At Home – Re-sourced by God

Sunday 9th of January 2022

We meet in the name of God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Lord be with you 
and also with you

We pray together:
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.

Praise, my soul the King of heaven - YouTube
Hymn: Praise, my soul, the King of heaven,
to his feet your tribute bring;
ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
who like you his praise should sing?
Alleluia, alleluia!
praise the everlasting King.

Praise him for his grace and favour
to our fathers in distress;
praise him, still the same as ever,
slow to blame and swift to bless;
Alleluia, alleluia!
glorious in his faithfulness.

Father-like, he tends and spares us,
All our hopes and fears he knows;
in his hands he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes:
Alleluia, alleluia!
widely as his mercy flows.

Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face;
sun and moon, bow down before him,
praise him all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
praise with us the God of grace

Saying sorry to God
 
We confess our sins

On Palm Sunday, the crowds worshipped Jesus; on Good Friday they shouted for him to die. On this 1st Sunday after Epiphany.
Let us who also worship him, confess that we sometimes reject him, and ask his forgiveness: Lord Jesus Christ, this day you come to us in peace, but we sometimes shut the door of our mind against you.
In your mercy: forgive us and help us.

You come to us in humility, but we prefer our own proud ways.

In your mercy: forgive us and help us.

You come to us in judgement, but we cling to our familiar sins.

In your mercy: forgive us and help us.

You come to us this day in meekness and majesty, but we will not have you reign over us.
In your mercy: forgive us and help us.
Lord, forgive our empty praise, fill our loveless hearts; come to
us and make our lives your home for ever. Amen

May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, 
and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

In the Lord I'll Be Ever Thankful - Taizé [with lyrics for congregations] - YouTube
Hymn: In the Lord I'll be ever thankful,
In the Lord I will rejoice!
Look to God, do not be afraid.
Lift up your voices, the Lord is near,
Lift up your voices, the Lord is near.

Hearing and responding to the Word of God

The Collect, the prayer for the day.
Heavenly Father at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son. May we recognise him as our Lord and know ourselves to be your beloved children; through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen
The reading from the Bible written in Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with[b] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”  21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Reflection
Some of us like our names, and some of us, perhaps, don’t. But they are ours and they belong to us. When a child is adopted, sometimes it is the only thing they bring with them. No clothes, no toys, nothing but their name; it is all they’ve got and it is therefore very important to them. Sometimes our names may be said with care, delight and love. Sometimes they may be said with hatred, sadness or disappointment. Some of us will be used to using shortened forms of our names; when we were children, we knew we were in trouble if our full names were used!
We can perhaps imagine the warmth and sincerity of God’s voice, the voice from heaven, when Jesus came up from of the water and received the Holy Spirt. ‘This is my Son, my beloved son, and with him I am well pleased’. Can you imagine God saying the same of you? Close your eyes for a moment, and listen to the words again, beginning with your name: ‘…you are my beloved child and with you I am well pleased’. Know the warmth and the love of God’s voice. What is it like? A strong and forceful voice or one that is gentle and calm?
There’s no right or wrong answer to that, by the way. But here is a truth: that we, each and every one of us, are God’s beloved, and God wants us to know and receive that love. Sometimes we may not feel loved, or even worthy of being loved. Sometimes we may feel quite the opposite. But the message of Scripture, Jesus’ message, is that God wants us to know that no matter what we have done, no matter what our circumstances, no matter what we currently think: we are God’s children, we are forgiven and loved, and all we have to do is reach out and receive that love.
Jesus also humbled himself by submitting to John’s baptism of repentance. How does humility in our own lives help us to better love and serve the Lord? Is there a specific area in your life where you need to grow in humility? Baptized into his life and death, we can take on the character, and even the very heart, of Jesus. Ask the Lord to give you the faith to believe this truth. Then ask him to open your heart and transform you into his image. 
Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit. May I find joy in seeking to please you, just as you found joy in seeking to please your Father.

Sisters and brothers,
our baptismal vows call us to compassion and mercy
on behalf of those in need. We offer our prayers for the church and the world.

God of Humanity,
Our denominations have a commitment to human rights.
Help us, Gracious God, to proclaim your gospel that tells us
“all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
God of Joy, draw near to us.

God of Compassion,
your scripture tells us today
that those of us with much have much to give in your name. Luke 3:11
Where those of us have too much,
help us have generous hearts to give to those who have too little.
In this season of expectation,
help us bear the good fruit that you call us to bear. Luke 3:9
God of Joy, draw near to us.

God of Hope,
we pray that you will make joy known in difficult places this season:
in places of warfare, in places of pain,
in places of despair, in places of sickness,
in places of hunger, in places of hopelessness.
Help us share the joy we find in you!
God of Joy, draw near to us.

God of Harmony,
this year has seen so much division.
Help us, in this season of generosity and compassion,
to draw near to one another.
When fear reigns, we tend to circle our wagons and shut others out.
But when hope reigns, we let down our guard
and open ourselves up to the possibility of love and creation.
Help us draw near to one another.
God of Joy, draw near to us.

God of Healing, we pray that you would lift up those among you that need joy,
those we lift up before you silently… God of Joy, draw near to us.

Father God I Wonder [with lyrics for congregations] - YouTube
Hymn: Father God, I Wonder
How I Managed To Exist
Without The Knowledge Of Your Parenthood
And Your Loving, Care
But Now I Am Your Son,
I Am Adopted In Your Family
And I Can Never Be Alone
‘Cause Father God,
You’re There Beside Me.
I Will Sing Your Praises
I Will Sing Your Praises
I Will Sing Your Praises
Forever More
I Will Sing Your Praises
I Will Sing Your Praises
I Will Sing Your Praises
Forever More

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 .
Let us declare our faith in God:

We believe in God the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.

We believe in God the Son,
We believe in God the Holy Spirit,
who strengthens us with power from on high.

We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Matt Redman - I Will Offer Up My Life - Lyric Video - YouTube
Hymn: I will offer up my life in spirit and truth
Pouring out the oil of love, as my worship to you
In surrender I must give my every part
Lord, receive this sacrifice of a broken heart
Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring
To so faithful a Friend, to so loving a King?
Saviour, what can be said, what can be sung
As a praise of Your name for the things You have done?
Oh, my words could not tell, not even in part
Of the debt of love that is owed by this thankful heart
This thankful heart
This thankful heart
You deserve my every breath, for You've paid the great cost
Giving up your life to death, even death on the cross
You took all my shame away, there defeated my sin
Open up the gates of heaven and have beckoned me in
Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring
To so faithful a Friend, to so loving a King?
Saviour, what can be said, what can be sung
As a praise of Your name for the things You have done?
Oh, my words could not tell, not even in part
Of the debt of love that is owed by this thankful heart
We'll bring an offering, unto You an offering
What can I, what can I, what can I sing as an offering, Lord?
I want to please Your heart
What can I give, what can I bring, what can I sing as an offering, Lord?
What can I give, what can I bring, what can I sing as an offering, Lord?
What can I bring to the King of kings?
Oh, what can I give, what can I bring, what can I sing as an offering, Lord?
Simply this I will offer up my life in spirit and truth
Pouring out the oil of love, as my worship to you
In surrender I must give my every part
Lord, receive this sacrifice of a broken heart
Lord, receive this sacrifice of a broken heart
Lord, receive this sacrifice of a broken heart

Lord, help us to go into the world in peace; to be of good courage;
to hold fast to that which is good;
to strengthen the fainthearted;
to support the weak;
to honour everyone;
and to love and serve the Lord.
Be within us and among us,
and remain with us always.

Amen.

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen.