself in glory with a Licentiate of Trinity College London. She has been doing lots of singing in church and some performances but has really missed the opportunity to sing with others in person. She has also taken on a number of piano pupils both at home and at the children’s primary school though often online.

 

All three boys are now playing for the excellent re-named Heathfield and Horam Football Club so that we sometimes have to puzzle out how we can be in multiple cold, wet, muddy locations on a Saturday morning.

 

Jono has become An Teenager and has continued to worship screens at every opportunity and love an argument. He seems to have fooled his school teachers into believing he is going the extra mile in subjects he declares boring. Like a favourite teddy bear, his new rugby ball has rarely been more than a meter away from him since it was acquired and he shows some promise as a runner. Perhaps his Fitbit will motivate him.

 

Abi has been learning classical Greek with a parishioner and baking at every opportunity. Being on Bake Off is a great ambition. I have been happily gobbling the produce and giving unsolicited feedback. We are great fans of the Warbleton Brass Band and Abi is working towards grade V on the cornet and achieved a distinction in her grade II piano exam. She also has a growing collection of bling earned in Irish Dancing. Though I was a hamster sceptic, Fizz has been well cared for and is a source of lots of fun when she can be persuaded not to go into hibernation in the chilly Rectory.

 

Soldiers, Duplo and Lego continue to form a large part of our lives. The family vies for domination in Monopoly. Mrs Lloyd has bought Sonic The Hedgehog for the PS4 and is enjoying beating the children.

 

Matt Matt’s winning smile looks destined to break hearts. Shockingly he has decided to be an England supporter.

 

Tommy remains a quirky cheeky chap with plenty of questions and comments to contribute when he can get a word in edge ways: “By the way…”.

 

Sadly, Caleb the Dog now awaits the Resurrection. He had a sad decline over a number of months and I felt I had mourned him before we eventually decided that this ought not to go on. The breed and naming of Caleb II are the subjects of great debate but we are put off by the effort and expense involved. For the moment we are glorying in leaving food lying around and doors open, but I am missing my daily waddle around The Green.

 

In Lockdown One “church” quickly went online from my study with Mrs L as the unpaid Director of Music and IT consultant. At one stage it was an exciting technological innovation each week. Leading worship was now more like flying a space ship. I have continued to say Morning and Evening Prayer on Facebook at 8am and 4:30pm most work days and you are always welcome to join me. Weekly Zoom prayer and Bible study has been good with of course a certain amount of “We can’t hear you…. You need to unmute…. UNMUTE!” and everybody freezing. We pray that we will build back better but much feels uncertain.

 

In addition to my parish duties, I have been editing the book reviews for Churchman, the Church Society’s theological journal, which recently re-launched as The Global Anglican.

 

A very happy new year to you!

Church Mission Action Plan Review Questions

Do we have a clear shared vision of making disciples of Jesus who will make disciples of Jesus by the prayerful ministry of Word and Sacrament in the power of the Holy Spirit in the context of warm and outward-looking relationships?

What are we (as individuals, families, groups, a church or with others) doing in the following areas?

Pre-evangelism / connecting with others and building contacts and relationships 

Evangelism / sharing the good news of Jesus including verbal proclamation 

Nurture / Discipleship

Christian service and contribution to the Common Good

Training in ministry

Admin / support for ministry / governance / finance / practical matters 

Are we neglecting any of these areas?

Are there groups in our community we are failing to reach? 

Should we do anything new or differently?

Are there things we should stop doing?

What are our one, two or three immediate priorities / areas of focus / next steps?

When and how will we review this again?

Towards An Epiphany Sermon for a New Year (Ephesians 3)

One of the things about preaching from the Lectionary is the same texts and themes year after year. Yet I have found the Epiphany surprisingly rich and fresh year after year. 

(See further: https://marclloyd.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-epiphany-matthew-2.html)

It is a suitable theme for New Year because it presents us with:

(1) A grand compelling vision 

(2) Our part(s) in it

This is the kind of thing that can motivate and inform our plans for 2021 whatever our circumstances. 

Thinking of Christ, the Magi and the lectionary reading from Ephesians 3, one could preach Ephipnay in terms of:

(1) The REVELATION of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations

(2) A faithful RESPONSE:

(a) Seek Jesus

(b) Serve Jesus

(c) Share Jesus

Or if you wanted to focus more on Ephesians 3, it might be summed up in two words: REVELATION and PROCLAMATION. 

