Canvey Methodist Church Sunday 27th December 2020
Complete Service Link :
Theme: Dedication
Bible Readings: Isaiah 61:10-62:3 Psalm 148 Galatians 4:4-7 Luke 2:22-40
1). Introit: STF330.Joy to the World - CCl Licence No: 425086
1.Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven, Heaven, and nature sing
2.Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let all their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy
Ch. Repeat the sounding joy
The sounding joy, the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
The sounding joy, the sounding joy
3. No more let sins and sorrows grow
No thorns enfence the grove
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found
4. He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonders, wonders
Wonders, wonders
Wonders, wonders, of His love
ch. Ooo
2.Welcome
Welcome to this service of Praise and Worship from Canvey Island Methodist Church on Sunday 27th December 2020. I hope that you all had a blessed and Happy Christmas Day of Friday with plenty of time to relax and recover yesterday on Boxing Day. From the drama of the first Christmas day, we move on in today's service to remember how, some 40 days after his birth, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem for his dedication ceremony.
But first, we hear verses of praise from Psalm 148.
3.Call To Worship: Psalm 148
1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. 2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. 11 kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, 12 young men and women, old men and children. 13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
4.H&P331 All Things Praise Thee Lord Most High. CCl Licence No: 425086
1.All things praise thee, Lord most high, heaven and earth and sea and sky,
all were for thy glory made, that thy greatness, thus displayed,
should all worship bring to thee; all things praise thee: Lord, may we
2 All things praise thee: night to night sings in silent hymns of light;
all things praise thee: day to day chants thy power in burning ray;
time and space are praising thee; all things praise thee: Lord, may we.
3.All things praise thee; round her zones earth, with her ten thousand tones,
rolls a ceaseless choral strain; roaring wind and deep-voiced main,
rustling leaf and humming bee, all things praise thee: Lord, may we.
4.All things praise thee, high and low, rain and dew, and seven-hued bow,
crimson sunset, fleecy cloud, rippling stream, and tempest loud,
summer, winter, - all to thee glory render: Lord, may we.
5.All things praise thee: gracious Lord, great Creator, powerful Word,
omnipresent Spirit, now at thy feet we humbly bow,
lift our hearts in praise to thee; all things praise thee: Lord, may we.
George William Conder (1821-1874
5. Prayers of Praise
Almighty and ever living God we praise you how, from the magnificence and splendour of heavenly places, Jesus your son was born on earth to humble parents and in a cattle shed. Along with Shepherds from the hillside, we too have travelled into Bethlehem and on to the stable so that we also could offer our worship to Jesus. The hands outstretched towards us, in infant welcome at the crib, were those that later also bore nails, and our sin, on the cross at Calvary. Amazing love, how can it be, that thou my God shouldst die for me.
In praise and wonder, therefore, Loving God, we bow in adoration before your throne of grace, in thanksgiving for your extravagant and sacrificial love. As another year is about to close, we move on into the new, holding on to you, trusting you, knowing you, and dependent upon you to direct our paths, to enable us to love with your love and to hold up the light of Christ to show others the way into your kingdom of grace and hope.
In Christ's Name
Amen
The Lord's Prayer
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, Forever and ever, Amen
6. Isaiah 61:10-62:3 New International Version
10 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
Zion’s New Name
62 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. 2 The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. 3 You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
7. Hymn - I delight, greatly in the Lord - CCl Licence No: 425086
I delight greatly in the Lord. My soul rejoices in my God, I delight greatly in the Lord
My soul rejoices in my God.
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation And arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.
He has clothed me with garments of salvation, And arrayed me in a robe of righteousness
Chris Bowater
8. Luke 2:22-40 New International Version. Jesus Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”[a]), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”[b]
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss[c] your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marvelled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[d] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
Footnotes. a Luke 2:23 Exodus 13:2,12
b Luke 2:24 Lev. 12:8
c Luke 2:29 Or promised, / now dismiss
d Luke 2:37 Or then had been a widow for eighty-four years.
