Order of Service 19th April 2020
Our “Low Sunday” service is based on Acts 3: 1-16. The service is designed to be used in conjunction with the order of service email earlier but also available to download here.
Watch the whole service on YouTube by following this link.
Call to worship
But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’ (Jeremiah 30:17)
Opening prayer
Faithful one, whose word is life, come with saving power to free our praise, inspire our prayer, and shape our lives for the kingdom of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We are the people of God, but Scripture reminds us that we still sin. We need to confess our failures, knowing that the Lord Jesus intercedes for us with the Father, who freely forgives us, through his infinite goodness and mercy.
So, let us draw near to God with sincerity and confidence, and pray together. Lord God, we have sinned against you; we have done evil in your sight. We are sorry and repent. Have mercy on us according to your love. Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin. Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
In Ephesians 1:7 we read “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” And in 1 John 1:9 we read “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Amen
Opening song
Reading Acts 3: 1-11 (WEB)
Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive gifts for the needy. 4 Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John, said, “Look at us.” 5 He listened to them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” 7 He took him by the right hand and raised him up. Immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength. 8 Leaping up, he stood and began to walk. He entered with them into the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 All the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 They recognized him, that it was he who used to sit begging for gifts for the needy at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
12 When Peter saw it, he responded to the people, “You men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Why do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses. 16 By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
Reflection
We move on from the events of Easter to an event in the life of the early church when Peter and John go to pray in the temple in Jerusalem. They are accosted on their way in by a lame beggar who calls out to them asking for alms as they enter the temple through the beautiful gate where the beggar sits. This gives Peter an opportunity to talk about Jesus. which he does without hesitation. Many of us I am sure have experienced opportunities we have had to talk to friends or family about Jesus but never seemed quick enough with the right words to say, only later kicking ourselves thinking this is what we should have said. Well here we have Peter’s template as to how to go about sharing Christ with others. Whilst for most of us this may not follow a miraculous healing as it does here there is still much, we can learn from this passage. And while we may not have as much opportunity to do so face to face, we can always strengthen our spiritual muscle through studying God’s word in the meantime.
Firstly, Peter says the healing was not done by them. He says Why do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk? But it was through Jesus the servant of God that the man was healed. Therefore, all the glory is rightly given to Jesus for the miracle. So, what we say and do should never claim the glory for ourselves but should always give the glory to Jesus.
Secondly, Peter stresses that Jesus was not some self-appointed messiah but rather was sent by God. He reminds them that Jesus is the son or servant of God, their God the God of Abraham, Isaac and of their father’s. Someone who was without sin, yet these very same people called for his crucifixion while a murderer was set free. This Jesus whom they had rejected and had crucified was raised up from death by God. It is through faith in this same Jesus Christ that this lame man has been healed.
Thirdly, Christ came into this world that we might be saved. Through the sacrifice of the holy and righteous one whom they had killed we are reconciled with God. We know from Christ’s teachings that he was to be a once and for all sacrifice to wash away our sins. Peter reminds the crowd that they were the ones that put him to death, and we must also recognise our contribution through sin to his death.
So, the template for talking to others about Jesus is clear give the glory to God, tell them who Jesus is and what he has done for us and lastly confront them with their sin. Oswald Chambers summarised it this way Jesus Christ became Incarnate for one purpose, to make a way back to God that man might stand before Him as He was created to do, the friend and lover of God Himself.
