Sunday Service 19 09 2021

A special welcome to those visiting and to those returning to church after a time away.

I am Michelle McAdoo, probationer minister at Alva Parish Church.

Call to Worship

Heaven sent – from God, of God!

All that shows us of the character and goodness of God.

Let it be that our wisdom, our nature, our words and our actions reflect such a Heavenly Spirit.

Let our praise and time together in worship this morning be received as heaven sent

God’s gift to us of time, space and opportunity to worship together as a community.

Let us come before God and raise our worship.

For our boys and girls who perhaps can’t read all the words you can join in with a bit of dancing – show us your moves. The adults can dance too!

Hymn 1 Come, Holy Spirit, Come! CH4 594

Childrens Talk

When you go to Sunday school in the hall we read from the bible and we have Sunday school in here too where we learn about what god is teaching us on how to be Godlike. When you go into the hall today we might hear you making some noise when you are having fun and that’s great – we have really missed you all being at church with us and when we are baptized we as a church make promises to God to help to teach you what it means to be Godlike.

Today our story is telling us:

Don’t fight

Don’t lie

Don’t cheat

Be Godlike

Don’t brag

Don’t boast

Don’t show off

Be Godlike

Be safe

Play nice

Speak kindly

Be Godlike

Act fairly,

Work hard,

Use time wisely,

Be Godlike

Be humble,

Be generous

Be kind

Be Godlike

Be trusting,

Be a peacemaker,

Be patient,

Be Godlike

Build community

Create safe places,

Make friendships,

Be Godlike

That’s quite a list – think I need to try to practice those, glad I have God to help me to try even when I feel I don’t want to.

God loves us through all our feelings. We can feel so many feelings.

But sometimes when we come to church we think that we should only come feeling happy but inside we are feeling sad - so we put a happy mask on!

I have started a new role here as a probationer minister – feeling all the feelings– feel excited, feel nervous, feel happy, feel silly, feel sad.

You are just back to coming to Sunday school or other clubs and groups that you go along too – you will be feeling lots of things too – sad, happy, excited, silly.

What helps is when we talk about how we are feeling – to God, to our teachers, to our family and friends. The more we talk about how we are feeling, the more we understand why we are feeling what we are feeling and that help us to take care of ourselves and for others.

God loves all of who we are – happy, angry, sad, nervous, silly – God’s love is with us.

Prayer with children:

Who grateful we are God

That you love us just as we are

We are but a tiny part of your whole world

Thank you for sending Jesus

To show your love for us

And for teaching us how to live well

Honestly caring for all our brothers and sisters at home and around the world

Shine your holy light into our hearts and show us where we are angry at or jealous of our friends and family

Help us to let go of bad feelings and love others as you love us

AMEN

Song with actions – Whole wide world – everyone knows this song and the actions – when we get to the baby you whisper, baby is sleeping!

We come humbly and honestly and offer this time to you.

We come aware of our imperfections and our need for transformation.

We long for your kingdom to come here and now and we know that we each have a part to play in making it happen.

All creation reveals you, from the stardust to the sawdust, from Munros to tiny toes.

Through Jesus you have revealed so much of your nature, your kindness, your gentleness, your generosity, your integrity.

You long for us to become more like Jesus, to live peaceful lives building healthy relationships with all people, creating community and good stewardship of our world.

Lord we confess that we do not always live up to your high standards, that too often we fail, giving in to envy and craving what is not ours.

Forgive us, Lord, we pray, we honestly confess our faults and failings to you and ask you to help us to be the people you made us to be.

May we always draw near to you in all things, and look to Jesus to guide us.

Lords prayer

Our Father

Who art in heaven

Hallowed by thy name

Thy Kingdom come

Thy will be done in 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

And The power and the glory

For ever and ever

AMEN

You provide us with all we need gracious God, everything we have is a gift from you.

So we give our offerings of our time and talents and funds in service to you as we are blessed to be a blessing to others in this world.

Bless our gifts. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

AMEN

In our worship times together over the restrictions there has been a lot of frustration about not being able to sing – and I have share that frustration.

But one of the blessings has been shared times of silence during worship to meditate, to take time to listen to what God is saying to us and to experience a bit of God’s peace. Our next song is a contemporary one and I would invite you to stay seated, to listen, perhaps to read the words, to reflect on what WISE means to you.

HYMN 3: Perfect wisdom of our God

Reading : James Chapter 3 verses 13 to chapter 4 verse 3 and then 7-8a

Two Kinds of Wisdom

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. 15 Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. 16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for[a] those who make peace.

Friendship with the World

4 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? 2 You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet[b] something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Sermon:

Let us pray:

As we listen to meditate on your word,

we ask you God to inspire us.

To reveal something of your hearts to us,

To teach us on what you require of us,

to allow us to draw closer to you.

AMEN

Prayers for others and ourselves - there will be a moment of silence included during these prayers. (Announce any funerals and pray for family by name)

Guiding God

We come to draw near to you

As you draw near to us

To let in love and forgiveness

We pray for our world that is being scorched and ripped open by us to feed our greed instead of our needs

Nations race to control access of raw materials and resources, paying little heed of the natural environment or those who live there – often in rural and poorer areas.

Our empty local reservoirs, even in Scotland show that our environments are fragile. We pray for you to help us to take actions as we keep causing damage beyond repair.

Guiding God

Save us from ourselves and our inner defects of character that stand in the way of our usefulness to you and to others.

Place in our hearts a desire to be peacemakers and not always the one who has to be right. Remind us that our personal opinions and choices are not always for the greater good of our community.

Help us to see you in all people and to be open to resolving conflict with any we see as ‘other’ to ourselves. Remind us that we are all Children of God. Help us to speak out and stand with the abused, the neglected and the half a million people facing further poverty with the £20 reduction in Universal Credit. Remind us that providing food for the foodbank whilst staying silent on the causes of poverty in our community is not wise and requires action.

Guiding God

We pray for those in Forth Valley Royal intensive care with Covid and for the rising number of our younger folks who are suffering. Suffering with the affects of testing positive of Covid, suffering with missing even more education, suffering with missing normal life events – forgive us when we make choices that put our own needs ahead of those of our young people who have made so many sacrifices to keep us safe and well. We pray for those in our hospitals and nursing homes unable to have contact with family and for the nursing teams feeling burnout whilst everyone else seems to go back to normal. Help us to make choices to reduce risks so that we can show your love to others.

We pray for those closest to us

We pray for our own families, friends and neighbours

You know what is on their hearts this week, troubling them or sources of joy

Guiding God, let us love them and lift them to you in our silence

SILENCE (say serenity prayer for timing)

God you guide us with your wisdom and you teach us to be more caring in our everyday choices.

Help us to respond to others with love

AMEN

Hymn 4: Be Thou my vision CH4 465

Blessing: Please stand

We are witnesses

To the love of God our maker