9. Who is he in yonder stall- CCl Licence No: 425086
1.Who is He in yonder stall, At whose feet the shepherds fall? Who is He in deep distress, Fasting in the wilderness?
chorus:'Tis the Lord! O wondrous story! 'Tis the Lord! the King of glory! At His feet we humbly fall, Crown Him! crown Him Lord of all!
2 Who is He the people bless? For His words of gentleness? Who is he to whom they bring all the sick and sorrowing?
chorus:'Tis the Lord! O wondrous story! 'Tis the Lord! the King of glory! At His feet we humbly fall, Crown Him! crown Him Lord of all!
3 Who is He that stands and weeps? At the grave where Lazerus sleeps? Who is he, the gathering throng Greet with loud triumphant song?
chorus:'Tis the Lord! O wondrous story! 'Tis the Lord! the King of glory! At His feet we humbly fall, Crown Him! crown Him Lord of all!
4 Lo! at midnight, who is He Prays in dark Gethsemane? Who is he on yonder tree, Dies in grief and agony?
Chorus:'Tis the Lord! O wondrous story! 'Tis the Lord! the King of glory! At His feet we humbly fall, Crown Him! crown Him Lord of all!
5 Who is He that from the grave? Comes to heal, and help and save?
Who is he, that from the throne? Rules through all the world alone?
Chorus:'Tis the Lord! O wondrous story! 'Tis the Lord! the King of glory! At His feet we humbly fall, Crown Him! crown Him Lord of all!
B.R.Hanby
10) Prayers For Others- With grateful thanks to Sue Sandling.
Dear Lord, we long to be able to meet in Church to come together to worship and praise you to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, but sadly this is not possible at the present time. But, we bring to you our praise and give you thanks for all our blessings. This is a very different kind of Christmas for most of us and we thank you that you are with us during this special celebration.
We pray for our Church family and pray that you will give a special blessing to each one as they have need. We pray for our dear friend who is recovering from an operation. We pray that you will have her in your care and bring about a speedy recovery.
We thank you for all the answered prayer that we have received and we rejoice and thank you for everything you have blessed us with.
We ask you to bless Colin and Cathy and all their family and to have them in your loving care.
We pray for our world, and for all the governments who are making difficult decisions.
We pray for our country and ask for your guidance for our leaders and all those in power. May the correct decisions be made regarding our country’s safety and economy and also for us leaving the EU.
Dear Lord, we bring before you all those who have asked for prayer for their loved ones. You know all about these prayer requests and the people involved. We lift these dear people before you, into your loving care.
And now, we will just have a moments silence while we each think of, and pray for, those known to us who need you.
May you grant healing and health and surround them with your peace and love.
Lord, we are very concerned about the spread of the Corona Virus, but Jesus says "Fear not, for I have overcome the world". We trust in you and pray with expectation, in the name of Jesus, against this virus, that you will intervene, halt its spread and bring an end to it.
We pray for ourselves, as we are now in High Risk tier 4. But we know dear Lord, that we can trust you to help us through as You bring Your own wonderful love, peace and strengthening for each day.
As we come to the end of this year we think about all that has happened. It has been a very difficult year especially for those who have lost loved ones. We pray for those dear people and pray that your love and peace will support and comfort them.
We pray that you will carry us into this fresh, new year and we thank you that you are Immanuel, God with us. And although things around us shift and change, we know that you, our God never changes and your mercies are new for us every morning. So Lord, as we go into this New Year we ask that you, in all your power and love will be constantly with us.
We thank you that you are a loving God and that you have listened to these prayers which we bring before you in the great and powerful name of our Lord Jesus Christ and all that his name stands for. AMEN
11) Sermon
Often the excitement of the Nativity story centres around typical manger scene images such as shepherds, angels, and, of course, Mary and Joseph. As we turn the page from the bright lights on the Christmas Tree, the Christmas Carols, the excited exchanges of Christmas gifts, and of the scrumptious Christmas fair on the dining table, there is the temptation to somehow also skip from the nativity on to the remainder of Christ’s life. To do this though is to neglect some of the other significant details of the incarnation account of how God became human in Jesus Christ out of pure love for His creation .
