Sunday Service 5 July 2026

Prayers of Approach, Confession and Grace
 
Eternal Majesty, You reign from before the ages began,
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 
and your rule endures throughout all generations. 
You are faithful in all Your words, and gracious in all Your deeds.
And we, Your people, praise You.
 
Risen Lord Jesus, You uphold all who are falling, 
and raise up all who are bowed down.
You are our humble, donkey-riding king
who came to free the unjustly imprisoned,
proclaim mercy,  and offer hope to a downtrodden people.
In You we find our freedom and dignity.
 
And yet we struggle; the good we wish to do, we do not do.
The evil we do not wish to do, we do.  
In our inmost selves we know what is right,
but so often we rebel against You, 
finding Your yoke uneasy, Your rest disturbing, Your burdens heavy.
We find ourselves wretched 
and forget that You free us from all that drags us down.
Forgive us, good Lord, for our rebellion
and for the times when we forget who we truly are.
 
Raise us up, Most Holy Spirit, reclothe us in our rightful mind,
that we remember we are redeemed,
freed from Sin’s grasp, and given time to change
not only ourselves but our world.  Amen
 
Prayer for Illumination
 
Your Word, O God, has great power,
it cuts off war, breaks the bows of battle, and commands peace.  
Your word frees prisoners from the waterless pit
and gives hope to the imprisoned.
Open our minds now as we hear Your powerful Word 
read and proclaimed, that we may hear, understand, and change.  Amen
 
Reading   Zechariah 9:9-12
 
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.
 
Hymn       Psalm 145:8-14
Owen Alstott, copyright 1977, 1990 OCP OneLicence No  # A-734713
Sung by Chris Brunelle and used with his kind permission.
 

I will praise Your name forever, my king and my God.

I will extol You, O my God and King,
and I will bless Your name 
forever and ever.
Every day will I bless You,
and I will praise Your name 
forever and ever

2 The Lord is gracious and merciful, 
slow to anger 
and of great kindness. 
The Lord is good to all 
and compassionate toward 
all his works.

3 Let all your works 
give You thanks, O Lord, 
and let your faithful ones bless You. 
Let them discourse of the glory 
of Your kingdom 
and speak of Your might

4 The Lord is faithful 
in all His words 
and holy in all His works. 
The Lord lifts up all who are falling 
and raises up all 
who are bowed down

Reading   Romans 7:15-25
 
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. For I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”
 
Reading   St Matthew 11:16-30 
 
Jesus said: ‘But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.” For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.’
 
Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I tell you that on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.’
 
At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
 
‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’
 
Sermon
 
Paul’s famous words about not being able to do the good he wanted to do yet finding himself doing the evil he didn’t want to do resonate down the ages.  They are an apt summary of the human condition – often we know the right thing but oh so many times we find we’ve not acted as we should.  It’s why we have a time in worship to confess and to remind ourselves of the good we need to do even as we turn away from the bad we’ve done.  Paul’s insight into the human condition is a good way to view each of our readings today. 
 
Zechariah was written after the return of the Jewish people from exile in Babylon which gave rise to high hopes of a restored Jewish nation.  Those dreams, however, were not fully realised as new empires arose and subjugated the Jewish people – the foreign kings of Persia were overlords for the 200 years after the return from Exile to be succeeded by the Greeks and then the Romans.  Zechariah engaged with these post exilic realities of crushed dreams.  Today’s reading speaks of the persistent hope that good will come even when the long-promised freedom seemed more and more unlikely.  There’s a hope here of a good, just, and honest ruler who rides a donkey not a war horse.  There are denunciations of violence where weapons of war will be destroyed even though the future held more defeat and warfare.  The coming king will identify with the poor and oppressed; this good king will free the unjustly imprisoned who are awaiting vindication; there will be restitution for victims of wrongdoing.  This was the long hoped for good that was yearned for.  No doubt various kings and rulers wished to act like this, to model themselves on this virtuous ruler but all too often they failed.  Politicians get a bad press these days yet very few enter public service for their own ends or enrichment; they want to help, they want to make the world better, they want to make a difference.  Of course, we might debate what “better” might mean and whether the differences they bring are good or bad– but that’s the political process.  We should remember Paul’s insight that what we want to do and what we end up doing are often two very different things. 
 