Some further jottings on Ephesians 3 (mainly stolen from John Stott, I suspect):

3:1-13

 

3v1 – “for this reason” – link back to 2vv19-22 and God’s plan to include the Gentiles with Israel in the church

 

V1, v14, “For this reason I…”

vv2-13 grammatically, a digression sparked by Paul’s mention of himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of the Gentiles

 

Vv2, 7 repeat the same words: “God’s grace that was given to me”

2 privileges which God in his unmerited favour has given to Paul:

a certain revelation as a result of which Paul had come to know something (vv2-3)

a certain commission as a result of which Paul was responsible to make something known to others (vv7-8)

 

Vv2-7 – how the grace of God gave Paul this message and ministry

Vv8-12 – how the grace of God empowered Paul for this ministry

 

A revelation and a commission

 

(1) Revelation – the mystery revealed (vv2-7)

 

mystery: v3, 4, 9

 

V6 tells us the content of the mystery:

 

V6 tells us the content of the mystery:

the equal inclusion of the Gentiles with Israel

 

3 things – in the NIV 3 “together”s

(a) Co-heirs: fellow heirs of the same blessing

(b) Con-corporate: fellow members of the same body

(c) Co-sharers: fellow partakers of the same promise

 

I.e. the mystery is what Paul explained in 2:11-22

 

The OT did reveal something of God’s purpose for the gentiles: Gen 12:1-3; Ps 2:8; Is 42:6; 2:2-4 – radical nature of God’s plan for replacement of nation with international people of God not clear in OT times, equal union

 

(2) Commission – the mystery must be made known (vv8-13)

 

V8 – Paul the least because of his persecution of the church of God – 1 Cor 15:9

 

Paul elaborates the privileged ministry entrusted to him in 3 ways:

 

(a) Making known Christ’s riches to the gentiles (v8)

 

(b) Making known the mystery to all men (v9)

 

(c) Making known God’s wisdom to the cosmic powers (v10)

 

SO, v13, don’t lose heart

 

Conclusions:

 

(a) The church is central to history

 

(b) The church is central to the gospel

 

(c) The church is central to Christian living

 

To put it another way / application / how this might be preached:

 

(1) The shock of revelation: you can be part of the church

 

(2) The necessity of proclamation: the world must know this truth

 

(3) The result:

Satan will see God’s wisdom

Sinners can approach God’s throne

Suffering for the gospel makes sense

 

Psalm 31 study questions

 We're planning to look at Psalm 31 in our midweek meeting on Wednesday 9th December. There's no need to prepare, but if you do want to think about it in advance, you might find these questions prepared by a member of our congregation helpful:

Verses 1-8 David expresses his confidence in God. In this confidence he prays for deliverance.

Read this but not study it.

Study begins at v9  

1. 9 What is David asking the Lord to do?
2. Why does he ask this?
3. 9-13 List all the things which are distressing him.
4. How does this relate to the Lord Jesus Christ? See  Isaiah 53 v1-4
5. How does this relate to Job Chapter 2v12, 3v25-26
6. 14-15a  In spite of all that is going on v14 begins BUT    …… what great truths is David proclaiming here?
7. 15b  What is David praying here?
8. 16-17a 19-20 What are the characteristics of God which give David confidence to pray this prayer?
9. 17b-18 What about unbelievers?
10. How is Ephesians 6 v 12 relevant to this Psalm? 
11. 21-22 What is David praising God for?
12. 23 What is David’s exhortation to fellow believers?
13. What about unbelievers? Compare Psalm 28 v 4 from the other week.
14. 24 What does v24 encourage believers to do?  Compare John 16 v 33
15. What evidence have we seen in this Psalm that hoping in the Lord, enables the believer to continue the fight of faith?

Service Notes for 29/11/20

 

 

God-willing our church services will be live on Facebook on a Sunday at 9:30am at: https://www.facebook.com/malloyd

After that you can catch up there or on the churches Facebook pages or Warbleton Church You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPBFrhqP5nL6QnmkZKfP5yw

 

Our weekly notice sheet is available here: https://www.warbletonchurch.org.uk/

 

From Sunday 6^th December, we plan to be back to services in the church buildings.