One of these 'easily missed' tableaux's is the subject of this Sundays Bible readings, namely the worshipful excitement of two elderly people, Simeon and Anna, in the Jerusalem Temple courts where they met with the Saviour of human kind.
Who were these people and when did this event happen in the Nativity account. Let's start with the second question first; After all the divine activity on the hillsides around Bethlehem, the miracle of Christ's birth in the stable we move on some 40 days to find Mary and Joseph taking their new baby, Jesus, to the Temple in Jerusalem for his dedication ceremony. Our reading from Luke chapter 2 and verse 22 puts it like this, "When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
In this ceremony, Mary and Joseph were offering Jesus to God for His use. I suspect that with the events surrounding His birth that they already knew that Jesus was meant to do amazing things. However, what they didn't know was that there were two people at the Temple who also knew that Jesus had a very special destiny and they had been waiting all of their lives for this moment. We perhaps all know people who are dedicated about something; maybe volunteering in a Charity Shop or Food Bank, or being a Red Cross or St John's Ambulance volunteer, or helping to run a children's sports club, or maybe like many of us, committed to volunteering in our local church. However, when it comes to selfless dedication, these two lovely people who met Jesus were unbelievably committed.
The first of these was a man called Simeon. We read that he was "righteous and devout" and that he had been waiting to see the Messiah (or the consolation of Israel) for many years. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
When Mary and Joseph went into the temple courts Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: " Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, You may now dismiss[d] your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of your people Israel.”
Hot on Simeon's heels was another amazing person, a Lady called Anna. She is described as being a prophet, who having been widowed after only 7 years of marriage spent every waking moment in the Temple, worshipping day and night. And now, at 84 years of age, having seen Jesus she told anyone who would listen about him and how he would bring about the redemption of Jerusalem.
I would imagine that Mary and Joseph must have been a bit "Shell Shocked" by all of these revelations. Most of it was positive but Simeon had some serious predictions about the path ahead for Jesus which probably were harder for Mum and Dad to process.
He blessed Jesus and then said to Mary, his Mum, "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
For Simeon and Anna, having met Jesus they were satisfied that He was all that they were waiting for and more.
Jesus is all we need, too!
Simeon and Anna had waited their whole lives to have a glimpse of the Saviour and their dedication was rewarded. They followed their calling and did not give up.
2020 has been a very challenging year for all of us, and perhaps we might all be forgiven for feeling or having a bit of a wobble when it comes to maintaining our Christian Commitment and focus. In the New Year, we shall, once again celebrate our annual Covenant service when we will renew our promises to follow Jesus for the year ahead.
In preparation for this, we now prayerfully reflect upon Anna and Simeon's single minded commitment, dedication and sense of purpose in fulfilling God's call upon their lives.
As we do so we ask ourselves the questions:
What or to whom are we dedicated to?
How are we focussing our time, our passion and our emotions?
Is following Jesus central to all we do?
May God encourage us in our service to Him, and speak to each of us afresh about our own high calling to serve him in the year ahead.
Amen
12) Hymns: STF545-Be thou my vision CCl Licence No: 425086
1.Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart, be all else but naught to me, save that thou art; be thou my best thought in the day and the night, both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.
2.Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word, be thou ever with me, and I with thee, Lord; be thou my great Father, thy child let me be; be thou in me dwelling, and I one with thee.
3.Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight; be thou my whole armour, be thou my true might; be thou my soul's shelter, be thou my strong tower: O raise thou me heavenward, great Power of my power.
4.Riches I heed not, nor earth's empty praise: be thou mine inheritance now and always; be thou and thou only the first in my heart: O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.
5.High King of heaven, thou heaven's bright Sun, O grant me its joys after victory is won; Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.
Irish, 8th century translated by Mary Elizabeth Byrne (1880-1931) versified by Eleanor Henrietta Hull (1860-1935) (alt.)
13. Benediction:
Almighty God we thank you for your work in our lives. Thank you for giving us Jesus and for giving our lives meaning. We humbly ask that you help direct our paths and to show us what your purpose is for us in the year ahead.
And Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Love Of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and forevermore.
Amen