Sunday Worship 18 May 2025

May 18, 2025 colind

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Today’s service is led by the Revd Catherine McFie

Introduction

Hello, my name is Catherine McFie and I have the privilege of being a URC minister, serving in Mersey Synod. Part of my time is dedicated to being minister of two churches within Liverpool. Part of my time is as a Pastoral Officer for the Liverpool area which enables me to lead worship in different churches throughout the year. The final portion of my time is currently allocated to being Interim Moderator to two congregations on the Isle of Man. I am delighted to share worship with you and pray that wherever you are and whenever you are listening, God’s Spirit will bless our time together. So let us worship God.

Call to Worship

Whether you come to worship regularly or this is your first time, know that you are welcome in this space. Whether you are certain in your faith or don’t know what to believe, know that you are welcome in this space.

For in this space God meets us where we are,
taking nothing for granted.

This is where God’s story and our story meet,
where our stories mingle together and where change can happen.

Lord, prepare our hearts and minds as we bring our worship to you.

Hymn God is Love: Let Heaven Adore Him
Timothy Rees (1922) public domain. Sung by the choir of St Michael and All Angels, Bassett and used with their kind permission.

God is Love, let heav’n adore him; God is Love, let earth rejoice;
Let creation sing before him and exalt him with one voice.
He who laid the earth’s foundation, He who spread the heav’ns above,
He who breathes through all creation: God is Love, eternal Love.

God is Love; & He enfoldeth us, all the world in one embrace:
with unfailing grasp He holdeth, every child of every race.
And when human hearts are breaking under sorrow’s iron rod,
then they find that selfsame aching deep within the heart of God.

God is Love; and though with blindness sin afflicts the souls of all,
God’s eternal loving kindness holds and guides us when we fall.
Sin and death and hell shall never o’er us final triumph gain;
God is Love, so Love for ever o’er the universe must reign.

Prayers of Approach and Confession

Creator God,
how we marvel at the world you have made
a world full of colour that feeds our imagination,
full of texture that encourages our creativity,
full of tastes that reminds of meals shared with others,
a world that shouts to you glory with every spectacular sunrise
and lulls to sleep under a sky that sparkles with stars
as the moon keeps watch.
Thank you for all that you have given us in this amazing planet.

Saviour God,
how we long to know you better.
We read the gospels and are challenged
as you heal the outcast, dine with the sinner
and ask a Samaritan woman for water.
Your actions encourage us to look beyond what we know
and see God’s image in all people
and see God at work in the places we least expect.

Spirit God, in us and around us,
you know our deepest regrets and our hopeful dreams
We come seeking forgiveness for the times
when we have loved ourselves and forgotten our neighbour,
when we have thought we were right
and ignored the reasoned voice
when we have voiced words of judgement when they
should have encouraged
when we have acted in haste and hurt others.
Forgive us and create in us a clean heart we pray.
Amen.

Declaration of Forgiveness

Friends hear these words and know them to be true,
by the faith of Christ your sins are forgiven.
May you delight in the joy of your salvation. Amen.

Hymn Here in This Place, New Light is Streaming
Marty Haugen © 1982, GIA Publications, Inc. OneLicence # A-734713. Sung by Emmaus Music and used with their kind permission.

Here in this place, new light is streaming,
now is the darkness vanished away.
See, in this space, our fears and our dreamings,
brought here to you in the light of this day.
Gather us in – the lost and forsaken,
gather us in – the blind and the lame.
Call to us now, and we shall awaken,
we shall arise at the sound of our name.

We are the young – our lives are a mystery,
we are the old – who yearn for your face.
We have been sung throughout all of history,
called to be light to the whole human race.
Gather us in – the rich and the haughty,
gather us in – the proud and the strong.
Give us a heart so meek and so lowly,
give us the courage to enter the song.

