The first three verses in our Gospel Reading this morning overlap with last Sunday’s when Father Andrew spoke about how simple it is to be a Christian and inherit eternal life by eating bread and drinking wine. This is food for the soul. Jesus refers to himself as the bread of life, that those who eat of it will never be hungry again. Jesus is talking about that inner contentment, that peace which passes all human understanding, regardless of our circumstances. He had a conversation with a woman at a well and told her that if she drank from him she would never be thirsty again. She was an outcast from society but Jesus knew everything about her, made a connection with her, understood her and loved her. Some folk think that this is too good to be true, how can the God who created the universe love me in all my messes?God’s love is a gift freely given by the creator of the universe and all God asks is that we share in communion relationship with God and one another. This means being born again in the spirit, into the world of faith, a world at odds with a world where things need to be proven to be believed. To receive the gift of God in us means opening our eyes, ears and hearts to see and hear beyond the world we create for ourselves and step out into mystery. We can choose to live life in our own strength or receive God’s strength. Jesus said no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them. The Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit all work together to open our ears, eyes and hearts to enable us to live in the upside down kingdom of God. What an exciting kingdom it is! Many of us reject Jesus, as some of his early disciples did, because his way is too hard. It means living by faith and trust. Jesus reversed the social norms. All those who were outsiders according to the norms of society and believed to be impure according to the law: the poor, the landless, lepers, tax collectors, and women were accepted by him. Our social standing counts for nothing in God’s kingdom. What does count is that we love God and love others.To do this we need to put on the Armour of God against Spiritual battles of doubt and temptation. The breast plate of righteousness, sword of scripture, shield of faithfulness, helmet of salvation, feet shod to spread the gospel of peace. We become part of a kingdom that lives in a different way. God’s kingdom belongs to the poor, the peacemakers, the merciful and those who hunger and thirst for God. In this kingdom, people from the margins of society will be lifted up to places of honour and seated in the best seats at the banquet. This kingdom knows no geographic boundaries, no political parties, all citizens are equally loved as children of God. It does not advance through power and might, but through acts of love, joy and peace, missions of mercy, kindness and humility. This kingdom has come, not with trumpets but with a baby’s cry, not by defeating enemies but by forgiveness, not on the back of a warhorse but on the back of a donkey, not with triumph and conquest but with death and resurrection.In our readings three voices speak to us today about making our choice:Joshua challenges us to choose: ‘if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’Peter answered Jesus: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’Paul: ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.’ Angela Stewart (lay minister).
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.’ (Psalm 34: 18)Hymn: Fight the good fight with all thy might...Joshua 24: 1-2a, 14-18; Ephesians 6: 10-20‘God is love, and those who live in love live in God and God lives in them.’ 1 John 4:16 Let us pray: Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Almighty God, you search us and know us: may we rely on you in strength and rest on you in weakness, now and in all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.John 6: 56-69Please see the message from the minister.Let us join in prayer and ask for God’s empowering love to impact: the Church, that all may know and serve the Lord, to give our all in his good service; the world, that peace will reign and that all people will care and share; our neighbours, families and friends, that relationships will thrive; people who are sick or suffering, for the healing power of the Holy Spirit to be known; those who have been bereaved, that all who mourn will be comforted.Let us pray for the coming of God’s kingdom in the prayer that Jesus taught us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.Hymn: How shall I sing that majesty...May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all for evermore. Amen.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
We will be open to visitors this week between 10am and 3pm, but please note that from Sunday afternoon until Friday next week 25th-30th August the church will be closed to visitors as it will be taken over by Sheringham Beach Life!Monday Cuppa will go ahead on Bank Holiday Monday as usual between 10am and 12 noon in the hall.Our Thursday service of Holy Communion will go ahead in the choir vestry at 11am.The church will be open to visitors once again on Saturday 31st August, when we will offer the last of our wonderful Teatime Concerts at 4pm.
‘Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day;’This is the phenomenal promise that God gives to us. I think one of the huge problems of this is, how can something so simple lead to such a great gift. Later in the service we will be invited to share in the bread and wine and all we have to do is get up and go forward and eat the piece of bread that we will be given and then take a sip of the wine and then return to your place. Because you do this then you will be raised to life on the last day. Sometimes people can make belief in God so complicated that it leaves us confused and wondering whether we will ever succeed as a Christian.The simple truth is that God, in the person of Jesus has done all the hard work for us. He taught his disciples for about three years, was arrested, tried and was executed, and on the third day rose again. He then tasked those disciples with spreading the word to the ends of the earth. As his disciples we are continuing to spread the word about Jesus. The challenge that he laid before those first disciples remains the same throughout the ages.We are called to invite people to join us in eating the bread and drinking the wine, thus receiving the body and blood of Jesus our Saviour. I hope all of us want to learn more about Jesus by studying the gospels that tell his story and to hear what some early Christians wrote about their faith to friends in different churches in the first century.We also need to remember that Jesus was a Jew and that his Jewish faith was important to him and therefore we need to study the Old Testament of the Bible which tells us about the journey of Jewish believers from Abraham to Jesus.But we must always return to the rock of our faith - in the words of one of our Eucharistic Prayers:“as we do what you told us, we open our hearts to him, we remember how he died and rose again to live now in us. Together with him, we offer you these gifts; in them we give you ourselves.Send your holy spirit on us and on this bread, and this wine that they may be the body and blood of Christ, and that, sharing your life, we may travel in your company to our journey's end.” Amen.Andrew SSL