The passage also sparked a couple of other thoughts. The lame man was begging outside the temple gate. He was one of the least of their society, excluded by his affliction from going into the temple. The beautiful gate was a barrier to him, and I wondered what physical or metaphorical barriers we might put up that keep out the least, the have-nots, the vulnerable in our society today. The man was begging for alms, which to the Jews was not just some token we might put a few coppers in a beggar’s hat/cup but this goes much further. It stems from a sense of obligation that of tzedakah which has more of a sense of a moral or ethical duty so more of an obligation. Perhaps stemming from the view that prosperity and wealth was essentially a loan from God and therefore the vulnerable, the least in society had some right call on a portion of their wealth. It is heartening that during this pandemic here and elsewhere we can see volunteers, food charities like FairShare and the Trussell Trust, as well many of the retailers helping the vulnerable, the disadvantaged and the least in our society with food at a time when their income and their ability to cope with the situation is under so much pressure. Even the pundits are talking about a re-evaluation of what is key to the society we have come to enjoy and that perhaps in future there might be a re-balancing in favour of some of the lowest paid and most vulnerable workers on whom it turns out we are reliant for our basic necessities. Time will tell, unfortunately we can all have short memories when the going is good again.
The lame man only expected alms, probably money possibly food but he got more than he bargained for. Peter says look at me. Most of us probably do not look at a beggar even if we are giving them money, more likely we avoid eye contact and hurry past them. Peter says it is through faith that this lame man was healed. Is that why he looked straight into his face, was he seeking evidence of faith was he just treating him as an equal who knows the implication in the reading is that the lame man had faith in Jesus Christ. But Peter takes him by the hand and the once lame man gets up and starts leaping and praising God. The healing in the name of Jesus is not just using the name as an incantation, true names have power and authority but as Peter uses it here, he is giving the glory back to the messiah. The lame man only wanted a few coins that is probably all his experience had taught him to expect and here he is healed no longer a cripple. How often do we do the same sort to thing? We limit God’s ability to bless us because it is beyond our imagining but thankfully not beyond his.
The temple was an expensive building and thought of as the only place where God dwelt. The healing happened outside the temple, so God was no longer confined to just a part of the temple complex. No longer separated by a thick heavy curtain, a curtain that was torn in two on Christ’s crucifixion, removing the barrier between God and man so that we are no longer excluded from his presence. Nor is Christ’s message only for the Jew’s or the gentiles but is for all who believe in him and recognise what he has done to reconcile us with God. I sometimes wonder if people today think that God only dwells in our churches. I know many of us find God everywhere in the beauty of his creation. I am glad we have a building where we normally meet to worship God we are blessed in that regard and I know we have issues with our roof leaking that needs fixing but I do sometimes wonder about the proportion of our budget going to the building and that going to sharing God’s word with our community, but that’s for another day.
Lastly, we worship a powerful saviour who heals and restores us just as he did with the lame man. Notice too that restoration was to something greater than before it was restoration to a fully functional body. Once healed, the lame man’s disability was no longer there to exclude him from entering the temple, the beautiful gate was no longer a barrier excluding him from being part of his community. So, at a time when we feel excluded, particularly from meeting and worshipping as we would wish, let us not forget those who are actually excluded, the vulnerable or the least in our society. While it might be hard going for us now let us remember and give thanks that we worship a risen saviour in Jesus Christ who can and does restores us to wholeness and renews us afresh. Jesus Christ come with your healing power, restore us to health, restore our community, plant in us seeds of hope for a brighter fairer more balanced future. Amen
Prayers of intercession
Lord at this time we pray for those who are suffering from the covid-19 virus grant them the strength to fend off this virus. For the doctors and nurses, we thank you for their dedication and ask that you protect and guide them in supporting their patients so more survive the infection. We thank you for all those in various supply chains who ensure we have food in the stores to buy, that important personal protective equipment is available where it is needed. We thank for all the unsung heroes who are supporting the elderly, the vulnerable in our communities. Lord we pray that the virus outbreak is brought under control so that some sense of normality and certainty returns. We ask these things not for our own sake but in your name and for your glory. Amen
Closing song
Whom shall I fear (God of angel armies)
Closing prayer and blessing
Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honour everyone; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
Go in peace to love and service the Lord
In the name of Christ Amen
I will leave you with song to reflect on the things you have heard this morning or your own thoughts and concerns, hand them to Christ and be at peace.