Sunday 7th Feb

Whitewater Benefice

Welcome to our online worship for all age worship

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 - click here for activity sheets for this week.

Welcome To Worship

We come together to rejoice in the God who makes himself known in Jesus, bringing light wherever there is confusion, darkness or death

You may like to light a candle as a reminder that the love of God is like a light in our darkness

Music: “Sing we the song of Emmanuel" by Keith Getty, Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, Stuart Townend; played by Nikki Wild

Sing we the song of Emmanuel

Opening Prayer

In the beginning there was nothing.
Then God spoke and there was everything.
God is with us, within us.
Thank you, Lord, for not leaving us alone to work things out for ourselves.
Thank you, Lord, for staying crucially involved in our world.
Amen

Hymn

Here I am to worship (Light of the World)
Link to Here I am to worship (Light of the World) (from YouTube, opens in a new tab)

Prayer of Praise

Lord Jesus, the Word made flesh, we worship you.
When we learn of your life, we see the way that God wants us to live.
We see the essence of God in all that you did.
So, we know that our God is truly a God of love.
You call us to put our faith in you, in these difficult pandemic times, we pray that we may open our hearts and dare to trust in you and your love.
Help us to spend more time in prayer and fellowship to sustain and build our faith in you.
May we also remember through the life and ministry of the word made flesh that you are indeed an awesome God. Amen.

Confession

Lord Jesus, the Word made flesh, we are sorry for the times we forget that you are Lord of this world. We put our faith in other things to solve the world’s problems, thinking more money, more power or more politics will solve all the issues in the world.

Lord Jesus, we are sorry
Help us to place our Faith in you

Lord Jesus, the Word made flesh, we are sorry we for the times we forget that you are the Lord in the communities we live in. We put our faith in our own efforts or even lose faith in the ability to make a difference accepting poverty and suffering in our midst rather than trust in your power to transform lives.

Lord Jesus, we are sorry
Help us to place our Faith in you

Lord Jesus, the Word made flesh, we are sorry for the times we forget that you our Lord of our lives. In our own lives we move away from your teachings, we forget your call to love and we collect material possessions and trust in them to bring us comfort. In these difficult times helps us to see that only you can offer us hope.

Lord Jesus, we are sorry
Help us to place our Faith in you

Lord Jesus, the Word made flesh, when you came to live among us you showed us the wonderful grace of God, in you we see a God who reaches out and forgives us and allows us to start afresh in your love. Thank you for your forgiveness and help us to live new lives trusting in you.

Amen

Collect

Almighty God, give us reverence for all creation and respect for every person,
that we may mirror your likeness in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

Bible Reading

John 1 verses 1-14

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Hymn

We are Marching in the Light of God
Link to We are Marching in the Light of God (from YouTube, opens in a new tab)

Puppet Sketch

Talk from Jonathan

Declaration of Faith

based on Colossians 1 verses 1-15

We believe that Jesus is God.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

We believe that Jesus is the Creator.

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

We believe that Jesus lives in heaven now and is leader and guide over us, his church.

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

We believe that Jesus came to earth to live and die for us, so that we can have life through him.

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Amen

Prayers

Worthy of Every Song

Gracious and generous God,
you enter your creation in your Son, Jesus Christ.
Open our eyes to his presence in this time and this place,
and teach us to discern and welcome him in all your children.

Strengthen your Church as it strives to follow his light and to spread it throughout the world.

Illuminate the darkness of our own lives, and cast out the doubt, the fear and the confusion that separate us from you.

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Bountiful God,
you created the world in all its variety, beauty and mystery.
Teach us to be good stewards of your creation.
Guide all those involved in the work of conservation,
and give wisdom to those entrusted with decisions about the uses of the earth's wealth. Thinking in particular about the preparations for the Climate Summit in Glasgow in November this year.
Sustain and protect those who are denied a fair share of the world's resources as a result of the exploitation of land and human labour.
Help us to have the courage to trust in your ways of seeing creation with compassion and love.

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Merciful God, in the incarnation of your Son,
every human condition and circumstance has become your dwelling place.
We bring before you those parts of the world where people live in the shadow of fear, oppression or conflict.
Give hope to those who have lost families, homes and livelihood as a result of war.
Enlighten with your wisdom all those who strive to bring order out of confusion,
peace out of discord, and justice out of tyranny. We remember this week in particular, the situation in Myanmar and the military coup there and we pray for the people in the country and for the church, may they keep the faith and find hope for the future.

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Compassionate God,
in your Son you share the whole of our humanity.
We pray for all who suffer.
Uphold those in the darkness of doubt, desolation or despair.
Enlighten those who can see no meaning or purpose in life,
or who are anxious about the future and fearful of the way ahead.
Comfort and heal those who are ill, we remember those on who are currently on our prayer list. We pray too for those suffering or recovering from the effects of Coronavirus and pray for health professionals caring for the sick and administering the vaccine.

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Eternal God,
Christ your Son is the beginning and the end.
In him, the whole of human experience is contained and redeemed.
We pray in confidence for the dead, thinking at this time for those we miss in our own lives and we remember those who have died through the effects of Coronavirus. We also this week give thanks for the life of Captain Sir Tom Moore and the inspiration he gave us during the pandemic.
Grant that we may come, with them, to live in the light of your heavenly kingdom.

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Faithful God,
We remember that in Christ, all your promises and purposes are fulfilled.
So we pray in silence for our individual needs and concerns.

Rejoicing in the fellowship of all the saints,
we commend ourselves and all whom we love and serve to your unfailing love.

Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our saviour Jesus Christ.
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

Offertory

Lord God as we open our hearts and trust in you, we pray that you will accept the gifts we offer, so that other may know the hope that can be found in the word made flesh, Jesus Christ. Amen

Giving to our Churches

See our giving page for more information about how you can give to our churches

Hymn

In Christ alone, words and music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townesend, sung by Kristin Getty and Alison Krauss
Link to In Christ Alone (from YouTube, opens in a new tab)

Blessing

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the invitation to place our Faith, our trust and our lives in your hands. May we go out in your love, the knowledge that through you life has meaning and despite all its troubles has a deep joy that will see us through.
Amen.

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

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.
Resources taken from rootsontheweb.com and is copyright © ROOTS for Churches Ltd. Reproduced with permission
Readings taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Image:
copyright Good News Productions Int. used with permission (see https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/gnpi-001-word-flesh/
Music:
Hymns: A Church near you (ACNY): CC: Church of England/Videos and music Copyright Church of England. Licensed under Creative Commons. Recorded by singers from St Martin’s in the Fields. Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives 4.0 Inter national License  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by - nc - nd/4.0, and from YouTube under under appropriate licensing
CCLI - St Johns Hook, 827213