Here we will take the wine and the water,
here we will take the bread of new birth.
Here you shall call your sons and your daughters,
call us anew to be salt for the earth.
Give us to drink the wine of compassion,
give us to eat the bread that is you.
Nourish us well, and teach us to fashion
lives that are holy and hearts that are true.

Not in the dark of buildings confining,
not in some heaven, light years away,
but here in this place, the new light is shining;
now is the Kingdom, now is the day.
Gather us in – and hold us forever,
gather us in – and make us your own.
Gather us in – all peoples together,
fire of love in our flesh and our bone.

Prayer for Illumination

Amazing God, we thank for the gift of Scripture,
sometimes the stories baffles us, sometimes we are inspired,
other times we are challenged.
As we prepare to read and meditate on your word
fill us with your Spirit,
that our minds are open to hear new revelations
and our hearts are eager to follow your will,
and our actions will reflect your love to those we meet.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Reading Acts 11:1 – 18

Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.” And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’ 18 When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’

Reflection

In the statement concerning the Nature, Faith and Order of the United Reformed Church the church states this

We conduct our life together according to the Basis of Union
in which we give expression to our faith
in forms which we believe contain
the essential elements of the Church’s life,
both catholic and reformed;
but we affirm our right and readiness, if the need arises,
to change the Basis of Union and to make new statements of faith
in ever new obedience to the Living Christ.

I love the boldness of this – we can change what we say we believe, I also admire the humility of this – we don’t know it all so there may be a time when we think differently.

As we look at our reading from Acts, I get the impression that this is what is happening as Peter relates his story to those waiting for him in Jerusalem.

Up until now they have thought they knew what they believed, and this was that all Gentile believers should follow the dietary laws and ritual practices of the Torah and that any Gentile male believer should be circumcised. What we find is that as they listen to Peter, they realise that maybe they have got it wrong.

In the previous chapter we get the full story of Peter’s vision while in Joppa and his encounter with Cornelius at Caesarea. The news of what happened seemed to spread like wildfire so by the time Peter arrives back in Jerusalem people are waiting for answers. His critics are simply referred to as the circumcised believers and they have one simple question for Peter – “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” Doesn’t this sound very similar to the charge that was raised against Jesus when he was accused of eating with sinner?

As Peter gives his answer, he doesn’t give his listeners detailed doctrinal justification or even spiritual evidence to back up what he says, Peter simply and clearly answer the question by telling his story.

It all began, starts Peter, when I was praying and went into a trance. While in the trance I had a vision in which I saw this cloth coming down from heaven. On the cloth there was all kinds of animals, and I heard a voice telling me to kill and eat. When I look closely, I saw animals that we’re not allowed to eat. I thought I haven’t broken the diet laws, and I wasn’t planning to start now but God had different ideas. When I voiced my concerns, my views were challenged and the voice from heaven said that it was improper to call anything that God had created unclean. The cloth descended three times before it was finally taken up into heaven and disappeared.

As the cloth disappeared three men from Caesarea arrived at the house where I was staying. I felt prompted by the Spirit to go with the men and that I wasn’t to make any distinction between them and us. When we arrived in Caesarea, we went to the house of Cornelius, a Roman Centurion. Cornelius told me how he seen an angel who told him to send for me and that I would bring a message through which he and his entire household would be saved.

I was taken aback, I wasn’t quite sure what to say, so I started talking about Jesus and some of his teaching and I spoke the Holy Spirit fell on everybody in the room. I reminded me of that day in Jerusalem, it was amazing to see, God giving the same gift to the Gentiles that God gave us. I didn’t really have anything to do with what happened, it was God’s work. When Cornelius invited us to stay for a meal, how could I refuse, what excuse I could have given that didn’t sound rude and patronising and what difference did it really make because we were all filled with the same Spirit. As I thought about it a wee while later I thought if God gives Gentiles the same gifts as we received who am, I that I could hinder God. God’s plan is obviously bigger than we first imagined and to be there and witness the Holy Spirit at work, well it has changed my thinking completely.