The Psalmist reminds us to rightly orient our lives keeping God as the focus knowing that God cares for us, often in ways which are as mysterious as Paul’s dilemma on the human condition, but which echo down the years.  Paul’s letter to the Romans is his longest we have in the New Testament.  Scholars debate if Paul was writing to Gentiles who had to learn about the Jewish faith to understand what it was to be Christian or to communities of Christians in Rome who were mixed between Jews and Gentiles, Romans and Greeks, slaves and free people.  
 
In today’s passage Paul, in moving words, identifies the good and bad impulses that rage within us – in this he followed Rabbinic thought.  Universal norms mean everyone is aware of what is right before God – no one has an excuse to not know what is sinful. Paul writes: “nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh” which is something really quite counter cultural to the way we want to see our bodies as good and maybe indicates a lower view of humanity than we’re comfortable with – we are made in God’s image after all!  As a Jew Paul was not going to see a God given institution, the Law, is the cause of death – a trap some fall into when looking at his words here.  For Paul, the problem is not with the Law (which comes from God)  but with humans who follow sin.  Sin is a revolt against God and makes us rebel against God and against God’s law – even the inner self yearning to follow God’s edicts is not free to do so because of the power of sin – hence the cry in v24 “miserable one that I am!  Who will deliver me from this mortal body?”  Yet Paul answers his own question by saying “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  This is a passage with two tensions – on the one hand Paul’s words resonate with us as we also do the evil we do not intend and often fail to do the good we want to do but, at the same time we know that, in the next verses Paul proclaims “therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  Paul believed that baptism transferred us from the power of sin to the power of God.  Sin’s curse has been broken even if we struggle with its aftereffects.  Just as, through love, God chose Abraham, Sarah, and their descendants – not through any of their own merit – so God has also chosen us, set us free from sin’s curse even as we struggle, without regard to our worthiness or efforts.   
 
In an age which still seeks to earn salvation these are powerful words.  Of course, our age doesn’t see salvation as anything really spiritual – it’s about having the right body, the right lifestyle, the right wealth, the right social media profile, the right friends.  All these things are what modern folk strive for, but all have within them the seeds of their own destruction; all will enslave us, only Christ frees us.  
 
Our Gospel reading shows Jesus being rather grumpy as he complains about his generation failing to accept God’s messengers and a failure to accept his actions and message.  Today’s passage follows on immediately on from an episode where John the Baptist, no doubt battling his own demons as he waited for his death in prison, sent word to Jesus asking, “are you the one who is to come or are we to wait for another?” Jesus replied affirming through his reported deeds rather than words – presumably to stop him being liable to arrest by Herod too – and went on to praise John the Baptist which then brings us to today’s passage.  
 
The opening verses have Jesus complaining that John was rejected for being too sombre, like prophets are meant to be, whereas he was criticised for not being sombre enough!  He dined with those who had rejected the community’s common good – tax collectors who profited from the hated taxes used to pay for the Roman occupation.  Jesus’ condemnation of the three cities used a common prophetic formula “woe to you”.  Chorazin and Bethsaida were Jewish cities on the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee, Tyre and Sidon were Pagan Mediterranean cities.  Matthew used these as a cypher for those who have not turned to Jesus and accepted his message – the consequences he forewarns will be devastating but it will be worse for the Jewish cities – who, Matthew clearly felt, should have known better – than it will for the Pagan cities who can’t be blamed for not knowing.  Sodom was destroyed, according to Ezekiel 16.49, for a lack of charity and hospitality to visiting angels – indeed the townsmen sought to sexually brutalise them. Jesus’ harshest rebuke, to his adopted hometown Capernaum, is sharp as Sodom, the supreme example of inhospitality and lack of charity, will be treated better on Judgement Day!   The good people in all those cities, no doubt, wanted to do is overshadowed by the evil they end up doing.  Jesus’ condemnation of these cities seems to be about their inhospitality to him, his followers, and his message.  
 
