Sunday 16th May

Whitewater Benefice

Introduction

Welcome to our online worship - this week we are thinking about eternal life.

There will be a live worship service using zoom at 10am, which will be open 15 mins beforehand for technical sound checks & notices.  For any children we have weekly activities which follow the same theme and are used for junior church and for children joining the Zoom Meeting - click here for activity sheets for this week.

If you are unable to join the Zoom Meeting using the link, you can phone in on 0203 051 2874  and use the appropriate meeting ID & passcode

Welcome

For those who would like to read through a service in their own time, we are providing a shortened service for you to follow: with the readings, prayers and a recording of the talk.

You may like to light a candle as you focus your worship on Christ, the one who gave his life that each one of us might draw close and know that through him we have eternal life.

Greeting

The light and peace of Jesus Christ be with you.
The glory of the Lord has risen upon us.
Let us rejoice and sing God’s praise for ever.

Collect

Risen, ascended Lord,as we rejoice at your triumph,fill your Church on earth with power and compassion,that all who are estranged by sin may find forgiveness and know your peace, to the glory of God the Father.

Amen.

Readings

1 John 5:9-13

Faith in the incarnate Son of God

9We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Concluding affirmations

13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Gospel - John 17:6-19

Jesus prays for his disciples

6‘I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.8For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.9I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.10All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.11I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

13‘I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Talk

This week Shona's talk is Understanding our earthly lives in the context of knowing we have eternal life through Christ, and is titled Into Eternity. The images below are referenced in the talk.

Hymn

I will sing the wonderous story
Link to I will sing the wonderous story (from YouTube, opens in a new tab)

Affirmation of Faith

Let us declare our faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe in God the Father,
from whom every family
in heaven and on earth is named.
We believe in God the Son,
who lives in our hearts through faith,
and fills us with his love.
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.

Prayers

Prayers of Intercession
Loving Father, provider of all good things
we come before you today in the quiet of our homes
giving thanks for your presence with us.

As the nation moves to a new phase of activity after lockdown, we pray your protection over the interaction we will have with one another.  May we be people who exercise good sense and appropriate caution so that we do not put one another at risk.  May we people who notice the needs of others and offer support as appropriate.  Where there is anxiety may you be a source of peace and confidence.

We bring before you those people, places and circumstances which cause us sorrow and anxiety naming them now in our hearts….   We especially pray for the people of Myanmar and Israel as they face ongoing conflict and oppression and for the people of India as they try to bring the pandemic under control.

We raise our voices to thank you for the joys of this day, the answers to prayer that we have already seen, and we offer our prayers in this time to your eternal mercy trusting in your goodness.
Amen

The Lord's Prayer

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray,

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen

The Peace

The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said, ‘Peace be with you.’
Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. Alleluia.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.

Offertory

Please let us consider our calling to be the ‘light on the hill’ during this season of ongoing challenge and isolation for so many. If you are able to donate online as one off, or regularly, your gifts will be gratefully received.

Please do ask if you would like further information about how your giving is being spent by the churches.See our giving page for more information about how you can give to our churches

Reflecting on Holy Communion

You may like to take time to reflect on what it means to each of us that Jesus gave his own life that we might live life in freedom.

1 Corinthians 11: 23 - 26

23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Final Prayer & Blessing

God the Father,
by whose love Christ was raised from the dead,
open to you who believe the gates of everlasting life.
Amen.

God the Son,
who in bursting from the grave has won a glorious victory,
give you joy as you share the Easter faith.
Amen.

God the Holy Spirit,
who filled the disciples with the life of the risen Lord,
empower you and fill you with Christ’s peace.
Amen.

He is not here. He is risen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia.
In the name of Christ. Amen. Alleluia, alleluia.

Copyright details

Liturgy and prayers from Common Worship. Services and Prayers for the Church of England. Times and Seasons © 2006. The Archbishops’ Council. Church House Publishing.
Readings taken from Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Images:
from Shona Hoad, unsplash resources on A church near you with permission & also from Pixabay under the terms of their license
Music:
Music used by permission of the performers under CCLI licence 1378112, OneLicense A-641368 and PRS LOML LE-0023927
“Angelus“ by Leon Boellmann played by Stephen Davies
Hymn(s): from YouTube under under appropriate licensing