 

You can find details of all the Benefice services in December here: https://www.warbletonchurch.org.uk/whatson/december-2020/

 

(Before the service we will play the hymn Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. You can find the words here: https://hymnary.org/text/come_thou_long_expected_jesus_born_to)

 

Some words from the letter to the Romans:

 

Now is the time to wake out of sleep, for our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

The night is far spent, the day is at hand:

Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armour of light.

 

(Romans 13:11-12)

 

When the Lord comes, he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness, and will disclose the purposes of the heart.

Therefore in the light of Christ let us confess our sins.

 

(cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5)

 

Turn to us again, O God our Saviour, and let your anger cease from us:

Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

 

Show us your compassion, O Lord, and grant us your salvation:

Christ, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

 

Your salvation is near for those that fear you, that glory may dwell in our land:

Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

 

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.

 

Hymn: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

 

Isaiah 64:1-9

 

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

 

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

 

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

 

Hymn: Faithful One, so unchanging

 

The Apostles’ Creed  

                                                 

 I believe in God, the Father almighty,

 creator of heaven and earth.

           

 I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

 who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

 born of the Virgin Mary,

 suffered under Pontius Pilate,

 was crucified, died, and was buried;

 he descended to the dead.

 On the third day he rose again;

 he ascended into heaven,

 he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

 and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

           

 I believe in the Holy Spirit,

 the holy catholic Church,

 the communion of saints,

 the forgiveness of sins,

 the resurrection of the body,

 and the life everlasting.

 Amen.

 

Intercessions

 

The Collect for the First Sunday of Advent

 

Almighty God,

give us grace to cast away the works of darkness

and to put on the armour of light,

now in the time of this mortal life,

in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;

that on the last day,

when he shall come again in his glorious majesty

to judge the living and the dead,

we may rise to the life immortal;

through him who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

 

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Gathering our prayers and praises into one,

 let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught 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.

 

The Blessing

 

Christ the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you,

Scatter the darkness from before your path,

And make you ready to meet him when he comes in glory;

and the blessing of God almighty,

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

be among you and remain with you always.

Amen.

 

(After the service we’ll play the hymn Love Divine. You can find the words here: https://hymnary.org/text/love_divine_all_love_excelling_joy_of_he)

Benefice Church Services December 2020

 We'd love you to join us for services either in person or online during December:

We are planning the following Covid secure services with social distancing. All are welcome subject to capacity / booking where required:

BY PARISH

Warbleton

Sunday 6th December – All-Age Christingle Family Service with Christingle kits available for children 11am

Sunday 13th December – Morning Worship with Holy Communion 11am

Sunday 20th December - Carols by Candlelight 6:30pm – Booking required. To book please ring Steve on 07786 973106 or email bookings@warbletonchurch.org.uk

Christmas Day – All-Age Service with Holy Communion 11am – Booking required. To book please ring Steve on 07786 973106 or email bookings@warbletonchurch.org.uk

Sunday 27th December – Online service only 11am

Please note that we are not expecting congregational singing to be allowed. A small group of socially distanced singers will help to lead worship.

Our services will be livestreamed to the Warbleton Parish Church Facebook Page:

facebook.com/WarbletonParishChurch

And will be available afterwards on the Warbleton Parish Church You Tube Channel.

Bodle Street Green

Sunday 6th December - Morning Worship with Holy Communion 9:30am

Sunday 13th December - All Age Christingle Family Service with Christingle kits available 9:30am

Sunday 20th December - Morning Worship with Holy Communion 9:30am

Tuesday 22nd December - Carols by Candlelight – Booking required: please call 07860 889203 (This service will be repeated on Christmas Eve) 6pm

Christmas Eve - Carols by Candlelight – Booking required: please call 07860 889203 (This will be a repeat of Tuesday’s service) 6pm

Christmas Day - All Age Family Service with Holy Communion 9:30am

Please note that we are not expecting congregational singing to be allowed. A small socially distanced choir will help to lead worship with some use of recorded items.

Dallington

Sunday 6th December - Service of the Word 11am

Sunday 13thDecember - Book of Common Prayer Evensong 6:30pm

Sunday 20th December - Holy Communion 11am

Christmas Eve - Midnight Communion 11:30pm

Please note that we are not expecting congregational singing to be allowed. We will make some use of recorded music.