We’re on better ground with the final verses in today’s passage with those “comfortable words” often used to introduce Holy Communion.  Jesus’ words, however, are a surprising invitation to his disciples, and to us, to take on his yoke – his radical understanding of the Jewish Law – knowing that he shoulders this burden with us (animals were yoked together).  His words are surprising as often Jesus was more conservative in his interpretation of the Law than his fellow Pharisees – do not murder becomes do not get angry, do not commit adultery becomes a condemnation of lust, an allowance of divorce becomes either a condemnation or limitation of it.  His teaching might not always seem comfortable when it requires us to follow his narrow way; we want to follow his good way but, like Paul, find ourselves not doing what we intend.    
 
We must wonder if much has changed between the generation Jesus was frustrated by and our own.  Jesus described a generation who didn’t recognise the truth in front of them; we live in an age where Pilate’s question “what is truth?” haunts us as facts are contested, recollections vary and “alternative facts” are used to browbeat in political argument.  The yearning for justice seen in our reading from Zechariah where it would be embodied in a just and good ruler is still with us as we want our rulers to uphold justice and work for the Common Good.  Our Psalmist knew that in the praise of God we find our balance even as we, like Paul have to reckon with the tension of sin’s curse being broken but the reality of our all too human selves being pulled away from Heaven to Sin’s realm.  And yet, knowing all this, Jesus invites us to share his easy yoke, even though, on the face of it, it seems anything but easy!  
 
We now follow Jesus and recognise the freedom that He promises is still coming, the Realm of Sin still wreaks havoc even as we long, like Zechariah of old, for just leadership that puts things right.  Of course, in our longing we realise that we’re part of the solution; we can lead with justice, we can advocate for mercy, we can sing God’s praises with our voices and our lives even as we recognise our human frailties and hold the glory and the tragedy of human life in a creative tension.  Let’s pray.
 
You share Your yoke with us, Risen Lord,
telling us it’s easy as You share the burden.
You call us to rest, Gentle Lord, 
even in the busyness of our world.
You offer us comfort, Saving One,
even as we find discomfort within ourselves.
Help us to live with the tensions and paradoxes of humanity,
that we lay learn to live fully alive to Your glory, Amen.  

Hymn       I Heard The Voice of Jesus Say
Horatius Bonar (1808-1889) Public Domain Performed by Emu music 
and used with their kind permission.
 

3 I heard the voice of Jesus say: ‘I am this dark world’s Light;
look unto me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright.’
I looked to Jesus, and I found in him my star, my sun;
and in that light of life I’ll walk, ‘till travelling days are done.
 
Affirmation of Faith
 
We do not understand our actions; 
for we do not do what we want, but the very things we hate. 
The power of sin means we cannot do what is right despite wanting to.
We do not do the good we want, but the evil we do not want. 
Yet we delight in the law of God in our inmost selves, 
but so often we have an internal battle 
between the power of sin and God’s powerful law. 
Who will rescue us from this battle?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
For in him there is no condemnation!
For the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ 
has set us free from the power of sin and of death.
 
