CCL 125049 Charity No SC002937
Contents
- Welcome
- Hymn 106 Bring to the Lord a glad new song Tune Jerusalem (Church Hymnary 4th Edition)
- All age time
- Prayer
- Reading Romans 13: 8-14 (Good News Bible)
- Hymn 197 As we are gathered Jesus is here Tune As we are gathered (Church Hymnary 4th Edition)
- Reflection
- Prayer for others
- Hymn 173 Sing to God new songs of worship Tune Ode to joy (Church Hymnary 4th Edition)
- Blessing
View our service:
Welcome
Welcome and let us worship God
‘Cry out, shout aloud, for the Holy One of Israel is among you in majesty.’
Isaiah 12: 6
Hymn
1 Bring to the Lord a glad new song,
children of grace extol your king;
worship and praise to God belong –
to instruments of music, sing!
Let those be warned who spurn God’s name,
let rulers all obey God’s word;
for justice shall bring tyrants shame:
let every creature praise the Lord!
2 Sing praise within these hallowed walls,
worship beneath the dome of heaven;
by cymbals’ sounds and trumpets’ calls
let praises fit for God be given:
with strings and brass and wind rejoice –
then, join our song in full accord
all living things with breath and voice:
let every creature praise the Lord!
All age time (for ages 0-100)
Today’s Bible story
In today’s Bible story one of Jesus’ followers, Paul, is writing to the Christians in Rome before he visits them. He reminds them of the importance of loving their neighbour
Something to do
Think about your neighbours:
- How many current neighbours can you name?
- Have you got/ had any really good neighbours?
- What sort of things have they done to help you?
- Have you had any really difficult neighbours?
Something to make
Would you like to make them a card to express your appreciation?
Something to think about
How do you establish good relationships with neighbours?
How do you handle difficult neighbours?
How good a neighbour are you?
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father
We thank you that in Jesus you have experienced human life
You know what it is like to be part of a family
having neighbours, having colleagues
having fun, being sad or worried
being patient, being encouraging
feeling ignored or let down
You have shown us how we should live in all those situations
You have given us your Spirit to help us to live your way
But all too often we don’t
Sometimes we wanted to do what was right
but tiredness, or irritation, or a moment off guard
meant that we didn’t do the right thing
Sometimes we did the wrong thing without even realising it
Sometimes we knew what we should do
but we chose not to do it
because it was too much effort
or because we wanted to do or say something
that would cause hurt or offence
We are sorry
Forgive us
Help us to be different
to be more like Jesus in all that we do
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen
Bible reading
Romans 13: 8-14
Be under obligation to no one – the only obligation you have is to love one another. Whoever does this has obeyed the Law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not desire what belongs to someone else” – all these, and any others besides, are summed up in the one command, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” If you love someone, you will never do them wrong; to love, then, is to obey the whole Law.
You must do this, because you know that the time has come for you to wake up from your sleep. For the moment when we will be saved is closer now than it was when we first believed. The night is nearly over, day is almost here. Let us stop doing the things that belong to the dark, and let us take up weapons for fighting in the light. Let us conduct ourselves properly, as people who live in the light of day – no orgies or drunkenness, no immorality or indecency, no fighting or jealously. But take up the weapons of the Lord Jesus Christ, and stop paying attention to your sinful nature and satisfying its desires.
Hymn
As we are gathered, Jesus is here;
one with each other, Jesus is here;
joined by the Spirit, washed in the blood,
part of the body, the church of God.
As we are gathered, Jesus is here;
one with each other, Jesus is here.
Reflection:
(by someone in Rome who heard Paul’s letter read out to them)
‘Love your neighbour’, says Paul, quoting Jesus, quoting the Book of Leviticus in the Jewish Law. It sounds good, but it isn’t easy to put into practice.
I live in a tenement block in the centre of the city. It is crowded with people. I have dozens of neighbours, and they are always changing over, so I don’t know or recognise many of them:
– there’s an interfering busy-body lives across the landing who seems to be interested in everyone’s business, and has a tongue like a razor-blade. I cannot understand a word of what she says, as I’m not sure which language she speaks – which is probably as well
– there’s a family upstairs that seem to have umpteen children and adults. The adults only seem to have one volume level – loud – and the children seem to be forever arguing or bursting into tears
– and the folk downstairs! Their door always seems to have someone going in or coming out, sometimes carrying things. I don’t know who they are, what they do. There’s a lot of swearing and shouting. I don’t know what goes on, and probably don’t want to.
As someone brought up to learn the Ten Commandments I would say that it’s easy to keep some of them:
Don’t commit adultery Have you seen my neighbour’s missus? No chance!
Do not desire what belongs to someone else – I suspect that what my neighbours own legally I wouldn’t want, and what I might want they don’t own legally
Do not steal Ditto
Do not commit murder There are times when it is tempting, but given the gang culture around here, it isn’t worth it. You’d be next
Having said all of that, life in this city – from top to bottom – does not honour the Ten Commandments, whether the ones that relate to respecting God, or the ones about respecting neighbour. You might want to make some allowance for the behaviour of the neighbours in my tenement, since they are poor, desperate and have had a difficult upbringing. But you can’t say the same about the ones who hang around the imperial court.
