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.‘Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.’ (Psalm 34: 13-14)Hymn: Awake, awake, fling off the night...Proverbs 9: 1-6; Ephesians 5: 15-20‘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: God of constant mercy, who sent your Son to save us: remind us of your goodness, increase your grace within us, that our thankfulness may grow, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.John 6: 51-58Please 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: The Spirit lives to set us free...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.
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I am the bread of life. John 6.35 & John 6.48These words repeated twice in this mornings reading are at the heart of St John’s Gospel. All through this gospel John wants his readers to be clear about who Jesus is.The first clue to who Jesus is came from that familiar reading from St John on Christmas morning: “In the beginning was the word...(which) became flesh and lived among us...full of grace and truth.”Now in chapter 6, John gets to the heart of the matter: the relationship between the human and divine. In a discussion with religious leaders this relationship is given some practical application.As regards the human, the facts of the paternity of Jesus are not in dispute. Jesus is human, he is the son of Joseph conceived out of wedlock, and he is out of Nazareth a town with a dreadful reputation. Jesus stands in solidarity with us all in being dependant on God for everything in this life.As regards the divine: Jesus is not only out of Nazareth but out of God the Father, he has come down from heaven, he was sent by God as manna from heaven to make a difference to the way we look at life.St John wants us to see that Jesus embodies both human and divine characteristics.This is important for us as followers of Jesus, because today as on every Sunday, sometimes on a Thursday, we come together to share in the Holy Communion. We taste the bread and the wine, the body and blood of Christ crucified and risen to new life.God not only sent Jesus all those years ago; God has sent Jesus into our life. Our Christian way of life enables us to live within the teaching of Jesus who in turn learned it from God.The reading from the ancient writings of the first book of Kings shows how God sustained and refreshed the prophet Elijah at a time when he was frightened by life and was seeking safety. Similarly, we are sustained and refreshed in our Christian life by sharing in Holy Communion. The teaching of Jesus is developed by St Paul in his letters, expanding ideas to encompass how our Christian behaviour needs to reflect the values of the Kingdom of God. In the reading from Ephesians St Paul emphases Honesty in our dealings with people. Being the sort of people who can be trusted reflects the love God has for all of us. We are reminded of the love of God as we taste again the bread and the wine in Holy Communion.Bread is a staple food for us. Wine is a refreshing drink for us. Combined with ideas of new life in Christ, the bread and the wine refreshes our Christian life with the body and blood of Christ. Jesus is the bread of life, sent by God to bring us to experience a different way of living our life.The Revd Malcolm France
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.‘O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.’ (Psalm 34:3)Hymn: I am the bread of life...1 Kings 19: 4-8; Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2‘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: God of glory, the end of our searching, help us to lay aside all that prevents us from seeking your kingdom, and to give all that we have to gain the pearl beyond all price, through our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.John 6: 35, 41-51Let 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: Guide me, O Thou Great Redeemer...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.