Intercessions
 
Eternal Majesty,
we want to pray but often don’t know what to say.
We yearn for Your presence 
but then become distracted and our minds wander.
We long for the good of prayer 
but the weight of our worries leads us astray.
So, we come before You now with the needs of the world on our hearts.
 
pause

We bring to You places of war and conflict, bitterness and division,
and ask You strengthen those who work for peace.

pause

We bring before You the anger and rage of our world, 
the lies and the hatred,
and those who seek to improve our cities, towns and streets.

pause

We bring to You all those on the move this day, 
driven out by hatred and violence, prejudice and persecution,
and ask that we become, again, a people of compassion and love.
 
pause

Jesus, Enfleshed Word, 
we want to follow You, to take Your easy yoke and Your light burden,
but find the trials and tribulations, 
as well as the tedium and tiredness, of life intrude.
We yearn for Your comfort yet find ourselves discomforted by our world.
 
pause

We pray for those who dare to serve in public office – 
those recently elected to councils and parliaments across these islands
that they may seek and serve the Common Good.

pause

We pray for all who engaged in public service, in the Health Service,
in the police and the armed services that the values of 
compassion, integrity, and honesty shine through.
pause
We pray for all who research and develop public policy,
that those who will be affected by policy will be involved in developing it,
that partnership and participation will lead to flourishing.
 
pause

Most Holy Spirit, Eternal Fire of Love,
We yearn for Your power, we want Your wisdom, 
and we long for Your presence,
but find the power of politics, the wisdom of the world,
and the presence of possessions to be more enticing. 

pause
 
We lift before You those who are ill in mind, body, or spirit
 
pause
 
We lift before You those whose death is near and those who mourn.

pause
 
We lift before You this Church, that You may guide and guard us.

pause
 
And we lift ourselves before You who know all our needs.

pause
 
O God, our Source, Guide, and Goal 
hear us as we pray as Jesus taught saying, Our Father…
 
Offertory
 
If we get confused about our behaviour – doing those things we don’t want to do even when we know they are wrong – we can get even more confused about how to manage our time, talents and treasure!  
 
We live in a world where time is a precious commodity we never seem to have enough of, where demands for our skills and talents are ever increasing and where our money is a resource we never seem to have enough of.  
 
Against those cultural realities we have the significant Christian practice of giving – we give of our time, our talents and our treasure.  We’re told to give and not count the cost – though that’s quite a counter cultural thing to do – it’s part of accepting Jesus’ easy yoke and gentle burden.  We give to those people, institutions and causes we care about.  We give because it makes a difference and embodies the justice we wish to see come.  
 
So, we give thanks for all that is given in this church.  Let’s pray.
 
God of every good gift,
we thank you for the time, the talents, 
and the treasure that is given in this congregation;
the way listening ears and shoulders to cry on are offered,
the ways in which the gifts, skills and abilities here 
are shared and used far and wide,
and for the money that’s given in the plate, 
to the bank, and to a range of good causes.
Bless all that is given, that we may be a blessing to our world. Amen.
 
Hymn       Be Thou My Vision 
Irish, c 8th century tr Mary Byrne (1880-1931) versified, Eleanor Hull (1860-1935) 
Public Domain BBC Songs of Praise

 
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
be all else but naught to me, save that thou art;
be thou my best thought in the day and the night,
both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.

2 Be thou my wisdom, 
be thou my true word,
be thou ever with me, 
and I with thee Lord;
be thou my great Father, 
and I thy true child;
be thou in me dwelling, 
and I with thee one.
 
3 Be thou my breastplate, 
my sword for the fight;
be thou my whole armour, 
be thou my true might;
be thou my soul’s shelter, 
be thou my strong tower:
O raise thou me heavenward, 
great Power of my power.
 
4 High King of heaven, 
thou heaven’s bright sun,
O grant me its joys 
after vict’ry is won;
great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be thou my vision, 
O Ruler of all.

Holy Communion
 
This is the Lord’s table.
The Lord Jesus invites us to share this joyful feast.
From east and west, from north and south, people will come 
and take their places at the banquet in the kingdom of God.
 
Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all who are weary and whose load is heavy; 
I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, 
for I am gentle and humble-hearted; and you will find rest for your souls.’
 
Hear the words of the institution of the Lord’s Supper,  according to St Paul: the tradition which I handed on to you came to me from the Lord himself: that on the night of his arrest the Lord Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks to God broke it and said:
 
‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in memory of me.’
 
