Church Service on Sunday, January 3rd, 2021 Second Sunday after Christmas

 Welcome to the CHS Vientiane Worship Service Resources

We invite you to take time this Sunday, in families or very small groups of friends, to responsibly share space to worship God together.

If you are on your own, please be assured we are together in the Spirit and if you have needs, or just want to share concerns, please don't be afraid to reach out and share these with the CHS community.  Contact details can be found on our church website at:  http://www.thechs.org/

~ Pastor Tony

 

Scripture Sentence

“God the Lord has spoken and summoned the world from the rising of the sun to its setting. God shines out of Zion, perfect in beauty.”   

(Psalm 50: 1-2)

 

The Collect

God of power and life,

you are the glory of all who believe in you.

Fill the world with your splendour

and show the nations the light

of your truth;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Amen  

Approach to God

Hovering Spirit,

because of You there was a beginning.

Heavenly Dove,

because of You there is a continuing.

Untameable Wind,

because of You there will be a completing.

From the emptiness before the birth of time

to the fullness of the new earth and heaven,

Holy Spirit, You breathe and blow,

dancing to our Creator’s tune,

in step with our Saviour’s purposes.

Fill our expectant hearts

as we stand on this threshold of a new year.

We have been here so many times;

and we have never been here before.

Source, Saviour, Spring of life,

refreshing and replenishing God,

all that pours from You is good and wise and true.

Soak us with the delight of Your surprising nearness

and let us splash in puddles of joy.

God in Community,

how privileged we are to be Your people,

chosen and known and loved by You,

here and now this morning

and in all our days gone by and still to come.

Amen

 

 

Opening Hymn of Praise 

 

Joy to the World (MP 393)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZhgpb97y7Q

1  Joy to the world, the Lord has come!

    let earth receive her King;

    let every heart prepare Him room

        and heaven and nature sing,

        and heaven and nature sing,

        and heaven, and heaven and nature sing!

2  Joy to the earth, the Saviour reigns!

    your sweetest songs employ

    while fields and streams and hills and plains

        repeat the sounding joy,

        repeat the sounding joy,

        repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

3  He rules the world with truth and grace,

    and makes the nations prove

    the glories of His righteousness,

        the wonders of His love,

        the wonders of His love,

        the wonders, wonders of His love.

Confession

Our heavenly Father
thank you that you love us 
and care for us all the time.
We know that this week 
we have not always lived the way you tell us.
We have done wrong things 
and not done all the good things we should have done.
Only you can save us,
so please forgive us
and help us to live as your friends.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Amen

Silence

Dear God,

why do we sometimes make You so small?

Why do we behave as if You are as petty as we can be?

Why do we lapse into vengeance as the answer to wrongdoing?

Your ways are not our ways.

Teach us again Your answer to sin and suffering.

You don’t get mad; You get merciful.

You don’t punish; You pardon.

So don’t let us for another moment

go over our speech of self-recrimination

or insult Your grace with our grovelling,

because You are not listening for that.

Let us put down

what we need carry no longer,

and loosen our hold on the hurts we have received.

You know well our woundedness;

You understand and accept our regret.

Come close and tend to our pain and heal us,

for we long to be whole.

Extend Your love to those we are finding hard to love,

and set us free to love again.

In Jesus’ name we ask it,

Amen

Creed

 

We believe in God the Father,                 

Maker of all things.

We believe in his Son Jesus Christ,

Lord and Saviour of the world.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,

giver of life and light.    

We belong to the Church,

God’s family everywhere.

Amen

Bible Readings

Psalm:  Psalm 147:12-20

First Reading:  Jeremiah 31:7-14

Second Reading:  Ephesians 1:3-14

Gospel: John 1:10-18

Song

Away in a manger (MP 47)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa7Jj_AZU8U

1  Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
    the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head;
    the stars in the bright sky looked down where He lay;
    the little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay.

2  The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
    but little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes:
    I love You, Lord Jesus! look down from the sky
    and stay by my side until morning is nigh.

3  Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask You to stay
    close by me for ever and love me, I pray;
    bless all the dear children in Your tender care,
    and fit us for heaven to live with You there.

Prayer for / with the Children

At the start there was a Word, the Word.

This Holy Word was there with God -

ALL: This Word was God himself.

The Word was a creative Word - he made everything we now see. Everything.

ALL: There’s nothing here that was made without him.

The Word was a living word,

ALL: shining with the light of life.

And the light he gives shines in even the darkest places,

ALL: no darkness is deep enough to put it out.

Once, when the Word decided to become part of the world,

the world did not see him for who he was.

ALL: He came to his own creation, but it did not accept him.

But there were some who realised who he was,

who understood what his name meant.

To these people he was a Word of acceptance,

ALL: acceptance into the family of God.

So this Accepting, Shining, Living, Creative, Holy Word became a man,

and lived among us, Jesus Christ.

ALL: And being in his presence, we have seen that he is glorious -

full of grace and truth, shining with the glory of the Father. 

