The Lord be with you wherever you are.

Confession

We thank you Heavenly Father for the gift of your Holy Spirit to comfort and guide us in these difficult days. We confess that we have not always responded positively to your call and resting on your promise to forgive us we turn again to you, asking for grace and strength for the days ahead. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

A Prayer

Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life: raise us, who trust in him, from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, that we may seek those things which are above, where he reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Reading: Colossians 1 : 1 – 8

The church at Colossae, situated in what is now Turkey, was founded by Epaphras who, it is thought, became a believer after listening to Paul during the apostle’s ministry at Ephesus in 52 – 55 AD. The church consisted of mostly Phrygian and Greek settlers with a sizable Jewish minority.  Paul wrote to the Colossians after Epaphras had visited him during his imprisonment in Rome in 60 – 61 AD. There was some concern that there was a minority of church members who had been led into some beliefs that were not in accordance with the Gospel as presented to them by Epaphras.

Paul starts his letter with his usual greeting and on this occasion he emphasises that the Colossian church consisted of God’s holy people, faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.

Just in this short greeting he reminds them that because of their faith in Jesus Christ they are indeed a holy people, set apart from the world because of their belief in Jesus as their Saviour. In addition, they are a community drawn together from differing backgrounds but one in Christ Jesus.

In these unprecedented days it is important for us to remember that we are still God’s unique people made righteous before God through the blood of Jesus and that regardless of our isolation we are still a close loving community drawn together by the love we have for each other.

Paul commences the body of his letter by telling the church members at Colossae that he and his fellow Christians always thank God for them in prayer. It is a great comfort and spiritual boost to know that there are people always praying for you and a positive to come out of our present situation is the devotion to prayer we have experienced. Long may it continue.

The reason for Paul’s thanksgiving is because of the Colossians’ faith and love that spring from the hope stored up in heaven for them. This is one of Paul’s favourite themes, in 1 Corinthians 13 Paul concludes his hymn to love with, “And now these three remain; faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love”. Our faith in Jesus as our Saviour plants within us the great hope that we will live with him in eternity, we have eternal life, and the gift of the Holy Spirit enables us to love God, love each other as Jesus loves us, and love our neighbour as ourselves. He then reminds them that this is the essence of the Gospel they already know. Indeed, it is the same Gospel of God’s grace in Jesus Christ that is spreading throughout the known world.

Even when we were able to meet together, we always needed to remind ourselves that we are part of the universal Church of God.

As o’er each continent and island

The dawn leads on another day,

The voice of prayer is never silent,

Nor dies the strain of praise away.

So let us not forget to pray for our mission partners during this time as the work of God’s grace continues regardless of whatever difficulties the world brings.

Paul ends his opening statement with an affirmation of Epaphras as their founder and leader, stressing his spiritual authority through his relationship with the apostle himself.

A Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the apostles and leaders of the early church who were instrumental in spreading the good news of the grace of God throughout the known world. Help us, even with our reduced horizons, to be messengers of the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth: and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Peace

We are the body of Christ.

In the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.

Let us then pursue all that makes for peace

and builds up our common life.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

The Communion

Father God, you are always thinking about your people. You never forget us.

You sent your Son, Jesus Christ who died so that our sins could be forgiven and we could learn to forgive one another.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

The Lord Jesus, on the very night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

In 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.”

For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

As we come to your table Heavenly Father may these gifts of your grace nourish us by the power of your Holy Spirit.

The Lord’s Prayer

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 breaking of bread

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.

Though we are many we are one body, because we all share in one bread.

Invitation

If you are hungry, come, eat of the Bread of Life.

If you are thirsty, drink of the Fountain of Life

Blessed are those who hunger for this bread and thirst for this Fount.

The body of Christ keep you in eternal life.

The blood of Christ keep you in eternal life.

Prayer after Communion

Heavenly Father we thank you for building up our faith by this gift of love in your Son Jesus Christ. Through him we offer you our whole selves as a living sacrifice to be sent out in the power of the Holy Spirit, to live and work for your praise and glory. Amen

The Blessing

Let nothing disturb you,

nothing frighten you;

All things are passing,

but God never changes!

Patient endurance achieves all things;

Those who belong to God

want for nothing,

alone God is sufficient.

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 serve the Lord. In the name of Christ. Amen.

St Christopher’s Church

Southbourne

The Bridge Prayers for Sunday 3rd May 2020

A verse from this morning’s reading:

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints. Imagine reading that said about us at St Christopher’s!

As we come to prayer this morning we are physically separated and yet we are connected by our love for the Lord Jesus and for one another. 

I would like you to imagine yourself sitting in St Christopher’s ….

Now reach out and touch the person on either side of you…..

If you are at the outside end of a row, reach forward and place your hand on the shoulder of the person in front…

If you are sitting beside the aisle, reach across (carefully) to the person on the other side….

Are we all connected? Has someone reached out to the person on the sound desk? The musicians? The person leading the service? Brian standing by the door?  Is anyone missing this morning? Remember them too.

Some of us are finding lockdown harder than others…if you have strength to spare, let that flow to those around you…..if you are hanging on by your finger nails then allow yourself to receive from your brothers and sisters in Christ as together we look towards the cross.

So, holding on to one another let us worship the creator and sustainer of the universe, the one whom we can call “Our Father” Let us focus on His attributes of love, mercy, justice and grace and the fact that Jesus is our only Saviour.

Just reflect on the fact that nothing, not lockdown, not corona virus, neither life nor death , can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus……….

Let us plead for mercy on our world, on our land ….from the depths of our being, from somewhere beyond words…..

Let us pray that out of the tragedy of this virus the nations’ leaders might grasp the opportunity to bring about a fairer, kinder, more just society…

Let us pray that the whole world might recognise this time as a wake up call, that many would re examine their priorities and come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour……..

Finally let us look around as we sit in our seats, remember God’s undeserved favour towards us and share the words of the Grace with one another…..

May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and evermore. Amen.


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