Peter finished his story and began to wonder what they would say. There was silence as everyone considered Peter’s words carefully. Before the silence got to uncomfortable stage, everyone began praising God as they accepted the truth of Peter’s story and recognised its implication – God had given the Gentiles was the same Spirit that brought repentance and lead to eternal life. This was certainly something to celebrate.

It is reassuring to know that some of the things we find difficult to accept, like God’s outrageous grace, was also difficult for the early apostles to accept. However, the phrase that stands out for me the most in this passage is Peter’s words “If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” This phrase today gives us reassurance, but it also brings many challenges to us within the Church.
I don’t know about you, but I find it tremendously reassuring that no one is excluded when it comes to God’s love, grace and forgiveness. John 3:16 states that “God so loved the world…” and in pouring the Holy Spirit out upon this Gentile household, God was confirming in a very visual way that what Jesus achieved through his death and resurrection was not for some elite group of people in one age but for all people in all ages. I find this reassuring because I know that this means that I am included. I find it reassuring because even though some parts of society would seek to exclude me because I am single or a woman or any other criteria that this world judges us by, God does not exclude but extends loving arms out towards me.

However, this passage raises challenges for us as Christians, because it forces us to think about how welcoming and accepting of people we are, when it comes to our Church fellowships. We don’t like to think of ourselves as unwelcoming but being made to feel welcome is not just about people speaking to another person, our lack of welcome can manifests itself other ways, for example, not knowing what to do during a service with regards to standing, sitting etc to the language we use in prayers, the way we gender God or not, the layout of our sanctuary, access to printed materials in a format that is appropriate, or how we advertise our services so people know when we meet. I could keep going but you get the idea.

This statement is challenging because we also have to confront our own biases and prejudices and admit that sometimes we think that people are just unworthy. Maybe they have done something that we consider unforgiveable, or they live a lifestyle that we find unacceptable. In times like this we can find it hard to understand why God would pour the Holy Spirit into their lives or we find it hard to acknowledge that Jesus died for them just as Jesus died for us.

This statement is challenging because if we accept that that is the way God loves and works then it has implications for us. If God loves unconditionally, then we are also called to love unconditionally and that can leave us feeling scared and overwhelmed.

This statement is challenging because like Peter we too have to recognise that we cannot hinder God and God will work in the lives of people, in our lives, whether we want that to happen or not. At the end of the day our only response is to accept this amazing and outrageous gift from our all too generous and loving God and seek to share a little of what we have received with others.

I would encourage you to read Acts Chapter 10 and get the full account of what happened with Peter and Cornelius but I would also encourage you to think about Peter’s words “If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” and consider what this means to you as a disciple. Amen.

Hymn There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy
Frederick William Faber (1862) public domain. BBC Songs of Praise

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea;
there’s a kindness in his justice, which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt than in God’s heaven:
there is no place where earth’s failings have such kindly judgment given.

For the love of God is broader than the measure of the mind:
and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.
But we make His love too narrow by false limits of our own;
and we magnify His strictness with a zeal He will not own.

There is plentiful redemption in the blood that has been shed;
there is joy for all the members in the sorrows of the Head.
There is grace enough for thousands of new worlds as great as this;
there is room for fresh creations in that upper home of bliss.

If our love were but more simple, we should take him at his word;
and our lives be filled with glory from the glory of the Lord.

Affirmation of Faith

We are not alone,
we live in God’s world.
We believe in God:
who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and others by the Spirit.

We trust in God.

We are called to be the Church:
to celebrate God’s presence,
to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.
We are not alone. Thanks be to God.

Prayers of Intercession

In our prayers today there will be space to voice your own concerns. We will end each section with Lord in your mercy, if you could reply, hear our prayers.

Faithful God,
we come before you now with our prayers for others.
We don’t need to tell you what is going on in our homes,
communities, country or in the world,
but there are things that concern us,
there are things that unset us,
there are things that we don’t begin to understand,
and so with reassurance that you hear and answer our prayer
we lift our voices to you.