Amen

(© Kieran Metcalfe/engageworship.org)

 

Sermon 

 

We hope to post the sermon Powerpoint for 3.1.21 here in due course.

Song

Great is Thy Faithfulness (MP 200)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k1WhFtVp0o

1  Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
there is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,
as Thou hast been Thou for ever wilt be.
        Great is Thy faithfulness,
great is Thy faithfulness;
morning by morning
new mercies I see;
all I have needed
Thy hand hath provided –
great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

2  Summer and winter, and spring-time and harvest,
sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
join with all nature in manifold witness
to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Great is Thy faithfulness . . .

3  Pardon for sin, and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Great is Thy faithfulness . . .

 

Offering

 

(Please do bear in mind that as long as we are still able to, 

CHS is continuing to support various projects and people in need

and needs will likely increase during this time. 

You may want to set aside some money in an envelope

every Sunday and bring these to church when we next meet back at ARDA.)

Dedication of our Offering

Gracious God,

when your kindness and generosity

dawned upon the world,

and you lavished your love upon us

in Jesus Christ our Saviour,

you called us to believe in you

and to devote ourselves to good works.

Now we bring our gifts to you,

and offer them, and our whole life,

with joy for your service;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen

    

Prayers

Covenant

(The people stand, the minister says:)

In the old covenant,

God chose Israel to be his people

and to obey his laws.

We stand within the new covenant

made by the death

and resurrection of Jesus Christ,

and we bear his name.

We are initiated into this covenant by baptism,

dying with Christ,

being buried with Christ,

and rising with Christ

to a life of faith and hope and love.

The covenant is renewed

each time we meet at the Lord’s Table.

In the strength of the covenant,

which he has made with his people,

let us bind ourselves anew to God

who has so graciously bound himself to us.

And let us gladly

take the yoke of Christ upon us. 

(The following may be read,

not necessarily by the minister:)

Christ has many services to be done;

some are easy, some are difficult;

some bring sorrow, others bring reproach;

some are suited to our natural inclinations

and material interests,

others are contrary to both.

In some we please Christ and please ourselves,

in others we cannot please Christ

except by denying ourselves.

Yet the power to do all things

is given us in Christ who strengthens us. 

(The minister says:)

Let us pray.

God of love and faithfulness,

you have appointed our Lord Jesus Christ

as mediator of a new covenant.

Give us grace to join ourselves

in a perpetual covenant with you,

as with joy we take upon us

the yoke of glad obedience,

and engage ourselves

to seek and do your perfect will.

We are no longer our own, but yours. 

All: We are no longer our own, but yours.

 Put us with what you will,

 rank us with whom you will;

 put us to doing, put us to suffering;

 let us be employed for you

 or laid aside for you,

 exalted for you or brought low for you;

 let us be full, let us be empty;

 let us have all things, let us have nothing;

 we freely and wholeheartedly

 yield all things

 to your pleasure and disposal.

 And now, glorious and blessed God,

 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

 you are ours, and we are yours.

 May this covenant, now made on earth,

 be ratified in heaven,

 to the glory of your name.

 Amen

Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession

Lord our God, faithful and kind,

You have always been our help.

With and without our asking,

with and without our recognition,

You are the wind in our sails,

the compass for our walking,

the firelight for our resting.

It is Your pleasure to help,

and for this we thank You.

You never neglect us.

Even when we blame or berate You;

even when we are too despairing to ask

or too weary to find words;

it is Your pleasure to help,

and for this we thank You.

So we seek Your help again.

Bring deep rest to those exhausted and spent.

Bring deep solace to those bearing loss upon loss.

Bring deep purpose to those plodding on in unceremonious conscientiousness.

Bring deep release to those glad to see the back of 2020.

Bring deep wisdom to those leading and governing.

Bring to us all deep trust in what is possible in partnership with You.

For it is Your pleasure to help,

and for this we thank You, Gracious God.

Amen

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

 

  

Closing Song

 

The splendour of the King (MP 1227)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKLQ1td3MbE

 

1  The splendour of the King, clothed in majesty;

let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice.

He wraps Himself in light, and darkness tries to hide,

and trembles at His voice, and trembles at His voice.

        How great is our God, sing with me:

how great is our God

And all will see how great, how great is our God.

2  And age to age He stands, and time is in His hands;

beginning and the end, beginning and the end.

The Godhead, Three in One, Father, Spirit, Son,

the Lion and the Lamb, the Lion and the Lamb.

How great is our God . . .

Name above all names, worthy of all praise;

my heart will sing: how great is our God.

Name above all names, worthy of all praise;

my heart will sing: how great is our God.

How great is our God . . .

 

Prayer of Sending and Blessing

Lead us on,

to learn willingly,

to love well

to live in trust.

Surround us with hope,

shield us from harm,

set us on our way rejoicing.

Let all God’s people say

Amen

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,

in the name of Christ.

Amen