Welcome and Notices
Invitation to Worship
This morning’s service was put together by Alison Mullens
Be with us, Spirit of God;
nothing can separate us from your love.
Breathe on us, breath of God;
fill us with your saving power.
Speak in us, wisdom of God;
bring strength, healing and peace.
Song
Psalm 103 tells us: Let all that I am praise the Lord, with my whole heart I will praise His holy name….may I never forget the good things he does for me’ So lets worship Him now… like never before, remembering the many many reasons we have to worship his holy name.
Confession
Adapted from ‘Faith & Worship’ – John Birch 2016.
Heavenly Father,
You call us to follow
but our footsteps falter;
You reach out your hand
but we treat you as stranger;
You whisper our name
but we simply ignore you.
Gracious God,
slow to anger, swift to bless,
forgive us, restore us.
Grant us hearts that stand firm,
a faith that is strong
and a hope that endures. Amen.
Children’s Activity Sheets
Some questions to help you explore the passage together as a family
Use the map from last week to add in more places that Paul visits.
This one is for the adults too!
Bible Readings
First Reading – Isaiah 49:1-7
1 Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations:
before I was born the Lord called me;
from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, ‘You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.’
4 But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due to me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.’
5 And now the Lord says –
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength –
6 he says:
‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’
7 This is what the Lord says –
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel –
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
‘Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’
Second Reading – Acts 13:13-15; 32-52
Sermon
This morning’s sermon is from Dan Penny
Song
We can stand, we can hope, we are forgiven, we are loved… How? Nothing but grace… YOUR grace alone.
Prayers
Today’s prayers were prepared by Hannah Smith
Song
‘The Lord’s love never ends, His mercies never stop. They are new every morning.‘ Lam 3: 22-23 God is so good, always good… to me.
Final Prayer & Blessing
Risen Christ,
you filled your disciples with boldness and fresh hope:
strengthen us to proclaim your risen life
and fill us with your peace,
to the glory of God the Father. Amen!
This song is beautiful and powerful because it comes from the blessing God gave to Moses to give to Aaron to speak over the people. These words have been used for thousands of years to connect God’s people to the good things He has for them. These words have survived the centuries and have been re-imagined and recorded by Christians from a whole range of churches in the UK using ‘lock-down technology’. Listen – you won’t regret the 6 1/2 minutes it takes. Be blessed ????
Thank you for joining us for this morning’s act of worship!
If you would like to join the St James’ Slack channel (which we use to stay in touch, pray and swap isolation tips), then please email me at laurence.smith@stjameswoodley.org for an invite.