IN DATE ORDER

Please note that we are not expecting congregational singing to be allowed.

Services from Warbleton will also be livestreamed to the Warbleton Parish Church Facebook Page:

facebook.com/WarbletonParishChurch

. And will be available afterwards on the Warbleton Parish Church You Tube Channel.

Sunday 6th December - Morning Worship with Holy Communion 9:30am – Bodle Street Green

Sunday 6th December – All-Age Christingle Family Service 11am with Christingle kits available for children – Warbleton

Sunday 6th December - Service of the Word 11am – Dallington

Sunday 13th December - All Age Christingle Family Service with Christingle kits available 9:30am - Bodle Street Green

Sunday 13th December – Morning Worship with Holy Communion 11am – Warbleton

Sunday 13th December - Book of Common Prayer Evensong 6:30pm – Dallington

Sunday 20th December - Morning Worship with Holy Communion 9:30am - Bodle Street Green

Sunday 20th December - Holy Communion 11am – Dallington

Sunday 20th December - Carols by Candlelight 6:30pm – Booking required. To book please ring Steve on 07786 973106 or email bookings@warbletonchurch.org.uk - Warbleton

Tuesday 22nd December - Carols by Candlelight – Booking required: please call 07860 889203 (This service will be repeated on Christmas Eve) – Bodle Street Green

Christmas Eve - Carols by Candlelight – Booking required: please call 07860 889203 (This will be a repeat of Tuesday’s service) 6pm – Bodle Street Green

Christmas Eve - Midnight Communion 11:30pm – Dallington

Christmas Day - All Age Family Service with Holy Communion 9:30am – Bodle Street Green

Christmas Day – All-Age Service with Holy Communion 11am – Booking required. To book please ring Steve on 07786 973106 or email bookings@warbletonchurch.org.uk - Warbleton

Sunday 27th December – Online service only 11am – Warbleton

Service Notes for 22/11/20

 

SERVICE NOTES

 

God-willing our church services will be live on Facebook on a Sunday at 9:30am at: https://www.facebook.com/malloyd

After that you can catch up there or on the churches Facebook pages or Warbleton Church You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPBFrhqP5nL6QnmkZKfP5yw

 

 Our weekly notice sheet is available here: https://www.warbletonchurch.org.uk/

 

ORDER OF SERVICE

 

Welcome, notices and introduction

 

Grace, mercy and peace

 from God our Father

 and the Lord Jesus Christ

 be with you

(and also with you.)

                         

 This is the day that the Lord has made.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

                         

 Jesus says, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.'

 So let us turn away from our sin and turn to Christ,

 confessing our sins in penitence and faith.

                         

O King enthroned on high,

Filling the earth with your glory:

Holy is your name,

Lord God almighty.

In our sinfulness we cry to you

To take our guilt away,

And to cleanse our lips to speak your word,

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

                         

 May the Father of all mercies

 cleanse you from your sins,

 and restore you in his image

 to the praise and glory of his name,

 through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

                         

Blessed is the Lord,

for he has heard the voice of our prayer;

                         

therefore shall our hearts dance for joy

and in our song will we praise our God.

 

Hymn: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation

 

Bible Reading: Acts 21:37-22:29

 

Followed by the response:

                                                     

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God!

 

Sermon

 

Hymn: King of the ages, Almighty God

 

 The Apostles’ Creed 

                                                 

 I believe in God, the Father almighty,

 creator of heaven and earth.

           

 I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

 who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

 born of the Virgin Mary,

 suffered under Pontius Pilate,

 was crucified, died, and was buried;

 he descended to the dead.

 On the third day he rose again;

 he ascended into heaven,

 he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

 and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

           

 I believe in the Holy Spirit,

 the holy catholic Church,

 the communion of saints,

 the forgiveness of sins,

 the resurrection of the body,

 and the life everlasting.

 Amen.

                                     

 Prayers          

                         

Intercessions using the response:

 

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer.

 

The Collect for Christ the King – The Sunday next before Advent

 

Eternal Father,

whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:

keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit

and in the bond of peace,

and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

                         

 The Lord's Prayer

 

  Gathering our prayers and praises into one,

 let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught 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.

                                     

The Blessing