In the same way, he took the cup after supper, and said:
 
‘This cup is the new covenant sealed by my blood.
Whenever you drink it, do this in memory of me.’
 
For every time you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord, until he comes.
 
The Lord be with you.  
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.  
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
 
It is indeed right, it is our duty and our joy, 
at all times and in all places, to give you thanks and praise, 
holy Maker, heavenly King, almighty and eternal God.
We give thanks that in the creation of the world, 
when you laid the earth’s foundation and set its cornerstone in place,
the morning stars sang in chorus 
and the angels of God all shouted for joy.
By the power of your Spirit, you made the universe;
by the might of your Word, you gave us life.
 
We give thanks that in the new creation,
when you gave your Son to raise us up again,
since we and all our human race had fallen,
you claimed us for your own people;
that we might proclaim the glorious deeds 
of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.
 
By the life of your Spirit, you fill the hearts of the faithful;
by the light of your Word, you give us strength and love.
Therefore, with your people of all places and times,
and with the whole company of heaven,
we proclaim your greatness and sing your praise in the angels’ song:
 
Scarborough Fair Sanctus
Michael Forster © 2008 Kevin Mayhew Ltd OneLicence No  # A-734713
 

Holy, holy, holy the Lord,
God of endless power and might;
the earth, the heav’ns 
are full of your love.
Sing hosanna! Glory to God.
Blest is he, the one who is sent
in the name 
of God the Most High.
O holy, holy, holy our Lord!
Sing hosanna! Glory to God!

In tune with all the heavenly hosts,
we here on earth acknowledge your glory,
and give you thanks that in the fullness of time
you sent your Son to be our Saviour.
We bless you for his incarnation among us,
his holy birth, his perfect life on earth,
his suffering for us, and his triumph over death;
for his ascension to your right hand and his gift of the Holy Spirit;
and for the promise of his coming again.
 
Remembering his work and passion, and pleading his eternal sacrifice,
we follow his example and obey his command.
Send down your Holy Spirit to bless us
and these your gifts of bread and wine,
that the bread which we break may be for us 
the communion of the body of Christ,
and the cup of blessing which we bless 
the communion of the blood of Christ;
that we, receiving them, by faith 
may be made partakers of his body and blood,
with all his benefits, to nourish us and help us grow in grace,
to the glory of your most holy name.
 
And here we offer and present to you our very selves, 
to be a living sacrifice, dedicated and fit for your acceptance; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
Through him, with him, in him,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory are yours,
O Most High, now and for ever. Amen.
 
Draw near with faith:
receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for you,
and his blood which was shed for you,
and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.
 
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Happy are those who find refuge in him!
 
The body and blood of Christ given for you.
 
Music for Communion    Come Into Our Lives
Paul Inwood One Licence No  # A-734713
 
Post Communion Prayer
 
Glory to God the Creator,
who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ
and crowned him with glory and honour.
 
Glory to God the Son,
who lives to plead our cause at the right hand of God,
and who will come again to make all things new.
 
Glory to God the Holy Spirit,
who brings us the taste of the good Word of God
and the power of the age to come.
 
Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honour,
power and might be to our Lord for ever! Amen.
 
Hymn       And Can It Be?
Charles Wesley (1707-1788) Public Domain.  
200 Mass Voice Choir at St Andrew’s Kirk, Chennai and used with their kind permission.
 

And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Saviour’s blood?
Died he for me, 
who caused His pain?
For me, who Him 
to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that Thou, my God, 
shouldst die for me?
 
2 ‘Tis mystery all: 
the Immortal dies!
Who can explore
His strange design?
In vain the first-born seraph tries
to sound the depths of love divine.
‘Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
let angel minds enquire no more.

3 Long my imprisoned spirit lay
fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray –
I woke, the dungeon 
flamed with light,
my chains fell off, 
my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, 
 followed thee.
 
4 No condemnation 
now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
Alive in him, my living head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach the eternal throne,
and claim the crown, 
through Christ, my own.