‘No orgies or drunkenness, no immorality or indecency, no fighting or jealousy’, says Paul. It’s well seen that he hasn’t visited Rome yet. That’s life in this city. You can’t change that surely? Even though, for someone like me, you don’t like the culture of the city, you have to accept it and go along with it, doing things that other people do so that you don’t stand out as different. People here are very good at calling you names, making fun of you. Sometimes they’ll even rough you up because you’re ‘different’. I gather Jesus said, ‘Turn the other cheek’ and ‘Blessed are you when people insult you’. I’ve never felt blessed when I’ve been insulted. And look what happened to him when he turned the other cheek!
Love your neighbour. It’s hard. Some just aren’t loveable. Avoiding doing hurtful things isn’t too hard (well, most of the time), but deliberately choosing to do helpful, supportive things – that’s different. They may not appreciate what you’re doing, they may be rude, there could be a cost to you, you could even be in some kind of danger.
Jesus turned the other cheek, suffered and died. But God raised him from the dead. He promised that those who are insulted and suffer for doing what is right will receive a great reward from him. But can you really change the culture of a city like Rome – from self-centred to selflessness? I suppose we can always give it a try – with God’s help.
Prayers for others
Heavenly Father
We all have some kind of neighbours wherever we live
with some we may get on well
with others we nod and say, ‘Hello’, as we pass
some we may not know, and some we may avoid
there can be times when we are grateful for the help and support of neighbours
there may be times when we have played our part in helping them
there may be neighbours who have paid no attention to when we need help
(or maybe it was the other way round?)
There may be times when neighbours have made our lives miserable
We pray for our neighbours and their needs
we give thanks for help and assistance given
we ask for your help in being alert to times we can help them
and for your patience and guidance in coping with the difficult ones
Jesus encouraged us to think of ‘neighbours’
as more than people who live next door
but rather are all the people with whom we come into contact
colleagues, customers, clients, complete strangers
and that we are to be ready to give them help if they need it
That is hard
We need your help to do it
As we think of loving our neighbour
help us to love ourselves
as you love us
We pray for all who are ill,
those who look after them
and those who worry about them
those waiting for or receiving treatment
and those for whom there is no treatment
those who are lonely, feeling down, or grieving a friend or loved one
those who are worried about home, work or money
a friend or a relative
those who are living with the after-effects of natural disasters
those who do not have enough to eat, or somewhere to call home
those who long to live in peace and safety
those who have fled from their homes seeking safety
We pray for the Queen, the Government
all in positions of leadership in this and every land
We pray for your church
our own congregation
the wider church in Dumbarton
the world-wide church
We bring to you our prayers for people and situations of special concern to us
And we sum up our prayers in the words of the prayer Jesus gave 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 debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen
Hymn
1 Sing to God new songs of worship –
all his deeds are marvellous;
he has brought salvation to us
with his hand and holy arm:
he has shown to all the nations
righteousness and saving power;
he recalled his truth and mercy
to his people Israel.
2 Sing to God new songs of worship –
earth has seen his victory;
let the lands of earth be joyful
praising him with thankfulness:
sound upon the harp his praises,
play to him with melody;
let the trumpets sound his triumph,
show your joy to God the king!
3 Sing to God new songs of worship –
let the sea now make a noise;
all on earth and in the waters
sound your praises to the Lord!
Let the hills be joyful together
let the rivers clap their hands,
for with righteousness and justice
he will come to judge the earth.
Blessing
God the Father sends you out
to be his witnesses wherever you go
to work to bring healing and wholeness in all you do
and the blessing of God Almighty
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
rest and remain with you,
today, and every day, and for ever. Amen
Notice
Moderator’s note to all congregations 6 September 2020
Last Tuesday, the former Presbyteries of Dumbarton and Greenock & Paisley united to form Clyde Presbytery. I have the honour of being its first Moderator.
For many years people across the Church of Scotland have felt that the Church’s structure – designed for circumstances pertaining 40-50 years ago – needs to be overhauled drastically to meet the very different world of the 2020s and beyond. The creation of Clyde Presbytery is part of a wider programme of change across the Church of Scotland – a programme that will probably be extended and speeded up to reflect the challenges and opportunities arising from the Coronavirus pandemic.
The union of the two Presbyteries, and the changes that will in time flow from it, are designed to refocus the role of Presbytery: instead of primarily having an administrative function, it will in future provide congregations with support in a variety of ways. It will take time for Clyde Presbytery to settle into its new role and for new support staff to be recruited (not helped by the limitations in place thanks to the pandemic).
To the Minister or Interim Moderator, Kirk Session, Office-bearers, members and the wider church family of your congregation, I bring the greetings and good wishes of Clyde Presbytery. We give God thanks for all that you have been doing over recent months to continue his work in your congregation and community, and pray for his continued blessing on you as you continue striving to do his work.
Ian Johnson
Moderator Clyde Presbytery